Book Description
This is a gossipy account of the billionaires, movie stars, and corporate giants and the white-gloved, million dollar penthouse apartment buildings they inhabit. Included are the details of the resident selection process, with heartbreaking social, racial, and political stories of prejudice and privilege, where the majority of applicants are blackballed from certain buildings. This book can serve as a blueprint for how to handle the application process, supplying advice on who to ask for letters of recommendation, what to wear to the co-op interview, how much to reveal to the board, and much more.
Customer Reviews:
High Rise Low Down.......2007-07-16
This book was fantastic. I couldn't put it down. For someone like myself who is obsessed with all things New York, this gave an unprecedented look at what goes on behind the walls of NY's most coveted buildings. A definite must read.
High Rise Low Down.......2007-06-27
If you are a New Yorker like I am and enjoy history of New York buildings, this book is for you. It will be one I read over and over and even imspired me to go around to all the buildings and take my own pictures of them. I LOVE NEW YORK and especially the buildings. I thank the ladies who wrote this book as they did a very good job. I have always been in love with New York buildings. You will enjoy it too if you are so inclined.
Well worth the cost!.......2007-05-07
This book is a great and easy read. I enjoyed shuffling the chapters so that I could read about the most famous/notorious buildings first. The best thing is that each chapter "tackles" a different building. In addition, each chapter reads like a Movie of the Week - stranger than fiction. The stuff is so bizarre that it could not be made up. The wealth of information shows that the authoress really did her homework.
high rise low down.......2007-03-21
Great read if the outrageously rich, shallow and pompous icons (of thier own minds) facinate you. I couldn't put it down!
Book Description
NULL
Customer Reviews:
A "Must Read" for anyone interested in NYS real estate sales.......2007-09-13
Packed with the latest information and extremely well written, this book shall have a permanent place on my desktop along with my other most important reference books. The two-color text does highlight much of the most important information. I personally found, however, that additional highlighting and underlining of other paragraph parts was necessary in order to make concepts much clearer and easier to distinguish (especially during later review). I purchased and read this book in advance of taking a 10-day accelerated Salespersons' course. I now feel confident that I can participate in the upcoming classroom sessions without the worry of having to keep up with the required nightly reading.
very helpful.......2007-01-10
I purchased this book for an intro to Real Estate class I was taking. This book was very informative and upon reading I discovered alot about real estate laws regarding renting and buying that I had no idea about. This book also refers to very helpful websites that the general public has no knowledge about. I definitely can say that because of this book noone will be taking advantage of me! I know my rights now!
Book Description
David Leavitt's extraordinary first novel, now reissued in paperback, is a seminal work about family, sexual identity, home, and loss.
Set in the 1980s against the backdrop of a swiftly gentrifying Manhattan, The Lost Language of Cranes tells the story of twenty-five-year-old Philip, who realizes he must come out to his parents after falling in love for the first time with a man. Philip's parents are facing their own crisis: pressure from developers and the loss of their longtime home. But the real threat to this family is Philip's father's own struggle with his latent homosexuality, realized only in his Sunday afternoon visits to gay porn theaters. Philip's admission to his parents and his father's hidden life provoke changes that forever alter the landscape of their worlds.
Customer Reviews:
Coming Out Too Short.......2005-12-07
Fair warning: I'm going to reference the end, or rather lack of ending in this review.
Leavitt is noted for his short stories, so it isn't much of a surprise that "The Lost Language of Cranes" is a short story padded into a novel that in sort of an ironic twist winds up being too short, ending before any of the issues put forth are resolved.
The gist of the story is that Owen and Rose have been married for 27 years, but now they're facing a crisis. Their Manhattan apartment is going co-op forcing them to either buy or move, a predicament I think few outside of New York City really understand. At the same time, Owen has been disappearing for long stretches of some days, especially Sundays. We soon learn he's going to certain X-rated theaters for a little homosexual hanky-panky. Owen is homosexual--always has been--but is trying to keep it from Rose and his son Philip. Although it turns out Philip is also gay, but has been keeping it from Mom and Dad. He gets involved in a serious relationship with Eliot, adopted son of a writer Philip admired. Before long, Philip is "coming out" to his parents, which inadvertantly causes Owen to come out. Mayhem ensues.
