Pamela Liebman, president of the Corcoran Group, a real estate brokerage, said that though the Manhattan market had continued to rise in the past year when most of the American housing market was in decline, it “came to a grinding halt on Sept. 15,” when credit markets collapsed and buyers lost confidence.
“Now we see the effects of buyers sitting on the sidelines, and they will remain on the sidelines until they get some confidence back,” Ms. Liebman said. “A lot of brokers are making friends with lawyers and doctors and all those people who were left behind in the heyday of Wall Street, three months ago.”
Beyond the first quarter this year, assessments varied. A number of brokers said that as sellers cut prices, they will create an opportunity for buyers to get good deals that were unimaginable a few months ago, especially at a time when mortgage rates are falling. Several said they were counting on the Obama administration to bring in a wave of confidence that will change the psychology of the market.
“When the market solidifies itself and everyone feels confident that we are on solid ground, you are going to have hordes of buyers,” said Diane M. Ramirez, the president of Halstead.
Notice a trend here? They are throwing around the confidence word around a lot. Does Halstead and Corcoran get together and figure out what catch phrases they should drop for these articles or they just sharing the same PR firm? Whatever they are doing they should just stop and hire Kelly Kreth because whoever is doing their PR is just phoning it in.
In the 2004 election when John Kerry often cited being a Vietnam Veteran as one of his primary qualification to be President. The Republican strategists took his war record used it against him in what is known as “Swift boating” and used it challenge his war record and make him look like an anti war douche. It obviously worked because Obama is now President.
What Pam Liebman and Diane M. Ramirez are doing, dare I say and I do dare,is a form of Swiftboating. What these two are doing are attempting to connect real estate with consumer confidence and latch onto the euphoria of the incoming Obama administration. I am not sure that is a good idea because even President Obama has admitted he has his work cut for him and that we are looking at a trillion dollar deficit.
Here's my analysis and just to reinforce my points I am going to be writing in big obnoxious bold caps.
CONFIDENCE HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CURRENT STATE OF THE MARKET. WHAT THIS MARKET IS BEING DEFINED BY ARE TWO FACTORS WHICH ARE CREDIT AND LIQUIDITY.
THE ERA OF CHEAP MONEY IS OVER AND WITH THE CREDIT MARKETS STILL FROZEN, LENDERS ARE MAKING TRIVIAL ATTEMPTS TO WARM UP THE MARKETS AND HAVE PROVEN THEIR TRUE INTENTIONS BY SIMPLY HOARDING THE STIMULUS MONEY. IT IS ALSO VERY DIFFICULT TO GET A MORTGAGE BECAUSE STANDARDS HAVE TIGHTENED CONSIDERABLY SO THERE IS NO INCENTIVE FOR BUYERS TO ACQUIRE ONE.
BUYING A HOME REQUIRES OPM (OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY) AND THERE IS NOT A LOT OF THAT GOING AROUND
THE SECOND FACTOR IS LIQUIDITY OR LACK THEREOF. THE REASON WHY SOME PEOPLE ARE NOT BUYING IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO MONEY. EVEN THE PEOPLE THAT THOUGHT THEY HAD MONEY DON'T HAVE IT. THEY EITHER LOST IT IN THE STOCK MARKET, REAL ESTATE MARKET, BOSTON MARKET OR THEY WERE F**KED BY MADOFF. THOSE WHO HAVE LIQUIDITY ARE HOLDING IT ON FOR DEAR LIFE AS A RESERVE FUND BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN LAID OFF IT IS THE ONLY THING THAT IS ENSURING THEIR SURVIVAL.
EVEN THOSE WHO ARE LIVING COMFORTABLY AND HAVE PLENTY OF LIQUIDITY AT HAND ARE NOT GOING TO JUMP INTO THE REAL ESTATE MARKET. THEY ARE NOT BLIND AND SEE THE BLIZZARD OF KNIVES FALLING ONTO MANHATTAN AND THEY DO NOT NEED A BROKER TO TELL THEM OTHERWISE. IN THEIR MIND IT MAKES NO SENSE TO BE A BUY IN A MARKET WHERE THE INVENTORY IS RAPIDLY DEVALUING.
