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Harlem Tavern Owners Eye New Washington Heights Location
Congrats Amanda!!—-
April 11, 2013 7:15am | By Nigel Chiwaya, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The owners of the the popular Harlem Tavern are taking their beer selection farther uptown, opening a second location on West 164th Street in Washington Heights.
The new venture, the Heights Tavern, will feature outdoor seating for 80 people with 20 beers on tap when it opens in June at 3910 Broadway.
Harlem Tavern was opened in 2011 by Harlem residents Sherri Wilson-Daly, Steve Daly and Gareth Fagan. The space, which was converted from a rusted gas station, has turned into a community hot spot that features work from local artists and musicians.
“We’re proud of what we’ve been able to do in Harlem,” said manager Amanda Rensch, “and we feel like Washington Heights is a community that is similar.”
While the Heights Tavern won’t be a beer garden like the Harlem location, the atmosphere will be similar. In fact, the Heights Tavern will serve the same menu.
“We’re really devoted to maintaining the tavern theme and genre and food style,” Rensch said.
Rensch added that the Heights Tavern hopes to integrate into the community by hiring Washington Heights residents as well as partnering with community groups and supporting local artists.
The Heights Tavern, which is taking over space from a shuttered Chase Bank location, will also have two private party rooms, which Rensch said will be available for community use.
“We want it to be a location where people can have a meeting or host a fundraiser,” Rensch said.
Also on DNAinfo.com…
Is the Real Estate market in Manhattan as good as everyone says it is?
So I’m sure you hear about it in the news, through friends, on Facebook and Twitter… people everywhere are talking about “The Market” here in Manhattan and all the talk seems to be pointing in the right direction. Well, is it as good as everyone says it is? That answer depends on who you are and what role you play in the game.
Let’s first start with the Buyers. Not since before the bust of the mortgage industry back in 2007/2008 have we seen lending and credit this available and attainable. For the past few years it has been almost impossible to get financing, especially for the first time home buyers. Now, interest rates are at historic lows and more importantly, faith has been restored in buying a home. With all that being said, there are more people looking to purchase now than there are homes for them to buy. This causes in many cases bidding wars and prices to increase. My advice to you first time home buyers… if you see something you like PUT IN AN OFFER! Why wait until someone else is competing with you? Remember, you lose nothing until you go to contract! Ryan’s Rating for the market - 7/10
This brings us to the Sellers. Let’s Recap…
- There are more buyers than inventory
- Interest rates are low and lending is attainable
- Faith is restored in buying a home
- Bidding wars are back
This all leads to one thing… a strong Seller’s Market. Now is the best time to put your home on the market. A close friend once told me that Real Estate is like the stock market. Someone will give you a tip, tell you to invest and reluctantly you wait. You wait until you hear about it in the news, but by then its too late. All the smart investors made their money and you are stuck with a stock that makes marginal returns. Why make a marginal return on one of the biggest financial investments you have made in your life? This is your money and you need to be smart with it, you need to take advantage of the market when it’s hot. Ryan’s Rating for the market - 9/10
So when you look at the big picture of the Real Estate market in Manhattan, overall I would say Yes, it is as good as everyone is saying it is, as long as you take advantage of it before everyone else does.
Ask an Expert: Do we have to tell buyers that we had bed bugs?
Taken from BrickUnderground…
by Teri Karush Rogers | 10/23/12 – 2:08 PM
Q. My husband and I have had bed bugs this past year in our NYC co-op, and he may be transferred to Chicago for his job. We are interested in selling our co-op, but are concerned that bed bug disclosure will be a deal breaker.
We reported our issue to our management company, and extermination was done and we’ve been given a “green light” that we’re bed bug free. I’ve also hired a bed bug dog to ensure that we truly have eradicated the problem, which we have. We believe them to be dealing with it responsibly. However, since we are moving to Chicago, we would like to place our home on the market.
We’ve done significant remodeling, and we would hate if the bed bugs reduce the value of our home, and we can’t afford to maintain two homes. What would you suggest we do? Is bed bug disclosure relevant to co-ops?
A. Whether you tell them or not, your buyers will find out, say our experts.
Under a state law that was intended to apply only to landlords but interpreted to apply more broadly to co-ops,any bed bug infestation in your building that occurred within the past year must be disclosed, says co-op and condo attorney Dean Roberts of Norris McLaughlin & Marcus.
