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Let's Learn from Johannesburg
I grew up in one of the most dangerous cities in the world. As a white kid, I was mostly oblivious to these dangers, but I could feel the undertone. When you grow up in a place where everyone is always looking behind their back and waiting...
Coming Home
Tonight is Rosh Hashanah. At sundown, Jews around the world will begin the year 5787. My family has been doing some version of this for generations. In Lithuania. In South Africa. And now in New York. My sisters will celebrate tonight in...
Not Convenient
I remember watching Davis Guggenheim and Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” more than 20 years ago. It reiterated what scientists already knew was coming, and they gave us a warning. The fact that Al Gore was the messenger was...
Dolly
Every social media stream I opened this week was filled with tributes to Dolly Parton. Almost every person I follow, and many that I don’t, had something positive to say about her life and the legacy she left. There wasn’t one negative...
Street Level
Paris is my favorite city in the world to visit. Not because it has the most beautiful architecture in the world. Barcelona and Florence can compete. Not because it has some of the best food you can find in any city. New Orleans and Mexico...
Another Man's Treasure
If you lived in New York in the late ’80s, you’ll remember one of the unique things we shared as a community was “Sunday street shopping.” Not the kind of street shopping where vendors sold artwork, handmade jewelry and custom clothing...
Second (and third and fourth) Chances
The biggest growth moments in my life have come when I put myself in an uncomfortable position. Sometimes they worked out for the best, (like putting in a backpack and getting on a one way flight to America). Sometimes they didn’t. (Like...
Crown Jewels
Some of the most incredible real estate I’ve ever walked through couldn’t be seen from the street. Spaces high above the rafters at the very top of buildings that were built more than a century ago with no elevator access. One of my...
Stay in Your Lane
In 1997, I was new to real estate sales. I somehow managed to find a penthouse buyer who wanted to work with me. So we hit the streets of Tribeca and walked into 166 Duane Street - a new condo conversion. The penthouse was listed for...
Square Pegs
If you asked 100 real estate developers whether they would rather convert an office building into condos or build a new residential building on an empty piece of land, 99 of them would choose the empty site. I don’t have the data to prove...
The Wrong Aisle
I still remember the first time I walked into Tower Records on Broadway and East 4th Street in 1988. Three full floors of CDs and vinyl. Until then, the biggest music collection I’d ever seen was the small record shop on Rocky Street in...
What We Choose to Preserve
Imagine running a business where your costs increase almost 6% every year, but you’re prohibited from raising your prices. It wouldn’t take very long before that business stopped working. Last week, New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board...