Author: Maura Yates

New Rules Aim to Get the Freaky Off the Ferry

Pigeons won’t be living large on the Staten Island Ferry come January, when new provision will bar riders from feeding them.

By MAURA YATES

Bad news for the pigeons, flashers and fishermen who ride the Staten Island Ferry.

A complete overhaul of the ferry system’s official code of conduct — which will go into effect in late January — includes updates reflecting tightened security and operational changes, as well as new prohibitions against feeding animals, exposing oneself, or fishing from a ferry or ferry dock.

The regulations governing noise and disorderly conduct also were expanded, to help police enforce rules to keep passengers safe, and sane. (more…)

Three Big Hearts, a Bucket Truck, and a Cat Saved

Cats, it turns out, are really good at climbing up poles, but not so good at getting back down.

That’s how Tessa, a 2-year-old Russian Blue, came to be stuck for more than 12 hours shivering atop a 40-foot telephone pole on Staten Island earlier this month.

Tessa the Cat

Mike Dietrich, a construction inspector who rescues animals in his spare time, saw a Facebook post about the trapped cat and thought of a way he could help.

Dietrich called the Davis Avenue control room around midnight and found some friends in high places – literally.

Paul Conti took the call and dispatched troubleshooter Mike Amatrudo who pulled up in a bucket truck 20 minutes later.

Though he is “not a cat guy,” Amatrudo gamely put on heavy gloves and safety goggles and went up with a pet carrier and a can of tuna fish.

“I hoped she would just walk in,” he said, “but she was scared. Eventually I just had to grab on to her and push her in the carrier.”

TessaSafely back on the ground, Tessa, named after the street she was found on, was taken to the vet where she got a clean bill of health, and is now being well cared for by Christopher Mancuso, president of Staten Island Hope Animal Rescue.

“I have the utmost respect for the amount of compassion Con Edison showed for the life of this animal,” Mancuso said. “Con Edison came through in an amazing way.”

Tessa is available for adoption through Staten Island Hope Animal Rescue.

Reading of Talmud Ends, and Begins, Amid Celebrations

The New York Sun

By MAURA YATES
Special to the Sun

The infinite nature of the Babylonian Talmud, a sacred religious text of Judaism, makes it possible to study its pages for more than seven years and still have much more to learn.

Today marks the ending, and beginning, of another cycle of the Daf Yomi, or daily page, a study method that enables Jews all over the world to read the same page each day, until all 2,711 have been studied. This process takes about seven and a half years. Today, the last lines of this cycle will be read, along with the first lines of the next cycle, illustrating the seamless infinity of the Talmud.

As many as 120,000 Jews across North America are scheduled to gather today in celebration of the 11th Siyum HaShas, which marks the end of the cycle of study. The celebration will be held on six continents in about 75 venues throughout dozens of countries, including the largest celebrations held in the New York area. (more…)

Holocaust Saviors Honored by ADL

The New York Sun

By MAURA YATES
Special to the Sun

When Jan Plotkowsky’s father was taken away to be a groundskeeper at a concentration camp, the last thing he said to his 17-year-old son was that there was a chicken with two small chicks in his hayloft and that the young man should take care of them while his father was away.

Sylvia Richter was one of the chicks. Then 6 years old, she was hidden away with her mother and younger brother in the family’s hayloft in Poland to escape the Nazis. The courageous young man dodged continuous raids of the hayloft to bring the family food and water for several weeks until the end of the Holocaust.

Yesterday, Ms. Richter told her story during a ceremony at the Anti-Defamation League’s Turtle Bay headquarters, and expressed her gratitude to the young man who risked everything to keep her family alive. Sponsored by the Hidden Child Foundation, the event marked the first International Rescuers Day, which honors the bravery of those who hid Jewish children from the Nazis.

(more…)

Ruse For the Record Books at Harvard-Yale Game

The New York Sun

By MAURA YATES
Special to the Sun

A Yale prank during a football game with Harvard will have both sides talking for years.

In a ruse for the record books, 1,800 fans at the 121st annual Harvard-Yale football game November 20 waved colored paper to spell out a message of support for the Crimson. Now that they know what they were actually spelling, however, that’s the color of their faces, too.

Harvard-YaleDressed in “Harvard Pep Squad” shirts with red war paint on their faces, a team of 20 Yale students, led by seniors Michael Kai and David Aulicino, took over the opposing side of the Harvard Stadium bleachers, cheering and handing out white and red construction paper. They told the home fans they would be spelling “GO HARVARD.”