Technically, the law requires your co-op, not you, to make the disclosure, says real estate broker and attorney Mike Akerly of Akerly Real Estate.
Disclosure forms are typically sent to the buyer with the contract of sale, but chances are your buyers will learn about your problem even before then: Many savvy closing attorneys these days require sellers to represent in writing that there have been no infestations for the past two to three years, notes real estate attorney Jeffrey Reich of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz.
Moreover, since you reported the issue to your management company, it will likely turn up in a due diligence review of the board minutes by the buyer’s lawyer and potentially the management questionnaire presented to the managing agent.
Your best course of action is to tell your buyers before they find out for themselves.
“It’s more of a deal-killer if it looks as if you were trying to hide the bed bug history, rather than being upfront about it,” explains real estate broker Gordon Roberts of Warburg Realty.
That said, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.
“It should not be done the first thing when someone walks through the door, nor should it be in the literature the broker hands out,” says real estate broker Deanna Kory of Corcoran. “It should be done only with highly-interested, ready-to-bid buyers sometime in the pre-negotiating or post-negotiating stage.”
Make sure your agent thoroughly understands and can discuss–in neutral, non-defensive tones–your bed bug history and the measures you took to stop it, says Kory. “Offer to let them bring through a bed bug sniffing dog.”
Roberts suggests getting another inspection just before putting the apartment on the market so that your documentation is current.
Additionally, says Roberts, “I’d make sure the apartment is squeaky-clean and possibly hire a stager to ensure that it’s presented in a highly professional manner.”
The good news: Despite the “yuck” factor and stigma still attached to bed bugs, sellers tend to emerge relatively unscathed by the revelation, say our experts.
“The vast majority of times the deal goes through with the only adjustment being that the owner pays for any extra extermination,” says asset manager Roberta Axelrod of Time Equities.
Doug Heddings, president of The Heddings Property Group had a positive outcome even after one of his clients discovered bed bugs while their apartment was on the market.
“We took it off the market for 45 days for three treatments,” he says. “Once we had the green light that all bed bugs were gone we put it back on. We not only disclosed a recent bed bug issue but provided all documentation from remediation, and the seller signed a one-year guaranty that on the slight chance the bed bugs returned, he would remediate up to one year from the closing day. There was no discount to the sale price. The property has sold and closed and two years have passed without bed bugs.”
For her part, Kory says she has done a few deals similar to yours without mishap, but emphasizes that it’s critical to tell your agent about your bed bug situation.
“In my very recent experience, I had two bed bug infestations sales,” she says. “In the first one, the sellers did not disclose to us the problem thinking it a non-issue. Well, as all these are, it was in the board minutes. The fact that we did not disclose up front caused the bueyrs to feel we were hiding it and they walked away. In the second case, we made sure to let the buyers know just as soon as appropriate and while they did bring through a dog, all was well and the deal went through.”
original posting – http://www.brickunderground.com/blog/2012/10/ask_an_expert_do_i_have_to_tell_buyers_about_the_bed_bugs
234 East 14th St. Apt 1F $375,000
Welcome home to this charming 450 square foot Co-op Studio apartment located just blocks from Union Square! Exposed brick covers the living room wall and continues into the recently updated kitchen, 3 massive closets hold all of your personal items, the high ceilings allow light to shine in through the south facing window all while being pin drop quiet. Outside your door is the vibrant East Village where you are surrounded by shops, restaurants and nightlife. Commuting to Brooklyn is a breeze with the L train less than one block away. Stop what your doing and schedule your private showing with Ryan today!
646-543-1384
Ryan.Olsen@kwnyc.com
Finance vs. Creatives… who runs the NYC rental market?
A new report out digs not only into rental trends in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, but also looks at employment trends as well. Since the kinds of jobs and the level of compensation employees receive is fundamental to how much people can afford to pay for rent, this analysis may provide a bit more insight than the simple rents are up or rents are down number crunching. The Mid-Year Triboro Rental Report from StreetEasy and leasing and tenant screening firm On-Site.com, authored by real estate consultant Nancy Packes, finds that some of the larger employment trends favor the outer boroughs’ more economical rents. The share of financial services employees in the city has been falling for years. In 2006, 58 percent of new renters worked in financial services, according to the report, but that fell to 44 percent in 2012. At the same time, the number of new renters employed by tech firms and the broad category of creative jobs has grown from 16 percent to 26 percent. And these people earn less than those in financial services. With less money to spend, these people are looking away from Manhattan in ever greater numbers. As a result, Manhattan rents have seen sluggish growth. Rents in Brooklyn, on the other hand, have been on the rise (though other reports have found slow growth here in recent quarters too). This report, which only examines rents through the first half of 2012, found that rents on studios in buildings with a doorman were up 16 percent over the previous year. Two-bedrooms in doorman buildings were up 22 percent in the year. And, the report concludes, there is plenty of room for rents to go even higher. “Looking at a renter’s ability to spend, there appears to be further capacity to push rents. Why? Over the last five years, salaries have not decreased, yet today’s income spent toward rent rests at its five-year average, having dropped 20% perent from its 2007 peak.” And it’s the creatives who spend the highest proportion of their incomes on rent.