When I mentioned this book is padded, in particular is the sidebar story of Eliot's roommate Jerene. She came out to her adopted parents years ago and they soon disowned her. Since then she's been working on a never-ending dissertation until she decides to say the heck with it and work first as a bouncer at a lesbian club and then as a counselor on a gay helpline, which Owen later calls. While her life may serve as comparison or contrast to Philip and Owen, it doesn't contribute a whole lot to the story of Philip, Owen, and Rose.
Most of the writing is good, but some of the dialogue is clumsy. My belief is if anyone in a book or movie says, "I feel..." without being in the presence of a therapist, it's a red flag for poor dialogue. It's not natural for people to say, "I feel like..." in my experience. At other times the characters spouted dialogue that seemed too melodramatic. But with a first novel you can't expect absolute perfection.
Now what really annoyed me about the book is the lack of a decent ending. The book ends with Philip and Owen being outed, but everything is up in the air. We don't know what's going to happen between Owen and Rose; will they stay together? Eliot breaks up with Philip, who soon is spending a lot of time with his friend Brad; are they going to become serious? Not even the issue of the apartment, mentioned so prominently throughout the book is resolved. What good is an ending that doesn't end anything? It feels arbitrary to me. Maybe with a little less padding there would have been more space to focus on more important issues.
Except for some insights into the gay nightlife scene of 1980s New York City, I didn't think this book told me a lot I didn't already know. Mostly I thought it was a bland novel, but a worthy first effort.
Remarkable Novel.......2004-05-12
I read this book for a class, and enjoyed it much more than I ever expected, especially in retrospect. I think it takes a little time to really get into, especially because Leavitt jumps back and forth between the three main characters and storylines, but once you get into the rhythm of the story, you are drawn in. Leavitt does a great character study of Owen, Rose, and Philip, and by the end of the novel, I felt like I knew them. Leavitt has an accessible wrting style, but the book itself is very literary and complex. For a first novel, especially, I think it's exceptional.
The Rich Language of Cranes.......2002-10-12
Author David Leavit writes a brillant novel that I had a hard time putting down. While Phillip is confronting his changing relationship with his lover, Elliot, his father Owen is finally, confronting his homosexuality. Highly recommended. Each character is richly developed and textured, they feel like real people that you know. While the film is good, it uses London as a backdrop rather than the book's all-to-real-modern-urban life set in New York and in the transistion looses something.
One word "amazing".......2002-06-27
Read this book while its still available! Its language is so simple yet it touches you with a ferocity thats unthinkable!
I could relate to every charecter and that was the most freaky part!
The charecters in this book are rich and full of life. The plot is very engaging and what more can one say about a book thats so beautiful it makes you weep with joy!
Bravo Leavitt and the rest of you read it!
Good first novel.......2002-06-03
While not as good as his short stories, and awkward and somewhat amateurish in a few places, this is a good, strong first novel. Ideally I would give this one a 3.5, but since that's not an option, I'll err on the side of generosity. This novel explores coming out, family dynamics, and the selfish yuppie attitudes of the 80s.
Book Description
Long Island's Gold Coast, more than any other section of the country, has captured the imagination of America. This, in part, is attributable to F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." The Spinzias' two-volume comprehensive analysis of the North Shore families documents over 1,500 estate owners in a modified "Who's Who" format. Included are 578 photographs of the estates, biographical data on the estate owners and their families, locations of estates using current street references and village designations, estate names, acreage, architects, architectural styles, dates of construction, landscape architects, subsequent owners, location of archival photographs of the estates, and information as to whether mansions are still extant and, if not, the dates of demolition. Cross-referenced in the second-section appendices are estate names, village locations of estates, as well as architectural and landscape commissions. The civic activity and occupation appendices document the contribution of Long Islanders, including statesmen, intelligence agents, financiers, writers and inventors. Maiden names, rehabilitive secondary uses of estates including golf courses which were formerly private estates, motion pictures filmed at estate sites, a general bibliography of the "Gilded Age," and a bibliography specific to individual estate owners, with the location of personal papers, have also been included.