BASICALLY THIS IS JUST A REVERSAL OF FORTUNE AND THE BUYERS ARE IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT. INSTEAD OF DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, THEY HAVE PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND ARE WATCHING THE MULTIPLE VEHICLE COLLISION TAKING PLACE WHICH IS OUR ECONOMY. IT IS ONLY AFTER THEY SEE CONSIDERABLE PRICE REDUCTIONS AND SIGNS THAT THE CREDIT MARKETS ARE STABILIZING WILL THEY EVEN CONSIDER VENTURING OUT.
SO IGNORE PAMELA LIEBMAN AND DIANA "THE DEAD ZONE" RAMIEREZ. THE ONLY TWO HONEST PEOPLE QUOTED IN THAT ARTICLE WERE THESE TWO INDIVIDUALS
“The worst is yet to come; there is a blood bath coming,” said Matthew Haines, a founder of the real estate site Propertyshark.com who prepared the Corcoran report.
But others worry that the market will need more than psychology to support it. Gregory J. Heym, an economist who prepared the reports for Halstead and Brown Harris Stevens, said that unless the economy strengthens, the weakening job market in New York City could further dampen enthusiasm for real estate. He said the city had lost about 18,000 jobs in the 12 months that ended in November, while city economists are now predicting a loss of 170,000 over the next year or two.
“Each time they update the forecast, it gets worse,” Mr. Heym said.
Vacancy rates in office buildings exceed 10 percent in virtually every major city in the country and are rising rapidly, a sign of economic distress that could lead to yet another wave of problems for troubled lenders.
With job cuts rampant and businesses retrenching, more empty space is expected from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles in the coming year. Rental income would then decline and property values would slide further. The Urban Land Institute predicts 2009 will be the worst year for the commercial real estate market “since the wrenching 1991-1992 industry depression.”
Banks and other financial companies have not had the problems with commercial properties in this recession that they have had with residential properties. But many building owners, while struggling with more vacancies and less rental income, will need to refinance commercial mortgages this year.
The persistent chill in lending from banks to the credit markets will make that difficult — even for borrowers who are current on their payments — setting the stage for loan defaults.
The prospect bodes ill for banks, along with pension funds, insurance companies, hedge funds and others holding the loans or pieces of them that were packaged and sold as securities.
Jeffrey DeBoer, chief executive of the Real Estate Roundtable, a lobbying group in Washington, is asking for government assistance for his industry and warns of the potential impact of defaults. “Each one by itself is not significant,” he said, “but the cumulative effect will put tremendous stress on the financial sector.”
According to MD Sass, the tax lien industry is also getting hammered.
I still recommend that all of you wait, watch and prepare.
But it is not all bad news. Remember the douchebag Marc S. Dreier?
His entire firm is f**ked not only because of his conduct but because he never paid the bills particularly the malpractice insurance. However even though his firm is screwed, the lawyers that worked for him look like they might be in the clear because of one simple reasons. None of them were made partner.
Mr. Dreier, 58, controlled the finances of his law firm to an unusual degree, according to lawyers there, because of the unusual way it was set up.
Mr. Dreier was the only equity partner in the firm, and deals were structured so that only he knew all the specifics and had access to all accounts, people with the firm said in court papers. Mr. Dreier convinced lawyers that such an arrangement was best by emphasizing that it would allow them to concentrate on their first love, the law, while he worried about running the firm.
Don't get me wrong. It sucks right now to be a lawyer for this firm, especially in this economy, but the fact fact that none of these lawyers made partner will hopefully be enough to clear them of any wrong doing in the long run.