Creative Workers Drive Down Rents [WSJ]
What is rent stabilization?
The laws concerning rent stabilization and rent controlled apartments can be quite complicated. To simplify the important information as much as possible, we believe you need to know the following:
If an apartment is rent stabilized, the rent can only be increased between three and five percent per year (depending on the year), unless one of the following occurs:
- The apartment is renovated. If a rent stabilized apartment is renovated, 1/40th of the total cost of renovation can be added to the apartment’s monthly rent.
(If the rent for an apartment is $1,000 and an owner spends $8,000 renovating the apartment, the owner can add $8,000/40 = $200 to the rent for a new total rent of $1,200.)
- If there is an MCI (major capitol improvement) to the building, the cost of this improvement can be added to the rent of every apartment located in the rent stabilized building.
- (The formula for calculating the exact increase is quite complicated, but a basic example is as follows: the owner replaces the roof of a building with 100 apartments at a cost of $20,000. The owner can then increase the rent of each apartment by $20,000/100(apartments) = $200 (per apartment)/12(months) = $16.66 per month rent increase to each apartment in the building. Again, this is a very simplified version of the actual formula.)
If the owner of a building decides to inhabit a rent stabilized apartment themselves for a period of two years or more, when they leave the apartment will no longer be rent stabilized.
NYC Snow Day Tomorrow!!
Snow Day is in Effect for Saturday, February 9, 2013.
As the snow falls, NYC Parks is at the ready with winter fun! During times of heavy snowfall, NYC Parks may offer a snow day, which is a day of free organized recreation in several parks throughout the city. Activities may include supervised safe sledding (there will be sleds available at each snow day site), snowman building contests, best snow angel contests, friendly snowball fights, music, and complimentary hot chocolate.
For other storm-related updates, please call 311 or visit nyc.gov .
Snow Day Locations
Bronx
Crotona Park (Fulton Avenue and East 172nd Street)
noon – 3:00 p.m.
Brooklyn
Prospect Park (near the Tennis House)
noon – 3:00 p.m.
Manhattan
Riverside Park (Riverside Drive at 103rd Street)
noon – 3:00 p.m.
Queens
Juniper Valley Park (78 St. & Juniper Valley North)
noon – 3:00 p.m.
Staten Island
Clove Lakes Park (Martling and Slosson Avenues)
noon – 3:00 p.m.
Winter weather tips!
Tips for Staying Warm
Exposure to cold can cause life-threatening health conditions. Avoid serious conditions such as frostbite and hypothermia, by keeping warm.
Wear a hat, hood, or scarf, as most heat is lost through the head.
Wear layers, as they provide better insulation and warmth.
Keep fingertips, earlobes, and noses covered if you go outside.
Keep clothing dry; if a layer becomes wet, remove it.
Snow Removal Safety Tips
Stretch before you go out. If you go out to shovel snow, do a few stretching exercises to warm up your body. This may prevent injury.
Cover your mouth. Protect your lungs from extremely cold air by covering your mouth when outdoors.
Avoid overexertion. Cold weather puts an added strain on the heart. Unfamiliar exercise, such as shoveling snow or pushing a car, can bring on a heart attack or make other medical conditions worse. Take frequent rest breaks, and drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration.
Keep dry. Change wet clothes frequently to prevent a loss of body heat. Wet clothing loses all of its insulating value and transmits heat rapidly.
Stay safe. Walk carefully on snowy or icy sidewalks. If using a snowblower, NEVER use your hands to unclog the machine.
Maintain an awareness of utilities when shoveling snow. Do not cover fire hydrants with snow when clearing sidewalks and driveways. Do not shovel snow into manholes and catch basins.
Offer to help individuals who require special assistance, including seniors and people with disabilities.