Customer Reviews:
A great academic resource ..........2007-08-16
Volume I and II are perhaps the most in-depth resources covering the North Shore gilded age architectural treasures lost and the shells of what remain. The very sharp authors know their subjects exceedingly well and have done exhaustive research.
That said I strongly caution those folks who are looking for a glossy coffee table, photographic rich, book to drink in the opulence and history to keep looking. This is not the book for them.
The utilitarian printing of each volume (over 1,100 pages between the two books) is more akin to a soft cover academic text book. Photographs are limited, black and white, and have a look as if they were reproduced on a Xerox machine. Granted many homes are lost and whatever images that may exist are rare. Still however, for example, F. Ambrose Clark's 'Broad Hollow' has appeared in several other books in all its glory. Yet in these books that same estate complex doesn't fair so well.
If you own or look at the book, "Long Island Country Houses and Their Architects, 1860 - 1940", you'll find better photos and a more polished final presentation. However for more accuracy, a greater depth in the text, and uniformity in the presentation then these two Volumes are superior.
THE GOLD COAST.......2007-04-23
The North Shore of Long Island was the ultimate playground for the jet set ultra rich..from Pratt to Phipps to Woolworth to Vanderbilt and on and on, they just kept building spectacular mansion after spectacular mansion for decades, this book does a fantastic job of covering these families and their amazing estates, the text is insightful and the images are abundent and vivid. It's so sad that so many of these mansions were torn assunder for hideous tract homes, but the ones that survive are resplendant reminders, that once for a golden moment, man created heaven on earth.
Book Description
The popular guide to New York co-ops and condos returns in a fully updated and revised edition! This user-friendly guide should be required reading for anyone who is curious about entering the fray of the co-op and condo market in New York. With over twenty-five percent new mater-ial, this revised edition answers all the questions that many apart-ment dwellers have but are afraid to ask their board, broker, lawyer, and accountant, such as: -Is this building right for you? -How can you make the approval process go as smoothly as possible? -What should you do if the board rejects you? -Can you keep your dog? -And much more.
Customer Reviews:
Great way to get started on your co-op hunt.......2007-04-16
This book has a lot of great details on how to think about buying (and living in) a co-op in New York City. 2 caveats come to mind:
1) Book is much more suited for you if you're buying in Manhattan. Many of the co-ops in Brooklyn I researched didn't quite match what I expected based on this book.
2) Though condos are mentioned in the title, the book is really more about co-ops... look elsewhere for details on buying a condo.
It's $13 that you NEED to spend, if you want to buy, bought or are selling an apartment in NY........2005-12-29
Pros of co-op ownership:
You can actually afford to own something.
You can have a tax write off like normal people.
Cons of co-op ownership:
Everything else.
Enter The New York Co-op Bible. I had it, read it, lost it am now purchasing a second copy after looking high and low for the first one I bought. That should tell you something.
I own a co-op in Metro New York. My managing agent is a jerk, to put it mildly. He blames the board, the board blames him - It's this game they play and it successfully achieves getting nothing done. The super does nothing unless you hold a $20 bill in your hand when you ask. My maintenance is very high for my area. I estimate that it is about 30% higher than comparable properties near me.
This unit has a ground floor patio. I have access to about 30 feet of flower bedding (sans flowers) that lines the front of my unit. This is the primary reason that I bought this place 6 years ago. I am all alone here, from the rural South and I wanted a place to call my own and I needed greenery. And I was really eyeing up those beds and my neighbor's "yard" work which was just beautiful - and still is.
I can't plant anything because of excessive drainage - all the dirt washes into the sidewalk. I have been asking for the split gutter to be repaired (all 30 feet of it) for 6 years.
