#RealHumanRealEstate: The August Edition |
Dear clients + community, My first city was Paris, and it's somewhat in the spirit of a European summer — August as city-wide retreat, office workers fleeing to the beach, shop windows postings a permanent status of out-to-lunch — that I'm viewing this month. Even with closings scheduled, contracts signed, logistics to manage and people to move, a sense of play (and some seasonal delay) pervades. And that's what I'm always trying to get to: how can we make a more playful, creative, and kind climate for folks seeking home? Thanks to my clients and colleagues for co-creating that climate with me. Let's enjoy it — even the muggy days. |
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As a gal who once got so many rejection letters in one month that her dad joked she was going to start receiving pre-emptive requests not to apply for things — let's just say I feel affinity for my co-op buyers' struggles. And I'm proud of how we surmount them together, whatever the no's or yeses we receive. Buying a co-op comes with a high degree of preliminary uncertainty, even in the best of circumstances: when all unit owners (technically shareholders whose stock is expressed in square footage) are financially bound, risk management rises to new heights as current residents (i.e. the co-op board) assess their potential future neighbors. See: the famous invasiveness of a board package and the attendant awkwardness of a board interview. But as I often remind my clients: board members are just humans, which can lead to sour moments (e.g. a recent client's fairly unfathomable rejection — he's now happily in contract elsewhere), and to very sweet ones (such as festive meetings complete with refreshments and invitations to upcoming holiday parties). In the latter vein: congratulations to A+M and R+T on handling the ups-and-downs with grace — and on making the picture above far less relevant, with their official approvals to purchase in Inwood and Riverdale! You're good neighbors, all. |
Speaking of good neighbors, I'm boosting the signal on a local institution. Bookculturehas been an uptown staple since the late 90s, and is one of the few bookstores above Central Park, with two locations in Morningside Heights (on 112th and Broadway). They have four locations city-wide, but the originals are most dear to me. And the whole lot are presently in fairly dire financial straits. But with the chutzpah you'd expect of 21st century bookworms, Bookculture has begun a Community Lenders Program to allow local supporters the opportunity to offer fee-less funding to the bookstore (it'll all be repaid at a 4% interest rate). And while the loan minimum is $5,000, picking up gift cards or buying local for your Christmas book haul are all good ways to fan the flame and keep Bookculture alive. |
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A and Bea at Weasel FestivalAugust 18-23 @ The Public Theater
A few years ago I rented an apartment to casting director/super-connector of conscious humans Destiny Lilly, and she later introduced me to big-visioned playwright Tanya Everett, and we've been collaborating ever since (and I've been able to say it was Destiny with perfect sincerity). Happily, I'm not in Tanya's show at the Public this week, which frees me up to sit in the audience and cheer for A and Bea– it's on Program Y of the five-day Weasel Fest! |
Harlem Restaurant WeekAugust 19 - September 1 Lucky us: Broadway Week is always three, Harlem Week is a month (this one!), and Restaurant Week will also linger, with Harlem hotspots whipping up prix fixe menus and summery specials til September 1 -- making now the perfect time to try the headliners on your local list! See here for a list of participating restaurants, and let me know what new favorites you find. (One of mine is pictured right, though by now it's an old standby – the High Heels at Vinateria!) |
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BAM Cinématheque "The Pieces I Am" is both the name of this stirring documentary and part of one of my favorite quotes in the Morrison canon, from Beloved: "She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order." (In fact, I love this quote so much that my first blog was called Gather Me Man). Morrison certainly was a friend of our minds— and spirits, and souls — and this documentary playing at BAM through the 22nd celebrates her many gifts.
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Make hay while the sun shines — or (and with a nod to one client who I know can actually bale hay): just do the things you have to when they're easiest to do! I'm basically sun-powered and feel more optimistic with a hefty dose of Vitamin D, so I find that in addition to being optimal beach time, summer is also my prime season to kickstart projects and handle drudgery without losing heart (sorting receipts for the first half of the year, for instance, or updating the future file I keep ready for the next time I move). If you're like me, checking up on your big picture to-do's with a few months still left to tackle and triumph is a great way to make hay in 2019. Cheering y'all on! |
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