15 Central Park West is the building that broke all the records.. Why? It marries Pre World War II grandeur with the conveniences of modernity i.e. high speed wiring. The whole psychology of "layout" has changed in the last 100 years, let alone the technology behind it. The streets of New York City pay homage to history as buildings are born and reborn. Like a scientist examining the rings of a tree for clues to the surrounding environment and climate, one can look at architecture and extrapolate on a generation. The world was forever altered by the invention of the automobile, air conditioning, dry wall, internet, fresh direct etc.. and with it the apartment house.
The great depression is responsible for cutting up many massive apartments and therefore responsible for creating awkward layouts. Another pet peeve of many otherwise Pre-War-loving people is having bathrooms adjacent to kitchens. One has to wonder if that was restricted by technology or the remnants of a larger home. Because older buildings were there first their builders and architects never could have anticipated wedding cake zoning laws and the ever growing thirst for both land and height in New York City. Many older buildings with once open and expansive views are now blocked by newer walls and windows.
The Zeckendorfs were lampooned in the newspapers for a percieved over payment of the last full developable lot on Central Park like William H. Seward before them. It was indeed a pure gamble to build the facade clad entirely in limestone in an era where glass rules the day. The success of 15 Central Park West proves New York is still very much a nostalgic town with a modern edge. 15 Central Park West is unparalleled for its ability to attract denizens across "the pond" in this case Wollman Rink. In traditional New York circles West of Wollman Rink might have otherwise be considered another planet until the Zeckendorfs took their gamble on 62nd Street and (gasp!) Central Park West.
Friday, May 2, 2008
how big is your bag?
What’s the difference between a $1,000/sqft apartment and a $6,000/sqft apartment? Even more so what separates a $3,500/sqft from the $5,000/sqft apartment especially when they are located on the same block?! What about what “separates” the people that buy them? I believe in the secret (http://www.thesecret.tv/) and in abundance. I wanted to create a blog that explores Manhattan’s “high end" or what I like to call the super luxury market. Looking at it from the inside out as much as from the outside in. What and why do people buy when money is not the deciding factor? I am interested in the psychology and philosophy of it all.
This summer will the “big money” be flowing into the Chelsea Highline Area, the Upper West Side’s Columbus Circle, Lofty Tribeca or the more Traditional Upper Eastside?? And what does that mean for the rest of us?
"The Secret" to me means the more you picture something and believe it the more it becomes reality. To ponder on abundance with positive intention is to attract it.
Always as they say be careful what you wish for because it may just come true!
I believe we can all be judged by the way we treat the people we can’t directly benefit from. I believe in real estate like in life it is important to treat everyone well regardless of price point and to be non judgmental.. in the end does it really matter what kind of drapes people chose? Yes and no. In the end we all deserve love and to be loved.
During Passover I was in Florida visiting family. We went on an hour boat tour of the Ft. Lauderdale harbor. Other than the courthouse which was ground zero of the Anna Nicole saga and famous for its pregnant chads there were the $30 Million mansions with $85 Million Yachts parked nearby lining the waterway. From the vantage point of the tour boat the homes looked like they belonged to dolls. Mostly the help stared back at us. I wondered what their job interview process might have been like. House sitting is from what I understand a coveted job in South Florida at $1,000/week. These mansions might only be used by their owners two weeks out of the year competing among a portfolio of impressive homes. The plots alone went for as much as $12 Million vacant. Over the loud speaker the boat’s captain explained this house belongs to a basketball commissioner and this one to the guy who started a national company and another to an owner of franchises and then there were the ones that belong to the Garbage Man and his family. That’s the Garbage Man’s Daughter’s House and the Garbage Man’s cousin lives over there.
You might ask yourself as you browsed through other people’s backyards how did some accumulate such wealth in their lifetime? What opportunities were they given or born with compared to the people who lived in the mere $3,000,000 condos down the street or the $300,000 houses not more then a mile inland. I thought of the Garbage man and “the Secret”. It makes me wonder how big can I dream? How big is your bag?
This summer will the “big money” be flowing into the Chelsea Highline Area, the Upper West Side’s Columbus Circle, Lofty Tribeca or the more Traditional Upper Eastside?? And what does that mean for the rest of us?
"The Secret" to me means the more you picture something and believe it the more it becomes reality. To ponder on abundance with positive intention is to attract it.
Always as they say be careful what you wish for because it may just come true!
I believe we can all be judged by the way we treat the people we can’t directly benefit from. I believe in real estate like in life it is important to treat everyone well regardless of price point and to be non judgmental.. in the end does it really matter what kind of drapes people chose? Yes and no. In the end we all deserve love and to be loved.
During Passover I was in Florida visiting family. We went on an hour boat tour of the Ft. Lauderdale harbor. Other than the courthouse which was ground zero of the Anna Nicole saga and famous for its pregnant chads there were the $30 Million mansions with $85 Million Yachts parked nearby lining the waterway. From the vantage point of the tour boat the homes looked like they belonged to dolls. Mostly the help stared back at us. I wondered what their job interview process might have been like. House sitting is from what I understand a coveted job in South Florida at $1,000/week. These mansions might only be used by their owners two weeks out of the year competing among a portfolio of impressive homes. The plots alone went for as much as $12 Million vacant. Over the loud speaker the boat’s captain explained this house belongs to a basketball commissioner and this one to the guy who started a national company and another to an owner of franchises and then there were the ones that belong to the Garbage Man and his family. That’s the Garbage Man’s Daughter’s House and the Garbage Man’s cousin lives over there.
You might ask yourself as you browsed through other people’s backyards how did some accumulate such wealth in their lifetime? What opportunities were they given or born with compared to the people who lived in the mere $3,000,000 condos down the street or the $300,000 houses not more then a mile inland. I thought of the Garbage man and “the Secret”. It makes me wonder how big can I dream? How big is your bag?
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