So - I bought this book. Now - this is the most important thing I learned . . .all this strife between me, the board and the management agent falls under Landlord-Tenant law. This made me feel immensely better. Landlord-Tenant law in the state of New York is normally something the courts don't play around with. Maybe I will have one stinking petunia this year.
The book gets 5 stars because it is very good, COMPREHENSIVE and it is the only single source of this much information on this subject that is available. This woman has really performed a public service by writing this book. Everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE who is considering the purchase of an apartment, has already purchased or is trying to sell needs to read this book. You need to know what the author is trying to convey to maintain your financial health and your mental health and possibly avoid a life sentence. :-)
It can be very diappointing, very stressful and you could find yourself feeling helpless and at the mercy of someone else. To get away from that is why you want to buy in the first place. As in everything else in life, average people who have been given authority like to excercise that authority, even if it does make the owner/tenants feel like crap. And then you might get lucky and get a managing agent like mine who is sadistic and has actually brought several of our elderly residents to tears. Nice guy.
By the way, no seller is legally obligated to tell you that the board are boobs and that the managing agent is a cretin. Do your homework, do your homework, do your homework.
So read Ms. Shapiro's book and BELIEVE what she is saying because it is the truth.
To be forwarned is to be forearmed. And being a shareholder of a coop can be war.
Good luck.
PS - If you need more immediate help, please call your local office of the Attorney General of New York. They publish and will provide additional information regarding your rights under New York State law.
Book Description
Accurate and well-researched, New York Real Estate for Brokers matches the content and chronology of the New York State required syllabus for preparing for the New York Real Estate Broker's License. Focused exclusively on broker required information, it follows the NYS syllabus-including order of presentation, learning objectives, key terms, and outline of material. A host of interactive learning experiences not only helps students learn, review, and retain required information, but also practice applying the concepts and taking the actual licensing exam.
Book Description
“Fascinating history, showing how the city has been molded by the edifice complexes of risk-takers. The stuff of grand comedy.”
—Business Week
Customer Reviews:
A book about doers, that made it happen. .......2005-05-25
Skyscraper Dreams
The book Skyscraper Dreams; The Great Real Estate Dynasties of New York by Tom Shachtman covers the dreams and despair of the visionary real estate moguls that built and traded the skyscrapers of New York like Monopoly properties in the board game.
The book visits most big name real estate operators starting with the nineteenth century's John Jacob Astor and the Roosevelts, Beekmans and Rockefellers to the Tishmans, Rudins and Roses who came to this country penniless. Then it moves into the flamboyant developer "Big Bill" Zeckendorph, who they say was the model for Donald Trump. Then there is the master of the real estate universe Harry Helmsley and the Kennedys, Tisches, LeFreks and many others dynasties that made and sometimes lost fortunes in the violent cycles of the New York real estate market.
The concept that hit me the hardest and stayed with me was how Harry Helmsley danced through the decades while building an empire, counting on inflation to make his fortune. He would scoop up properties in tough recessionary markets and count on a turn around that he knew would inevitably come to lift prices and build fortunes. While many of the empire builders in this group stretched and overextended by taking on more projects than could be carried during a slowdown, Harry was slow and steady, over the course of several decades, constantly accumulating income producing properties and running a tight ship, always chipping away at expenses. Many of the names above ran into financial squeezes, even bankruptcy during a real estate slump, often to reinvent themselves, and make remarkable comebacks.
The book gives you a refreshing insight into not only the actions of many real estate icons but the thoughts behind those actions. Sometimes cut thought competitiveness played in pushing architectural limits to add another 100 feet on a building so it's taller than a competitor; other times great compassion played in setting the tone for modern day philanthropy.
It's always a boost to read about an immigrant who came to America on borrowed boat fare and rose through this countries capitalistic society to own some of New Yorks most prized possessions.
I loved the book, it's about doers, people that made it happen!
By Kevin Kingston author of, "A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate"
(...)