Not too bright on Mr. Dreier's part. Then again with his current record, this should not be a surprise.
To start off the New Year, I think I am going to rag on people who have a strong sense of entitlement. Why? Because everyone is doing it.
3 years ago, I read this item in Page 6.
BUFFETT TO KIN: YOU'RE FIRED!
September 7, 2006 -- AN infuriated Warren Buffett has renounced one of his granddaughters - telling her she is no longer his relative "legally or emotionally" because she took part in a documentary about the lives of the very rich. Nicole Buffett, the adopted daughter of Buffett's son Peter and biological daughter of Peter's ex-wife Mary, was featured in Jamie Johnson and Nick Kurzon's documentary, "The One Percent," which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival this year and is a follow-up to Johnson's "Born Rich."
Enraged that Nicole not only participated in the documentary, but also plugged it on National Public Radio and "Oprah," Buffett wrote Nicole an "angry letter" two weeks ago telling her she was no longer part of his life, a source tells Page Six.
Buffett wrote, "I have not emotionally or legally adopted you as a grandchild, nor have the rest of my family adopted you as a niece or a cousin."
"He was angry Nicole was using the Buffett name to promote herself and said he no longer considered her his granddaughter," our source added.
Indeed, asked for comment, a rep for the mega-billionaire said, "Nicole is not Mr. Buffett's granddaughter. She is the daughter of a former daughter-in-law of his who was married to his son for only about 10 years."
This response shocked Nicole's friends. "We have seen pictures of her on his knee when she was 4. She spent family summers with him. She calls him Grandpa and always has. This is amazing," one pal said.
In the movie, Nicole tells interviewers, "I've been very blessed to have my education taken care of, and I have had my living expenses taken care of while I'm in school. After we're out of school, we don't get any money from our family . . . Money is the spoke in my grandfather's wheel of life."
When Nicole received Buffett's letter, she taped another interview with Johnson last week, in which she said: "To pretend like we don't have a familial relationship is not based in reality. I've spent months and years of my life at his home in Omaha with just my twin sister . . . I'm shocked and I'm hurt.
"The fact that now [Buffett] would tell me . . . that you don't consider us real grandchildren is unbelievable, to not only myself and my sister, but to my father."
I was quite shocked to read this. Quite shocked that she had the gall to speak about her grandfather's money. Whether Warren Buffet has 58 Billion or 58 dollars, it is not Nicole's place to talk about it in public.
You could argue that Warren Buffet talks about his money all the time so what is the big deal? That is because it is f**king money. He can talk about it as much as he wants. It may appear that he was being harsh but from where I stand, I think Buffet felt hurt by her actions.
Personally, I thought she got off light with being cut off like that, because if I was Buffet, I would have sent her bill indicating what she owed.
I figured after that, Nicole Buffet would learn her lesson and keep to herself. Nope. She has to open up her big yap again. Below is my article and my analysis.
What's it like when your grandpa is the richest man in the world? For Nicole Buffett, it means forgoing cable TV and health insurance and making do on $40,000 a year. Here, she dishes on her upbringing and why her grandfather Warren Buffett disowned her.
By Leah McGrath Goodman
Nicole Buffett is at home among the neo-hippies who shuffle along the laid-back, tree-lined streets of Berkeley, CA. At an elfin 5 feet tall, clad in a flowing peasant dress and sandals adorned with peace signs, her long hair cascading in ropy dreadlocks to her waist, the 32-year-old abstract painter is just another of the city's free-thinking, granola-crunching denizens. And yet, she's a walking oddity. "The first thing most people think of when they hear my last name is money," she laughs.
Yeah. And? If you don't like it, change your name.
