A thousand reasons to love Long Island City. Tips: Editor@LICtalk.com
Like a deer in winter, the pickings in the news forest are slim pre-Christmas. So I’m forced to tweak a little to spur interest. Yes, there is a Winter Solstice Parade in LIC this Sunday, December 21 at 3pm. As for its being clothing optional, well… [Read more…] about WINTER SOLSTICE PARADE, CLOTHING OPTIONAL
This weekend I was told by a long term tenant in Avalon South, that they recently received a 25% rent renewal hike. While this was an atypically high boost, a few quick checks with others revealed increases in the range of 6-7% for Avalon tenants, in line with what other landlords, aka Rockstone, on Center Boulevard are doing. Nevertheless, in tandem with building gripes I’ve been hearing about from numerous tenants, it reveals the clumsy, formulaic decision-making of a national landlord. If Avalon Bay is holding back on capital expenditures at a time when rents nationwide are at their peak, I can only imagine what will happen to these buildings when a downturn occurs.
Since Avalon owns only two buildings in LIC, what might be of greater significance to all renters on the waterfront, is the resumption of not insignificant rate hikes for exactly the reason we predicted in our 2014 Real Estate of the Union back in May: [Read more…] about AVALON INFLICTS HUGE RENT HIKE ON TENANT, MORE TO COME ON CENTER BLVD?
Half a lifetime ago, I backpacked around Europe. There were no smartphones, there was no Yelp or Expedia, nor were there no laptops or internet cafes. There was simply a book, a single book, that every other young person touring the world carried in their luggage and consulted as if it were the bible in order to find the best $6 hotel room in any given city, and the cheapest beer. Back then, never in my wildest dreams [Read more…] about QUEENS IS #1 IN 2015? NO SURPRISE THERE
As we all know, Long Island City is a great place to live. Yet due to its nascency, there are several crucial resources that have yet to emerge. One of these is a locally-based youth sports program for kids over five years old. So I have decided to form one. It will have a very modest start this winter with a [Read more…] about LONG ISLAND CITY YOUTH SPORTS LEAGUE AND KIDS BASKETBALL COMING IN JANUARY
A double headline, one surprising, one anything but. The news of Joe Conley’s resignation from Community Board 2 after 23 years, was unexpected and sudden. Under normal circumstances, a reign of that duration usually ends with months of boozy goodbye celebrations at night, replete with cigars and backslapping. Followed by hungover days ferrying around to local public schools and senior citizen centers to pick up newly contrived award plaques. There’s also usually a handpicked and groomed successor. Unless there’s a big scandal, in which case [Read more…] about CONLEY SUDDENLY RESIGNS AND MU RAMEN HAS LONG LINES