Clearing Snow and Dangling Ice from Roofs
Snow and rain that collects on roofs becomes heavy and may damage buildings.
Remove leaves and debris from roof drains to prevent water from collecting.
In addition to cleaning out gutters, clear snow from roofs and drains.
Flat roofs require special attention. Snow and water should be removed with drainage systems or manually.
OEM and the Department of Buildings urge building owners and managers to remove ice from their buildings where possible. If ice removal is not possible, building owners and managers should rope off the unsafe area.
Residents should take care to avoid areas roped off due to hazardous ice conditions, and be cautious of dangerous, hanging ice.
Ice Safety Tips (from NYC Parks & Recreation):
During the winter months, ponds and lakes in City parks may appear frozen, but venturing onto them is extremely dangerous and can cause potentially fatal accidents. To remind people of the dangers of thin ice, Parks & Recreation posts warning signs along the perimeter of city lakes and ponds in English and in Spanish. Special ladders are also installed around the edges of city lakes for trained personnel to use in case someone falls through the ice.
Never go on frozen waters (unless clearly marked otherwise with official signs).
Parents and caregivers should make sure children are never unattended near ice.
If you hear cracking, lie down immediately to try to distribute your weight.
If you witness someone falling through ice, never attempt to make a rescue by yourself.
Call 911 and notify the proper authorities. Be sure to give the exact location and an account of the incident.
Learn more about outdoor skating rinks in City parks
Safe Home Heating Tips
Improper use of portable heating equipment can lead to fire or dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. Take precautions to ensure you are heating your home safely.
FIRE SAFETY:
Use only portable heating equipment that is approved for indoor use.
Keep combustible materials, including furniture, drapes, and carpeting at least three feet away from the heat source. NEVER drape clothes over a space heater to dry.
Always keep an eye on heating equipment. Never leave children alone in the room where a space heater is running. Turn it off when you are unable to closely monitor it.
Be careful not to overload electrical circuits.
Make sure you have a working smoke detector in every room. Check and change batteries often.
CARBON MONOXIDE SAFETY:
Install a carbon monoxide detector in your home and check it regularly to make sure the battery is working. NYC law requires owners to provide and install at least one approved carbon monoxide alarm within 15 feet of the primary entrance to each sleeping room.
Learn more about NYC’s carbon monoxide detector law
Make sure your heating system is kept clean and properly vented; have worn or defective parts replaced.
Have your fireplace, chimney, and flue cleaned every year to remove soot deposits, leaves, etc.
Kerosene heaters are dangerous and illegal in New York City.
Don’t heat your home with a gas stove or oven.
Do not use any gas-powered appliance, such as a generator, indoors.
Never use a charcoal grill or a hibachi indoors.
Automobile exhaust contains carbon monoxide. Open your garage door before starting your car and do not leave the motor running in an enclosed area. Clear exhaust pipes before starting a car or truck after it snows.
The most common symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning is headache. However, symptoms may also include dizziness, chest pain, nausea, and vomiting. In severe cases, people can become increasingly irritable, agitated and confused, eventually becoming lethargic and lapsing into unconsciousness.
If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, call 911, and get the victim to fresh air immediately, and open windows.
Learn more about carbon monoxide
For more information on how to properly and safely heat your home, please visit the NYC Fire Department.
What to Do If You Lose Heat
Every resident is entitled to heat and hot water. Tenants without adequate heat or hot water should first speak with the building owner, manager, or superintendent. If the problem is not corrected, tenants should call 311. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) will attempt to contact your building’s owner to get heat or hot water service restored.
If service has not been restored, HPD will send an inspector to your building to verify the complaint and issue a violation. If your landlord does not live up to his or her legal obligation, HPD will call in emergency contractors to fix the boiler or do whatever is required to get your heat and hot water working again.
For more information about loss of heat or hot water, refer to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s frequently asked questions for tenants.
If you lose heat, take measures to trap existing warm air, and safely stay warm until heat returns:
Insulate your home as much as possible. Hang blankets over windows and doorways and stay in a well-insulated room while power is out.
Dress warmly. Wear hats, scarves, gloves, and layered clothing.
If you have a working fireplace, use it for heat and light, but be sure to keep the damper open for ventilation.
Open your faucets to a steady drip so pipes do not freeze.
Eat. Food provides your body with needed energy to produce its own heat and drinking helps your body avoid dehydration.