Not just money — gobs of it. Nicole Buffett's grandfather is the legendary investor Warren Buffett, whose $58 billion fortune made him the richest man on the planet, a mantle he seized from Bill Gates last fall. So deep are Buffett's pockets that when the financial markets cratered in September, the so-called Oracle of Omaha single-handedly buoyed Wall Street (at least for a day) by plunking down $5 billion on troubled investment bank Goldman Sachs. ("Canonize Warren Buffett," cried one headline on CNBC's Website.) But there's a bitter irony to Buffett's beneficence. Wall Street's white knight is also an unforgiving hardhead when it comes to his own granddaughter, whom he cut off two years ago after a falling-out. "For him to discard me like that was devastating," Nicole says matter-of-factly. "It permanently divided our family."
So it is his fault that the family is divided? Have you thought about what led him to that decision? Maybe it was because of your actions? Maybe if you hadn't opened up your big mouth like that it would have never come to this.
When Nicole was 4, her singer-songwriter mother married Warren Buffett's youngest child, Peter, a composer for commercials and films. He later adopted Nicole and her identical twin sister, who were embraced as kin by the larger Buffett family — especially Susan, Warren's first wife, an avid music lover and cabaret performer. "A lot of people don't realize that my family is full of artists," says Nicole. (Susan Buffett, who died in 2004, was an early buyer of Nicole's art and named Nicole one of "my adored grandchildren" in her will.)
As a child, Nicole made regular visits to "Grandpa's" modest home in Omaha, where he still lives, purchased in 1958 for $31,500. Despite the humble digs, Nicole remembers the occasional spoils of Buffett's wealth. At Christmas, when she was 5, he gave her a crisp $100 bill from his wallet. Once, she was invited on a private tour of the See's Candies factory he owned. And twice yearly, Peter Buffett packed up his brood for a vacation at his father's compound in Laguna Beach. Nicole also remembers once tiptoeing into her grandfather's study to fetch something, careful not to disturb him while he read the Wall Street Journal. Just as she turned to slip out, Buffett cleared his throat and said, "Nicole, I just want you to know that your grandmother and I are very proud of all that you've accomplished as an artist." "It's a really big deal for him to communicate on such an emotional level," says Nicole, her eyes welling. "So it was a big deal for me."
Then why did you act like that? Why did you speak out of turn? Why did you blab about Grandpa if he meant so much to you. If you feel that strongly about someone, you are going to make every effort be aware of their feelings.
Nicole was clueless about the scope of the Buffett fortune until she was 17, when her grandfather appeared on the cover of Forbes for having topped the magazine's annual list of the richest Americans. Her classmates nearly stampeded her at school with the news. "I called my dad, and he said, 'Yeah, Grandpa is going to be getting a lot more press, and we're going to have to get used to that. But we'll be living our lives the same way and doing what we always do,'" Nicole says.
In fact, the national media debut only intensified Buffett's efforts to preserve his unaffected lifestyle. Aware of the unfairness of what he calls "the ovarian lottery," Buffett made clear to the family that there'd be no handouts. "For most people, your life is largely determined by the wealth you were — or weren't — born into," Nicole explains. "But our family was supposed to be a meritocracy." That philosophy translated into a near-fanatical devotion to living like regular Joes. Buffett's kids went to public schools and, when they were old enough to drive, shared the family car. "You wouldn't guess it, but I grew up in a household with my parents saying, 'If you're fortunate enough to find something you love, then do it,'" says Peter Buffett.
Committed to instilling those homespun values in his grandkids, Buffett agreed to pay for their college educations — and nothing more. He picked up the six-figure tab for Nicole's art school tuition. Once, Nicole called her grandfather's office to ask if he'd help her buy a futon when she moved to an off-campus apartment. "You know what the rules are: school expenses only," his secretary told her.
The deal was a free education, that's it. If she needs other necessities then she should either ask her parents or earn the money on her own. She should be grateful for getting that much. Does she realize the number of people who have to sacrifice their future in order to pay off student loans?
