AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog/media/feedlogo.gif AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/New Yorkers Are Here to Stayhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/28/new-yorkers-are-here-to-stay/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/28/new-yorkers-are-here-to-stay/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/28/new-yorkers-are-here-to-stay/#commentsFiled under:

Many feared that New Yorkers would flee the city after September 11, 2001 - but a report from the Independent Budget Office shows this concern was unfounded.

While a study of IRS tax filings between 1989 and 2007 shows a growing number of people moving out of New York, the number of people moving in has increased every year since 2001, when the attacks prompted a brief rise in departures.

"Some thought that the city would really lose its attractiveness, and we didn't see any evidence of that," Budget Office deputy director George Sweeting told The New York Daily News. "There hasn't been a long-lasting negative effect."
Amidst this rosy picture are some eyebrow-raising facts: More people are leaving than arriving, and those departing are at a higher income level.

Whether the stragglers are stubborn, stupid, or too smitten with the city to turn tail...well, I'll leave judgment to you. But the fact remains that New Yorkers, in some form, are here to stay.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>911citynew yorknew york cityNewYorkpopulationseptember 11Audrey Tempelsman2009-12-28T08:00:00 00:00Will You Be My Neighbor, Mr. Borough President?http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/24/will-you-be-my-neighbor-mr-borough-president/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/24/will-you-be-my-neighbor-mr-borough-president/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/24/will-you-be-my-neighbor-mr-borough-president/#commentsFiled under: ,

At the ripe old age of 64, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz has finally become a man - at least in real estate terms.

On November 30, Markowitz and his wife, Jamie, bought their first home for $1.45 million on a tree-lined, Windsor Terrace street, just one block from Prospect Park. "I've always been a tenant, all my life. This is the first time I'm a property owner," Markowitz told The New York Daily News.
Markowitz plans to box up his Park Slope rental apartment and head to his new 3,067 square-foot digs in January - a move that his neighbors eagerly anticipate. "It means we'll be plowed early and we'll have our garbage picked up," said Jenny Vanegas, who lives on the opposite side of the street. And considering that Markotwitz partially covered his down payment with settlement money from a slip-and-fall case, my guess is that Vanegas wont' be disappointed.

The rest of us Brooklyn renters, however, will be right where Markowitz left us - lying awake at 5am as the frat boys downstairs blast Beatles guitar hero and hoping that someday, someday a city official will move in next door.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>apartmentboroughbrooklyncity officialshomeownersnew yorknew york citypresidentrentrentalAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-24T15:00:00 00:00A (Very) Alternative Small Space Solutionhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/23/a-very-alternative-small-space-solution/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/23/a-very-alternative-small-space-solution/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/23/a-very-alternative-small-space-solution/#commentsFiled under: ,,

When you live in a small home, you always hear the same advice: Pare down your belongings and invest in storage to hide everything else away. Clutter, it's presumed, will make the space feel claustrophobic.

But Ryan Korban, a 25-year-old interior designer, has taken the opposite approach. Korban, who has designed the homes of actor James Franco and fashion designer Alexander Wang (a close friend), turned his 400 square foot SoHo apartment into a cave-like menagerie.

"When I see a minimalist apartment, I always think 'But where's their stuff?,'" Korban told The Wall Street Journal.
As you can see here, his home is stuffed with skins - a mink covered couch, stingray night table, and ostrich skin dresser, to name a few. Framed portraits rise from floor to ceiling, and books are stacked so high that they resemble architectural columns. Indeed, no surface has been spared: Ashtrays, orchids, and candlesticks have conquered the surfaces of his furniture. Yet the effect is as exotically elegant and explicitly personal as it is overwhelming.

"I like people to walk into a space and feel like they're entering a time period that hasn't existed yet," he said. What do you think? Is the stow-away approach a space saver? Or would you, like Ryan, let it all hang out?

Inside an Interior Designer's Home [WSJ]
Life in a 55 Square Foot Rental [Rented Spaces]
Tiny Homes of the Future [Housing Watch]

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>alexander wangAlexanderWangapartmentfashioninteriorinterior designinterior designernew york cityNewYorkCityryan korbansmall spacesohostorageAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-23T08:00:00 00:00Real Estate Buzzhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/21/real-estate-buzz/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/21/real-estate-buzz/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/21/real-estate-buzz/#commentsFiled under:

What does Real Estate sound like?

