Size Matters. So Do Money and Ego.
What an embarassment. This article made us so glad that we no longer live in Manhattan and that our children will not have to grow up around the kind of shallow, materialistic people epitomized by Gary Rabin. Hey, we’ve got nothing against double-wide townhouses, believe us, we just wish you didn’t have to be a…
What an embarassment. This article made us so glad that we no longer live in Manhattan and that our children will not have to grow up around the kind of shallow, materialistic people epitomized by Gary Rabin. Hey, we’ve got nothing against double-wide townhouses, believe us, we just wish you didn’t have to be a one-dimensional, status-hungry jerk to own one:
WHEN Gary Rabin closed on a 38-foot-wide New York City town house this month, he happily acknowledged that his new home’s girth would make him the envy of the tony town-house set. He had started off in 2003 with a 19.6-foot-wide brownstone on a quiet Greenwich Village block – wide enough by any conventional brownstone standards. There was no need to hang his head in shame the way he might have had he bought, say, a 13-foot-wide property. But being slightly below the coveted 20-foot mark, it wasn’t the sort of statistic he was likely to brag about among his real estate-savvy friends at dinner parties. In the fall of 2004, he found what he was looking for: a 38-foot-wide town house a few blocks away, a massive piece of real estate for New York. Sure, it was a lot more expensive, but he’s a lot happier, too…”There’s an element of pride when you walk out the door in the morning,” Mr. Rabin says.
Gag.
Quest for a Wide Town House [NY Times]
Is there an ideal proportion (width x height) for a townhouse? It seems like something Leonardo da Vinci would have figured out…
Your point about generalizations is irrefutable, Anonymous, and we’re guilty as charged but let’s not get carried away with self-righteousness here. Calling us bigoted against those who choose to work 18-hour days is ridiculous. Our only point was that in certain professions, it’s often not much of a choice. It’s required.
Back to brownstones for us.
Thank you Megan
It is all about right proportion.
Getting back to architecture, I find the 22+ footers a little, well, chunky-looking. Maybe it’s all the fashion magazines I read, but I prefer the tall, slim proportions of a 16 to 18-footer. Aesthetically speaking, Mr. Rabin’s squat, extra-extra-wide townhouse (photograph in the inside of the section) is nothing to feel good about waking up to in the morning.
“Perhaps we should be indicting a work culture that demands 18-hour days to “succeed” rather than the individuals that subject themselves to it.”
Will this sort of bigoted attitude ever end? Although I know few people working “18 hour days,” of what concern is it to you how an individual chooses to prioritize her time? Perhaps this “18-hour” person has important life goals that requires such dedication to work at a particular part of her life. Perhaps this 18-hour person actually loves her work.
You may work a standard 8-hour day and rush home for “quality family time,” but do you have the capacity to understand that there are some people that would view you in a stereotypical way about that? Do you want to be judged by non-essentials, such as your particular industry or number of hours worked? Or would you prefer that people judge you for your character?
It’s a great site, but please stop this appeal to prejudice.
Yes, certainly, Malymis. Let’s all get back to talking about the wonderful architecture that wouldn’t have been possible without all the wealth generated by the folks on Wall Street. To hell with the Wall Streeters. We just want to admire their homes! Pathetic.
So an artist or writer or someone in the film business who works 18-hour days is a “Wall Street type?” Where do the generalizations end? Just because someone isn’t like you doesn’t make them bad.
Frankly, I’m surprised by these generalizations and more than a bit disappointed. I’m happy I’m not someone you’d typify as a “Wall Street type” but I certainly don’t prejudge people like the Brownstoners must get prejudged, simply for what they do for a living. I know business people who live like kings and also some who live like paupers. Generalizations do more harm than good.
We can’t argue with that. Perhaps we should be indicting a work culture that demands 18-hour days to “succeed” rather than the individuals that subject themselves to it. In such an environment, it often requires a single-minded devotion to one’s job to succeed or even survive. That doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for other interests unfortunately.