Schachtman explains how the Dow Jones bubble will burst........1999-04-20
Never buy a building. That's the rule which allowed penniless refugee families to create the New York skyline over two centuries. People with more money than sense should read Schactman's excellent history of making and keeping family wealth. The obvious message is that land currently not in its "highest and best use" is the fundamental investment vehicle. REIT's are vivid proof that the Wall Street mentality does not comprehend the difference between real and financial assets. We will see a switch from absurd PE's to neglected urban locations . Re-print this important book!
Book Description
Long Island's Gold Coast, more than any other section of the country, has captured the imagination of America. This, in part, is attributable to F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." The Spinzias' two-volume comprehensive analysis of the North Shore families documents over 1,500 estate owners in a modified "Who's Who" format. Included are 578 photographs of the estates, biographical data on the estate owners and their families, locations of estates using current street references and village designations, estate names, acreage, architects, architectural styles, dates of construction, landscape architects, subsequent owners, location of archival photographs of the estates, and information as to whether mansions are still extant and, if not, the dates of demolition. Cross-referenced in the second-section appendices are estate names, village locations of estates, as well as architectural and landscape commissions. The civic activity and occupation appendices document the contribution of Long Islanders, including statesmen, intelligence agents, financiers, writers and inventors. Maiden names, rehabilitive secondary uses of estates including golf courses which were formerly private estates, motion pictures filmed at estate sites, a general bibliography of the "Gilded Age," and a bibliography specific to individual estate owners, with the location of personal papers, have also been included.
Average customer rating:
- Review of Privately Owned Public Space
|
Privately Owned Public Space : The New York City Experience
Jerold S. Kayden ,
The New York City Department of City Planning , and
The Municipal Art Society of New York
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ASIN: 0471362573 |
Book Description
Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as a "juicy little time bomb of a book", Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience examines for the first time, New York City's 39-year mixed experience with the production of more than 500 plazas, parks, and atriums located on private property yet by law accessible to and usable by the public.
Until now, comprehensive, systematic knowledge about this vast collection of public spaces has not existed, either for experts or members of the public. To remedy this gap, Harvard University professor Jerold S. Kayden, The New York City Department of City Planning, and The Municipal Art Society of New York have joined forces to research and write Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience. Through words, photographs, scaled site plans, maps, and analysis of newly assembled data, they examine history, law, design, and use of the city's privately owned public spaces. Each of the more than 500 spaces is individually discussed to provide far-reaching comparative information about this unique category of public space.
In reading this book, designers, planners, lawyers, and academics will gain greater understanding about the possibilities and problems inherent in the design, management, and enforcement of privately owned public space. Public officials, private owners, and civic group representatives will learn more about their roles in ensuring public access and vitality of such spaces. Individuals will discover where New York City's public spaces are located and what amenities they offer. Everyone will comprehend more completely the contribution that privately owned public space can make toward open and attractive cities in which all individuals have access to a diversity of public places.
Customer Reviews:
Review of Privately Owned Public Space.......2000-12-25
This book is divided into two parts. Part One (about 20% of the book) describes the history, law, and expeirence with publicly owned private spaces. Part Two describes and evaluates each of New York's 503 spaces.
You might think that a discussion of the law and history of publicly owned private spaces might appeal only to city planners, developers and lawyers. You would be wrong. It would be hard to find a more lucid and balanced discussion of what happens when politicians attempt to direct the course of urban development. Anyone interested in public policy will find this discussion illuminating.
The descriptions of the spaces in Part Two combine a critical examination of the architecture and design with a practical discussion of how well these spaces work or, in many cases, don't work. Anyone who lives in or visits New York City could spend a fascinating day visiting these spaces with this book in hand.
Book Description
The New York Real Estate Sales Exam is about more than just becoming licensed for a career in New York real estate - high scores on this exam are essential to a lasting, productive career. This book provides both the resources necessary to pass the exam and strategies for success as a real estate agent.
Books:
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- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- Home Inspection Business from A to Z: Real Estate Home Inspector, Homeowner, Home Buyer and Seller Survival Kit Series (Real Estate from a to Z)
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- Houses of the Berkshires, 1870-1930 (The Architecture of Leisure)
- How to Buy a House in California
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