In Remembrance

I spent the morning today in Central Park thinking about 9/11. This morning's weather reminded me very much of the weather of that day. Vibrant and clear with a crispness in the air signaling the end of summer and the beginning of fall; a perfect September day. Far off in the background I could hear the melancholy tones of bag pipers playing a tribute to those who died. Their somber tones were a sad complement to the feeling of lost that I was experiencing. I felt an overwhelming sense of loss that day. I love my city, New York, very much and felt her pain that day as if I was the one who had suffered a painful and serious injury. Even though I was not close to anybody who died in the attack, I continued to experience a profound sense of loss for weeks, if not months, after the attack. There were constant reminders. Foremost, was the profound change in the city skyline. No longer was downtown dominated by the icon of the Twin Towers. Where once they proudly stood, there was nothing but a gaping hole, the skyline, once a beautiful smile, now permanently marred by the loss of its two front teeth. Then there were the missing person posters with the question "Have you seen this person" written over a photograph of a person missing in the attacks. These posters appeared all over the city, on lampposts, mailboxes and temporary kiosks erected for that purpose. And the photographs on them, typically of a person smiling at the camera often with a child or pet in their arms, gave a very human face to the tragedy we experienced. The victims were not just numbers but were real people that stared out at us from these posters imploring us to find and return them to their families. The hope, but really the despair, expressed in these posters was palpable, and I couldn't but help but think of the families who posted these signs and the all-consuming and always present anguish they were experiencing of not knowing whether a person they loved had perished that day. There were other images that I'll never forget as well. The men and women emerging ghoul like from the mist of the fallen Towers their clothes, hair and faces covered with a fine dusting of soot most with rivulets of blood spreading down their faces like slow trickles of water, not running, but walking heads down in anguished defeat. And then there was the smell. Acrid and vulgar, the smell of loss and destruction. It lingered over the city for many months, an ever present and inescapable reminder of the events of that day.

The city became very quiet the weeks following 9/11. Horns did not honk, once boisterous and loud voices were now replaced with muted and hushed whispers. Bus rides, typically a cacophony of conversations and cell phone calls, became eerily quiet. It was clear; we were a city in morning. Morning the people who worked in the Towers and died in the attack, morning the brave policeman, fireman and other first responders who selflessly sacrificed their lives to help others, morning all those who lost somebody they loved, and morning our lost as a country of our sense of safety and security. Our lives had been forever changed that day.

Our spirit had been tested that day by a horrible evil but through our courage and sheer will our city and country came together as a community and demonstrated to our friends and enemies alike our resolve to emerge from this tragedy better, stronger and wiser. Yet despite this, it is only appropriate that we set aside some time today to reflect on the events of September 11, 2001 and to offer our condolences to all those who suffered a loss on that day.

Articles 01.04.11

Distressed Debt Trap -- Buyer Beware

In the event of the purchase of a mortgage at a discount, the buyer will recognize capital gain if they acquire title to the property by biddingon the full face value of the mortgage at the foreclosure auction. In such an event the amount of the gain will be the difference between the fair market value of the property less the amount the purchaser paid for the mortgage. The reason for this is that the winning bid at the auction will be deemed to be the fair market value of the property. For example: if an investor purchases a $5 million mortgage for $3 million and then wins the property at the foreclosure auction based upon a $5 million bid, the investor will have realized a taxable gain of $2 million.

How to avoid this pitfall: first, do not go to an auction but try to work out a settlement with the fee owner and any junior lien holders that does not require a foreclosure auction. Second, obtain an appraisal of the property that establishes its fair market value as price paid for the note.

Useful New York City Facts

The next time you're walking down the street and are stuck behind three rotund slow moving tourists from Indiana keep the following facts in mind:

in 2009 there were over 45 million visitors in New York City and that they contributed over $28.2 billion to our economy. As far as I'm concerned, let them continue clogging our streets as long as they continue spending their money here.

Read all these facts here.

Other interesting facts:

• Eating establishments: 18,951
• New restaurants in 2010: 157
• Average cost of a dinner in 2010: $41.81
• NYC is #1 US tourist destination for 1st time since 1990. NYC experienced a drop in tourism last year, but Las Vegas and Orlando were hit harder, allowing NYC to rise to the top.

Historic New York

for those of you who enjoy looking at pictures of historic New York the Museum of the City of New York has launched a portal into their collection of over 50,000 photographs of New York City from such notable photographers as Berenice Abbott, Samuel H. Gottscho, and Jacob A. Riis to name just a few. Check it out here.