If the cold persists and your heat is not restored, call family, neighbors, or friends to see if you can stay with them.
If your service line, pipes or water meters freeze:
Open a faucet near the frozen point to release vapor from melting ice.
Direct a hair dryer or heat lamp at the frozen section, or put a small space heater nearby.
NEVER thaw a frozen pipe or meter with an open flame; this could lead to fire or cause a steam explosion.
If your meter is damaged or your pipes burst, call 311.
Learn more about water supply disruptions
If you lose power, call your power provider immediately to report the outage.
Con Edison 24-hour hotline: 1-800-75-CONED (752-6633)
National Grid 24-hour hotline: 1-718-643-4050
Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) 24-hour hotline: 1-800-490-0025
Learn more about power disruptions
If You Need Emergency Heating Assistance
The Human Resources Administration (HRA) administers the federal Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), which provides low-income people with emergency heating assistance. Eligible residents will receive a payment for fuel delivery, or HRA will arrange for fuel delivery or boiler repair. Emergency assistance is given to those who qualify only once per heating season. Call 311 for more information.
How To Help Others
Infants, seniors, and people with paralysis or neuropathy are at increased risk of hypothermia and frostbite. Check on friends, relatives, and neighbors who may need assistance to ensure they are adequately protected from the cold.
Community members that identify someone on the street they believe needs assistance should call 311 and ask for the Mobile Outreach Response Team. The Department of Homeless Services will send an outreach team to the location to assess the individual’s condition and take appropriate action.
Recognize symptoms of cold weather illnesses such as frostbite and hypothermia:
Hypothermia: symptoms include slurred speech, sluggishness, confusion, dizziness, shallow breathing, unusual behavior, and slow, irregular heartbeat.
Frostbite: symptoms include gray, white or yellow skin discoloration, numbness, and waxy feeling skin.
If you suspect a person is suffering from frostbite or hypothermia, bring him or her someplace warm and seek medical help immediately or call 911.
If medical help is unavailable, re-warm the person, starting at the core of their body. Warming arms and legs first can increase circulation of cold blood to the heart, which can lead to heart failure. Use a blanket, or if necessary, your own body heat to warm the person.
Do not give a person suffering frostbite or hypothermia alcohol or caffeine, both of which can worsen the condition. Instead, give the patient a cup of warm broth.
If You Must Drive a Vehicle
Whenever possible, avoid driving in a winter storm. If you must go out, it is safer to take public transportation. However, if you must drive or get caught in a storm, heed the following tips:
Avoid traveling alone, but if you do so, let someone know your destination, route and when you expect to arrive.
Dress warmly. Wear loose-fitting, lightweight clothing in layers.
Listen to the radio or call the state highway patrol for the latest road conditions.
Use major streets or highways for travel whenever possible; these roadways will be cleared first.
Drive slowly. Posted speed limits are for ideal weather conditions. Vehicles take longer to stop on snow and ice than on dry pavement.
Four-wheel drive vehicles may make it easier to drive on snow-covered roads, but they do not stop quicker than other vehicles.
If you skid, steer in the direction you want the car to go and straighten the wheel when the car moves in the desired direction.
Know your vehicle’s braking system. Vehicles with antilock brakes require a different braking technique than vehicles without antilock brakes in icy or snowy conditions.
Try to keep your vehicle’s gas tank as full as possible.
IF YOU GET STUCK ON THE ROAD:
Stay with your car. Do not try to walk to safety unless help is visible within 100 yards. You could become disoriented in blowing snow.
Display a trouble sign if you need help; tie a brightly colored cloth to the antenna and raise the hood to alert rescuers.
Start the car and use the heater for about 10 minutes every hour. Keep the exhaust pipe clear of snow to avoid the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Leave the overhead light on when the car is running so you can be seen.
Move your arms and legs to keep blood circulating and to stay warm.
Keep one window slightly open to let in fresh air. Use a window that is opposite the direction the wind is blowing.
Nemo Found!!
With Nemo reaching New York, spitting down its wintry mix this am, we will be keeping tabs and giving you updates, tools and tips to avoid getting stuck in a slippery position this weekend.
Plow Tracker
This link will allow you to zoom in to your local area and see the progress of some of the hardest working people in NYC during the storm.
The Weather Channel
Has up to the minute coverage, satellite/radar, weather warnings/alerts as well as tips for staying safe and warm.
All I know is that I am hunkering down this weekend and staying warm and safe.
