Business

Where’s The Plan Jimmy V & Mikey G?*

December 10, 2019 by editor 1 Comment

St. Mary's Church Long Island City — A wing and a prayer

“To destroy is easier than to create, and that is why so many people are ready to demonstrate against what they reject. But what would they say if one asked them what they wanted instead?”
Ivan Klima – Love and Garbage

A little over a year ago I gave my opinion on the Amazon HQ2 deal struck by the Mayor and Governor. My conclusion was that while the two leaders were not very good poker-players and could have offered less, the overall deal as struck was worth taking a chance on.1 I even-handedly acknowledged that not everyone in LIC would be a winner from the deal, and some of the biggest winners would be those already well-entrenched (and well-heeled). Most importantly, the physical presence of Amazon being located in LIC would be transformational for us and the rest of Western Queens. Heretofore a backwater of NYC, hence the cradle of growth.

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No matter what either side says, like any investment you don’t know until later if it will be a good one. [↩]

Ranting, Raving, and Rithmetic in Long Island City

November 8, 2019 by editor 1 Comment

YIKES, it took less than a week for the tables to turn on local WeWork rival Knotel, or at least for the press to start snooping around and poking holes. According to a headline in Crain’s, Knotel is plagued by vacancies. Unfortunately the story is behind a firewall, but what is viewable is this:

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The Grave Dancer of LIC & Rincon Melania

November 4, 2019 by editor 1 Comment

THE vaunted Financial Times profiled Long Island City resident and unicorn founder Amol Sarva last week, checking in to see how he was doing post WeWork debacle. “Quite well tyvm, we’re nothing like WeWork” to sum it up. Followed by some bullet points as to why his company Knotel is not, a short paragraph as to how the idea for the company came about, some personal history and a few not-so-outlandish founder quirks. Oh, and a lot of schadenfreude including his wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Grave Dancer” on it.

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Long Island City Claims Its First Unicorn

August 23, 2019 by editor 4 Comments

No unicorn, but in sync with these silly times

You may have missed the news earlier in the week, as the anointment of tech unicorns is becoming as ubiquitous as …becoming an actual billionaire. Or more likely, you may not have made the LIC connection. Don’t worry, no one else did, and that’s what we’re here for! Over a decade of experience plumbing the depths of Long Island City, archiving it all and then cross-referencing when appropriate. Quite simply no one else can do what we do for LIC.

Oh yes, that unicorn. It’s called Knotel and it was co-founded in 2016 by Amol Sarva, who’s also the CEO and frontman. Knotel is a workspace provider similar in nature to WeWork, and this week it was announced the company received an additional $400 million in financing at a valuation well over a billion dollars1, the hurdle for unicorn status.

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more specifically, the company received $400 mil in cash in return for a stake of between 15% and 30%. So for example if it were a 30% stake the other 70% would be worth $933 million putting the total 100% (70% + 30% or $933 mil + 400 mil) at $1.33 billion; if it were $400 mil for a 15% stake then $2.66 bil!?!?! [↩]

Summer’s End LIC Musings on Chinese Restaurants & Starbucks

August 14, 2019 by editor 4 Comments

Intensify the work of propagation - Iglesia De Cristo Long Island City — Some friendly advice from your neighbor

Serpentine Shelly, Serpentine!

THERE you are, you and your family have diligently saved and slaved for many years to start your own restaurant instead of working 12/6 in someone else’s. You choose a location based on the apparent need and lack of existing establishments, sign an expensive lease and begin a costly and torturous build-out, only to find halfway through the process that someone else had the exact same idea three blocks away. Whether it’s Hunan or Szechuan, by the time it gets distilled for American tastes it’s practically the same.

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