Four years ago, following Susan's death, Buffett showed up for his family's annual Christmas gathering clad in a garishly over-the-top red tracksuit and Santa hat, a gift from "Arnie" (California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger). Everyone laughed at the absurdity of it all. When the holiday ended, Nicole raced into Buffett's arms. "We're not a touchy-feely family, so when I did it, the rest of the family seemed a little surprised," Nicole says, beaming. "But he gave me this great big hug back."
It was the last time the pair would share an embrace. Two years later, Nicole agreed to appear in The One Percent, a documentary by Johnson & Johnson heir Jamie Johnson about the gap between rich and poor in America. "I've been very blessed to have my education taken care of, and I have had my living expenses taken care of while I'm in school," she states on camera. None of the Buffetts, a famously press-averse bunch, had ever before appeared in so public a forum to dish about their upbringing. Though Nicole informed her father of her role in the film and he had no objections, she failed to give her grandfather a heads-up. Asked in the film how he'd react to her interview, Nicole responds, "I definitely fear judgment. Money is the spoke in my grandfather's wheel of life."
Besides the fact she should have never even thought of participating in this documentary, she should have at least gotten the blessing from her grandfather. I suspect she did not because she knew he would say no. This situation she is in now is entirely her own fault.
Nicole concedes that the remarks may have sounded brusque. "I meant that my grandfather is like a Formula One driver who only wants to race — he just loves the game and wants to be the best," she says. But Buffett was galled. He had for some time felt ambivalent about Nicole and her sister's claim to his fortune — though Peter had legally adopted them, he divorced their mother in 1993 and remarried three years later. To make matters worse, while plugging the film on Oprah, Nicole confessed, "It would be nice to be involved with creating things for others with that money and to be involved in it. I feel completely excluded from it."
This just screams of entitlement. Who Buffet allows to create things with his money is up to him. You don't have access to it then too f**king bad. Make your own billions.
I am really p**ed now because the she reminds of this stupid wench, I ran into at Beard Papa's down in the village ac ouple of years back. This girl I think was an NYU student, anyways this girl was about 6 ft 2 200 pounds anyway, she spots a space that is the size of a small child between myself and another guy sitting down. She asks if we can move, we ignore her. Does Andre the Giant take the hint? No. She plops her double wide ass in a space that is only fit for an Olson twin while annoyingly subjecting us to her enormous ass. The coup de grace is when she started pouting and whining. Someone like Miley Cyrus can get away with that but when you are a goth wannabe that could easily be a stand in for one of the American Gladiators, it looks really pathetic.
Nicole Buffet is that enormous fat girl from Beard Papa because she is unable to think of others when she takes these selfish actions. And when she sits her big ass down barely squeezing into a space fit for a child, she wonders why everyone hates her.
The perceived sense of entitlement and Nicole's self-appointed role as family spokesperson prompted Buffett to tell Peter that he'd renounce her. A month later, the mega-billionaire mailed Nicole a letter in which he cautioned her about the pitfalls of the Buffett name: "People will react to you based on that 'fact' rather than who you are or what you have accomplished." He punctuated the letter by declaring, "I have not emotionally or legally adopted you as a grandchild, nor have the rest of my family adopted you as a niece or a cousin." Nicole was devastated. "He signed the letter 'Warren,'" she says. "I have a card from him just a year earlier that's signed 'Grandpa.'"
But Buffett's decision was irrevocable. "I don't have an easy answer for where my father is coming from," says Peter Buffett, who speaks to Nicole regularly. "But I know I can't change the spots on a leopard." Jamie Johnson convinced Nicole to tape a follow-up interview, which he added as an emotional postscript to his film. "To pretend like we don't have a familial relationship is not based in reality. I've spent years of my life at his home in Omaha. I'm shocked and hurt," Nicole says.
You think your shocked and hurt? How do you think he feels? In my opinion he probably feels you view him as an ATM machine and how the hell do you call that a familial relationship? I don't care how long you have bounced on his knee, the moment you betray his trust, all bets are off.