My Cousin Vinny

I like to take naps. Every afternoon in my office. For about 20 minutes. I have a couch, small neck pillow, eye pillow and a white noise machine.

What you see here is the dial that allows me to select various modes on the white noise machine. Most of these modes, such as ocean, waterfall, and rain, are pretty standard on most white noise machines. This particular machine is unique, however, in its inclusion of my favorite mode-the "city" mode. This mode broadcasts the soothing sounds of city traffic, the steady hum of car engines, the melodic honking of horns and the three-part harmony of ambulance, fire truck and police car sirens.

I have to believe that whoever designed this white noise machine had to have been a fan of the movie "My Cousin Vinny" where the main character, played by Joe Pesci, had traveled from Brooklyn neighborhood to a quaint Southern town only to find that he could only get a good night sleep in the excruciatingly noisy local penitentiary.

You' re Ugly!

See if you can describe the mistakes in these two pictures of a recently completed luxury condominium on the southeast corner of 87th and Park Avenue. Give up?

First, this has to be one of the ugliest buildings ever built on Park Avenue. It is a glass wrapped middle finger to the entire neighborhood. It has absolutely no relationship to the building adjacent to it or to any of the other buildings along Park Avenue. Perhaps this could be forgiven if the architecture was truly remarkable or innovative but it's not.

It's no wonder that not a single unit in this development has been sold over the past year. Unfortunately for those of us who must live with this eyesore we can't just simply erase this building from the landscape but must live with it for the rest of our lives. Trevor Davis, the developer, should be ashamed of himself.

Second, as you can see in the lower left-hand corner of the window this building qualified for a 421-a tax abatement. So not only is this building ugly, it was constructed with a tax subsidy from the city. It's hard to imagine the necessity of granting a tax abatement for the construction of a building in one of the richest neighborhoods in the city. So, adding insult to injury, not only is this building incredibly ugly, we, as New York City taxpayers, subsidized its construction.

When Old becomes New

These are pictures of the newly constructed Ralph Lauren building on the southwest corner of 72nd St. and Madison Avenue.

Never has classical architecture looked so fresh and new. In a city that has grown accustomed to modern and contemporary architecture designed by such superstars as Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel and others it is refreshing to see a return to classicism that has been so beautifully executed.

Mortgage Recording Tax Savings

Did you know that any taxpayer who has paid mortgage recording tax is entitled to a one quarter of a point refund of the amount paid? On a $5 million loan, this would be a $12,500 refund. Definitely not chump change. The proper way to obtain the refund is by claiming a credit on your tax return (I assume it is claimed on the New York state tax return) that is filed for that year. If this is something that you failed to do for any mortgages you refinanced or obtained over the past several years, you are not completely out of luck. There's a three-year statute of limitations on obtaining a refund. However, for any past tax years you would then need to file an amended return. Depending upon the amounts involved, this is something you may consider taking advantage of.

Graffiti Removal Program:

A new law recently went into effect (Local Law 65-2009) that fast tracks removing graffiti on buildings in New York City, and makes it easier for business owners and residents to get it removed at no cost.

How the graffiti-free process works: the new law went into effect on April 7, 2010, and the Administration has been focused on smoothing out technical issues that might arise as the 35-day notices are sent in to city government. The highlights of the law are:

• If you’re the owner or authorized representative of a property, you can request free removal of graffiti on your building by filling out a Forever Graffiti Free form here. (Forms are also written in Spanish and Chinese).
• If you see graffiti on someone else’s property, call 311 to report it.
• If graffiti is observed on your building and you do not already have a Forever Graffiti Free form or waiver in the City’s system, you’ll receive a “Notice of Intent to Clean” from the Department of Sanitation.

This notice will explain that you have three options:

• You can inform the City that you want to clean the graffiti yourself. Call 311.
• You can inform the City that you consent to the markings identified as graffiti on your building, for whatever reason. Call 311.
• If you don’t take either of those two steps, the City will route your property for cleaning after 35 days.

A few things to note:

• The City of New York will send the “Notice of Intent to Clean” to all addresses on file for the property, checking all City databases (DOF, HPD).
• Property owners or representatives can request a 15-day extension, if they need more time to make up their minds.
• If you already have a waiver or Forever Graffiti Free form on file, you don’t need to fill another one out as long as you own the property.

Here are more detailed FAQs.