But the papers were actually arranged so that when waved, red letters on a white background would spell out a different message: “WE SUCK.” (more…)

This Broker Helps Clients Find the Lap of Luxury

The New York Sun

Leonard Steinberg is a senior vice president at Douglas Elliman specializing in the luxury loft market. He spoke recently with The New York Sun’s Maura Yates about luxury living.

Q: What is the profile of the luxury buyer?

A: Rich comes in many formats. There is a mix of high-earning individuals, trust fund people, Wall Streeters with bonuses, and a group of those divesting their estates. They have tremendous amounts of money that they want to give to their children to avoid estate taxes, and they are diversifying their capital. The diverse profile is what makes New York such a strong market, because you’re not only attracting one buyer.

What should buyers look for in luxury homes?

There are five categories of luxury. Mini-lux could be a $1.2 million one bedroom with 850 square feet. Megalux could be $5 million-plus properties that are big and grand and wonderful and everything. I encourage buyers to look at the bones. Cosmetics are almost easy, or at least there are a lot more possibilities. Bones are what they are. Sometimes people will get lost in Sub-Zero refrigerator-land, but, I tell them, you aren’t buying furniture, you’re buying an apartment.

What factors determine whether a property is luxury, as opposed to just really fancy?

Luxury is a very overused term. Real luxury is quite a unique and specific thing. True luxury starts with location. Space, light, and exposures are the makings of luxury. Luxury isn’t one thing. It’s a combination of things. It takes a discerning eye to determine whether something is luxurious, or potentially luxurious. A beautiful lobby can be luxurious – if you live in the lobby.

What areas of the city are the best places to buy?

There are a lot of areas downtown, such as anything on lower 5th. There are also prime TriBeCa, prime SoHo, and the West Village, which has gotten popular because of the light aspect and low building heights. Uptown, anything with a park view, and riverside is getting big. Hudson exposures are becoming very valuable, as are mansion scaled apartments. Carnegie Hill and TriBeCa are chosen for their outstanding school districts. Luxury has different meanings to different people. One of the biggest luxuries in Manhattan is convenience and an easy lifestyle.

What advice would you give to someone buying their first luxury apartment?

Sit down and really try to define your needs and your wants. Establish a wish list. That’s your dream. Then, sit down with a broker who will look at your list and tell you the realities. This usually comes as a terrible shock. Then, go and look. The more you look, the more you know. Sometimes buying the best of what is available is not necessarily buying the best property. Sometimes it’s smart to identify what you want, wait for it, and pounce on it.

What are some of the most luxurious amenities you’ve seen in New York?

I just had a listing with a basketball court in the apartment. It was very important to the owner to have that. Luxury is like love. Sometimes you look at people together and wonder what they ever saw in each other. You can never understand what they’re thinking. Someone might think it’s luxurious to have a pool in the basement of their townhouse because they love swimming every day. To others, a pool in the basement is just a source of moisture and mildew.

 

Published January 27, 2005

Real Estate Q&A

An Attempt to Turn an Empty Apartment Into a Daydream

The New York Sun

Broker Spends $6,000 for Rented Furniture and Other Fixes

By MAURA YATES
Special to the Sun

Drawn to the apartment at 60 Gramercy Park North by the exclusivity of the area and the charm of the building, broker Jacky Teplitzky was faced with a challenge. Here was a golden opportunity – a $2 million pre-war cooperative in Gramercy Park with great bones – but after 30 years with the same elderly tenant, the apartment was a mess with dark walls, an orange formica kitchen, and bathrooms that haven’t been renovated since the Hoover administration.

Because so much work needed to be done to get the empty apartment into selling shape, Ms. Teplitzky did something unusual in the world of real estate: She split the cost of sprucing it up. The owner paid for the painting and floors, while Ms. Teplitzky rented furniture and hired architects to draw up alternative floor plans. She expects to spend at least $6,000.

Even more unusual, instead of hiring a professional to stage the apartment, a growing trend of temporarily decorating available properties to appeal to buyers, she decided to do it herself. “People tell me I have good taste, and I have a good eye for what the buyer is looking for,” Ms. Teplitzky said.

Still, staging has its limits. While its purpose is to stimulate the buyer’s imagination, sometimes the power of suggestion can be a bit off-putting. (more…)