Now, despite her sterling surname, Buffett is getting by on $40,000 or so a year, largely on the sale of her paintings (collectors include Shirley Temple's daughter Lori Black and Hollywood special-effects guru Scott Ross). There's no denying that the Buffett name piques interest in the art world, where Nicole's pieces have fetched as much as $8000. One of her techniques is to leave unfinished works outside, exposed to the elements. "I like to see what happens," she says, hovering over canvases mottled with sunbursts of color.
Nicole supplements her income by working at a San Francisco boutique, but still can't afford cable or health insurance. Since their falling-out, Buffett has begun mailing sizable Christmas checks to his grandchildren, despite his no-freebies rule. Even so, Nicole vigorously insists that she has no regrets. "I think it shows he's trying to reach out to his grandkids in a more personal way," she says, before pausing. "And probably he's rewarding them for behaving."
All parents reward their children in some way for their behavior. It is a way of keeping them in line. Remember when you were a kid and you misbehaved? The usual response was either the threat of elimination of certain privileges, like your Birthday, Disney World or Christmas or Chanukah, depending on your religious background. And if you got an A or did something that showed improvement, maybe you got an ice cream.
All parents do this. Even relatives. I knew a professor who had told his niece that he would pay for her college education but only if she went to Virginia Tech. His ulterior motive was to keep her away from her boyfriend which he greatly disliked who happened to be going to a different college. So did his niece go to the same college as her boyfriend? No. She figured she could fall in love another time but a free education was something she could not pass up.
In the two years since they last spoke, Nicole has been besieged by her grandfather's image. "I can't turn on the TV or read the paper without seeing him," she says, referring to his role in the Wall Street bailout and as Barack Obama's adviser during his presidential bid. She dreams about a reconciliation, however unlikely. Still, she says she'll never stop being a Buffett. "I will always be self-reliant," she says, curled up on her couch, her dreadlocks draping her body like a quilt. "Grandpa taught me that, and it has set the tone for my life."
Oh yeah Nicole, you are so self reliant, especially when you call up to get money for a futon and especially when you are bitching and moaning about being cut off and being excluded from Buffet's bucks.
Family and money are two complicated subjects. When you combine them together, they are practically explosive. When it comes to family inheritances of money, my philosophy is simple; don't think about it and don't rely on it. Support whatever the parents decide. Of course there are certain cases where intervention is needed, i.e. a parent is mentally disabled or has been brainwashed by a cult.
I have met many a douchebag that felt they were entitled to whatever they wanted in life because of their family money. They felt they could say or do anything they wanted. These people are usually the first ones to get fired out of the cannon of karma. Buffet is not a stupid man and from what I do know of him he is a pretty good judge of character. In my opinion this decision did not come out of a vacuum. For all we know there were probably incidents that had occurred along the way that made the Oracle of Omaha pause regarding the role Nicole would play in his finances.
All of this could have been avoided if she had followed the Rock's advice which was to know her role and shut her mouth.
Who is that sweet swinger in the picture? Why me, of course. I have been playing golf since I was 6 years old and have played the courses in Fairfield Harbour many times. As many of you may know both courses have recently closed in FFHand the FFH POA and others are trying to figure out a way to purchase it from Mid-South Golf. Lets hope they can work out an agreement.
But regardless whether they do or not FFH is a great place to live with or without golf. There are many other things to do in FFH including boating, sailing, swimming, tennis, walking, biking, and an large assortment of clubs and organizations.
So, if you are considering living in FFH I would not let the closure of the golf course stop you. There are many other things to do there. Just ask some of the residents.
Since 2007 when the entire credit market began to crumble, I began the alert that we were going to really get it.
From bad to oh we are so f**ked Up and down If you look at the comment sections, I got a lot flack for what I wrote. And now we are on the lastday of 2008 and it has been a hellacious year. Do I take any satisfaction that my words of doom have rung somewhat true? F**k no. In fact I am just as baffled as everyone else on how bad things have gotten.
