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MAYER MALBIN IS LEAVING LIC, 4000 MORE APARTMENTS COMING?

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Roll away, the dew
Used to be I could drive up to
Barstow for the night
Find some crossroad trucker
To demonstrate his might
But these days it seems
Nowhere is far enough away
So I’m leaving Las Vegas today

MAYER Malbin, “New York’s Premier Supplier of Pipes, Valves & Fittings,” is leaving their home in Long Island City after nearly a century.  The company just purchased a 41,000 sq ft building and land in Woodside for their office and distribution center, a deal brokered by Brian Jaffe at Jaffe Realty LLC.  The price they paid was $22.75 million, which to neophytes including myself might seem a meaningless number, until contrasted with what the seller paid for the building only last year: $9 million.

Yikes, that’s a walloping premium, what could the 4th generation descendants of poor Mayer who currently run the business be thinking (or smoking)? [Read more…] about MAYER MALBIN IS LEAVING LIC, 4000 MORE APARTMENTS COMING?

HQ2 YEA/NAY, KATZ TO JVB TO O’LEARY, CHANGE A KUMON’, 80%?

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57 and 33 story towers coming here

The only thing that is constant is change – Heraclitus circa 500 BC

POLLS can be funny, so I try not to read too much into them.  Let’s take one released this week showing 60% of Queens residents favor Amazon coming here.  Maybe. More likely 60% are neutral or “Don’t Know” where they stand on HQ2 in LIC.  If the deal really is even-handed that’s where the majority should sit under the bell-curve of a standard distribution.  But that doesn’t make headlines.

Well thought out analysis can also be buried in favor of sensationalism.  The most eloquent opinion piece I have read in the morass that has been written about HQ2 in the last month, was scripted by Seth Bornstein who heads the Queens Economic Development Corp. which despite its industrialist-like moniker is largely dedicated to helping out people from modest backgrounds. Having read his monthly letters for years, I can tell you that Seth knows Queens.  He also knows the history of New York City, which in a nutshell is that it’s always changing, and usually at a faster pace than the rest of the world.  [Read more…] about HQ2 YEA/NAY, KATZ TO JVB TO O’LEARY, CHANGE A KUMON’, 80%?

YOTEL OPENING SECOND NYC LOCATION IN LIC

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Little old Dutch Kills is getting a Yotel

Everybody go: Hotel, motel, Holiday Inn
You see, if your girl starts acting up, then you take her friend

I loved yodels as a kid, which is what I think of whenever I hear about the hotel chain Yotel.  Or maybe yogurt, or motels, but it’s definitely not mohels.  Or maybe the cool robotic arm they call a concierge that’s visible from the street at its 10th Avenue location.  Hal would be proud.  Or maybe I ask myself ‘Can you shoehorn a family of four into their standard mini-room?’  Anyway yesterday the company announced they’ll be opening their second NYC hotel in LIC.  No location was given but a little snooping indicates it might be [Read more…] about YOTEL OPENING SECOND NYC LOCATION IN LIC

CONDO CRAZY IN LONG ISLAND CITY?

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Not too many condos along the waterfront

YOU’VE undoubtedly heard that condos in LIC are selling like hot cakes and Open Houses are jammed post-Amazon.  There’s probably some hyperbole in there – that’s the news business (and real estate brokers) – and it’s important to remember any mention of tripling and quadrupling is off a very low base.  Yet for all the obvious reasons purchasing property in Long Island City has become the topic du jour month in NYC and worldwide.

Which is why I was attracted to a building in Astoria, which is located almost as far away from Long Island City as one can be in that adjacent neighborhood.  The listing that caught my attention is [Read more…] about CONDO CRAZY IN LONG ISLAND CITY?