I realize there was going to be a huge imbalance in the market, but I figured the stock market would make its routine bull run while the real estate market would tank but slowly stabilize with the distressed property investors. Now the experts are telling us that we have only begun to experience this world of hurt and 2009 will have plenty pain for everyone.
It is an anguishing situation because despite the actions that have been taken, it will be quite awhile before any semblance of normalcy returns to our economy.
So what do we do? We adapt, survive and watch the show.
It appears that everyone is doing an Earth Kitt tribute so I might as well throw my hand in since I actually met her.
11 years ago when I was working on a media production, a very unpleasant producer, who I will call the gapping maw or gm for short was able to land her for a segment. I call her the gaping maw because whether it was food or gossip she could never shut her mouth. The gaping maw made a big deal about Eartha Kitt and put the fear of god in all of us about properly treating Eartha Kitt.
In all honesty I was quite concerned about my welfare since she had certain requirements that needed to be fulfilled. One of them was that she had to have her own private green room. My primary job was to play bouncer and prevent anyone that was not part of her entourage from entering the room.
It proved nerve racking at one point when a producer and a colleague who was talent jokingly attempted to enter the room. But other than that, the day was rather pleasant.
Miss Kitt, she was exactly what everyone said about her. Professional, polite , gregarious and really strong. I am being serious. She was very strong. The gaping maw was having problems opening a door and despite outweighing Eartha Kitt by about 300 pounds. Eartha grabbed the handle and popped that sucker open with a simple pull.
I remember her also her also being very comfortable with herself. Even though she wore a wig, she still freely walked around the studios without it and instead had a small head wrap that was around her beautiful hair and was wearing what I can only describe as a simple dancer's warm up outfit.
Even though she lived in Scarsdale and had a life that most people envy, Eartha Kitt did not any project pretentious airs about herself.
My lasting impression of her was a woman who exuded class, respectability, talent and yet possessed a very strong sense of humility.
Know the nature of what you are dealing with or you could be stung.
The New York Times had an amusing article regarding the M60 bus that goes straight to La Guardia. Unsurprisingly, the bus becomes the terror dome during the holidays. Catching a Full-Up Plane? Take This Overstuffed Bus
Passengers on the M60 bus who had already been forced to stand were pressed against the doors. Others, trapped by tall suitcases, could not get up from their seats. Two dozen people with yet more bags tried to board, but a wave of exiting riders, shouting loudly, pushed them right back off. The same scene was replayed at the next stop, Third Avenue.
“They pack us in like cattle,” said Clay Crawford, 40, who lives in Harlem and was commuting to his job as a security guard in Queens. “Who wants this?”
Who wants to deal with this? People who are too cheap or unable to spend $12 on the New York Airport Service. But just because you take frugal measures for airport travel does not mean you have to suffer. If you follow these simple principles it will increase the chance of having a stress free arrival to the airport.
1. Prepare in advance
Because of my tendency to procrastinate, I often begin my travel preparations at least a week in advance. That includes packing and airport travel. It never fails that the night before I need something for the trip and I am running around like a maniac to take care of it. But at least my bags are packed.
2. Choose your airport travel options wisely and adapt to them.
When it comes to airports, I was always taught to arrive at least an hour before the flight leaves which means adding another hour for travel time. Traveling is not an exact science. Flights get canceled or delayed. They also might be overbooked and even if you bought your ticket in advance, you might be bumped off if you do not arrive early enough. When traveling to the airport it is best to have more time than less.
I often spend the 12 bucks for the airport bus service because of the convenience. The schedule is simple to follow and has a wide variety of options to choose that can fit in my schedule and unlike the M60 it does not make additional stops that could add to delays to my schedule. It is a straight shot to JFK and the driver can help me if I have any questions.
I have taken the E train Sutphin Boulevard which connects to the Air Train. It is actually quite affordable and easy to use. However because of the destination and the erratic nature of the subway I would leave very early and would often find myself waiting at the gate for at least an hour before boarding.
If I were to take the M60, I would leave not two hours but 5 hours in advance. When you have a service or product that is dirt cheap, in scarce supply and in demand then it is always going to be mobbed especially during the holidays.
3. Just because you get the airport on time does not mean you will be.
As I have stated before, travel is not an exact science and Murphy's law often stops by to see you off. Even after checking in and getting to the gate, I do not sleep, rest or engage in any type of behavior that would take away my full attention tfrom the environment. I listen to the announcements made on the PA system and I observe my surroundings very carefully. If I do not see a crowd of people at my gate at about 30 minutes before boarding, I am going to wonder why. Maybe the gates have been switched and I have to go somewhere else. If have to move, I want to be able to it quickly and efficiently.
It also does not hurt to know where the emergency exits are. S**t happens.
4. Check online for everything.
I have learned in the past to check online to confirm what gate I will be leaving from and check my flight status and I always use online map services to estimate my travel time to the airport. This gives me a better idea of when to leave and determine my choices if my flight has been delayed or canceled.
I have also expanded my online research on what gate the plane will be using upon arrival and looking at the airport map to determine the logistics of leaving the airport. Last summer I had a nightmare when arriving to San Francisco. I was unable to find the area where I was to be picked up and the woman at the information desk obviously did not understand the description of her job because she was completely unhelpful.
If you disobey any of my principles, this is what is likely to occur.
Vikaas Sharma, a Columbia University student who was trying to wiggle a blue suitcase out of the way, boarded the M60 at 2 p.m. on Tuesday to catch a 3:45 p.m. flight on his way to San Francisco, where he grew up. But the bus did not arrive at La Guardia until 4 p.m., so he missed the flight, which turned out to be the last one available until Christmas Day — leading to the first Christmas Eve of his 20 years that he spent without his family.
As I have stated before regarding the use of the M60 bus, he should have left 5 hours before check in. If he had splurged and taken the New York Airport bus he should have been at the gate at 2pm. This is his fault not the bus. Even tourists know how f**ked up the bus and subway systems are, Vikaas, being a Columbia student and has lived in the city, should known that the public transportation system can become a scorpion very quickly.
There are probably those of who have read this article who are a bit shocked that an Ivy Leaguer would make such a miscalculation. I am not. Which needs leads me to my next principle which applies more to life than travel.
Just because someone has an Ivy League degree does not meant they are smarter than you or more successful than you.
When I was younger I was always overly impressed perhaps intimidated by people with Ivy League pedigrees. They were more talented, intelligent and destined for greater things that us lesser mortals could never comprehend. And a lot of these kids actually believed that and acted like the exalted ones. in other words they were a$$holes. But honestly, I am not impressed with the way their lives have turned out.
I know of one person who despite having a two degrees, one from an Ivy League school and working at a good job is still unable to cobble together a down payment for an apartment. I know one person who has two degrees from the Ivies and founded several start ups which failed. This person at one point was on the partner track at a very prestigious law firm. He could not hack it and works in an industry that is quite lucrative however very unstable. I know two couples who between them probably spent a fortune on their Ivy League educations. Despite having successful careers, one couple still does not have the money to buy a home, the other couple bought awhile ago, but their careers are in question due to the current economy. Speaking of Columbia, I know of one real estate developer who tells stories of fresh graduates from the Columbia real estate program who show up for interviews assuming they have been hired because they graduated from Columbia.
Mind you, I am no Jedi Knight when it comes to success but it is a sobering realization to see what has happened to these people.
By no means am I showing disrespect for the Ivy Leagues. If I had a shot at Harvard, I would run though hell and high water to attend that school. Having an Ivy League degree opens doors however it does not guarantee success and happiness in life.