We've certainly been short on "ca-ching" and heavy on "crash," "bang," and "ker-splat" this year. But ask indie kids - particularly those from New Jersey - and they'll say Real Estate has the sound of a beachy, breezy summer day.

No, this isn't a reflection of New Jersey's housing market, which has consistently reported high foreclosure rates, as well as falling home sales and prices.They're referring to the band Real Estate, whose founding members hail from Ridgewood, New Jersey, and whose music channels dreamy, psychedelic pop - the kind that makes you want to head to the Jersey Shore and dig your toes in the sand. Even if it's late December.

Click here to give Real Estate a listen.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>bandbeachjersey shoreJerseyShoremusicnew jerseyNewJerseypopreal estateRealEstateAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-21T08:30:00 00:00Winds of Change off the Long Island Shore?http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/18/winds-of-change-off-the-long-island-shore/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/18/winds-of-change-off-the-long-island-shore/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/18/winds-of-change-off-the-long-island-shore/#commentsFiled under: ,

There is a "full symphony of pain" in store for New York State in 2010, according to Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky. And alarm bells certainly sounded this week, with the approval of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's "Doomsday Plan" to slice service routes and nix programs providing schoolchildren with Metrocards.

Despite the grim picture, Mayor Bloomberg feels confident that the winds of change will blow - literally. With the help of his sustainability director, Rohit Aggarwala, Mayor Bloomberg is pushing hard for the world's largest offshore wind power complex to be built off the Rockaways - a project that would generate 700 megawatts of energy and cost the city as much as $3 billion.
"It's a lot better than buying foreign oil," he told The New York Times, while on a visit this week to the world's current record-holder: the 209 megawatt-generating wind farm outside Esbjerg, Denmark. "It gives you a feeling for what it will be, I hope, off the Long Island Shore," he said, surveying its 91 spinning turbines.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>greengreen energyGreenEnergymayor bloombergmetropolitanmtanew yorknew york citynew york timessustainabilitysustainablewindwind farmWindFarmAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-18T15:00:00 00:00Frank Gehry, Closet Minimalist?http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/16/frank-gehry-closet-minimalist/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/16/frank-gehry-closet-minimalist/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/16/frank-gehry-closet-minimalist/#commentsFiled under: ,

Frank Gehry has assumed "starchitect" status thanks to his iconic, deconstructivist buildings, their facades fractured by contradictory waves and angles. Architecture, he has said, should "provide a beautiful context for life's drama." But turns out, Gehry prefers to leave the drama at his doorstep.

What's startling about this 4-bedroom garden duplex at 55 Crosby Street in SoHo is not the $5.8 million price tag, but the simplicity of the space that the famed architect once called home.
The interior is serene with 25-foot high ceilings that Gehry exposed, and floor-to-ceiling windows that let in plenty of light and overlook an expansive garden. No where is there the structural evidence of his signature writhing, tortured architectural style.

Of course, it's important to place boundaries between one's professional and personal life, but I wonder: Would those clocked by ice and snow falling from Gehry's savagely angled Stata Center at M.I.T. feel this is a case of 'practice what you preach'?

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>architecturecelebrity real estatedesignfrank gehrymanhattannew york cityAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-16T08:00:00 00:00Graffiti Artists Losing Ground in New Yorkhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/15/graffiti-artists-losing-ground-in-new-york/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/15/graffiti-artists-losing-ground-in-new-york/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/15/graffiti-artists-losing-ground-in-new-york/#commentsFiled under:

Is graffiti art or urban blight? That's long been the question in New York City, a graffiti hub since the 1960s, that's recently seen some beloved institutions fall.

In 2006, it was announced that 11 Spring Street - a 19th century NoLiTa building whose exterior bore two decades of spray paint and wheat paste artwork - would be demolished and rebuilt as condominiums.

And this year, the graffiti-covered, Long Island City building known as 5Pointz, which has housed graffiti artist studios for six years, is closing, after a collapsed stairwell led the Department of Buildings to demand $1 million of repairs - a sum the building owners couldn't afford.
The city has long had a conflicted relationship with the art form: The "Broken Window" theory that small, visible violations, like litter, shattered windows, and graffiti, eventually lead to more serious crime, drove city officials to demonize the spray-can wielding set in the 1980s. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority was particularly aggressive in undermining subway graffiti artists, who'd vie for territory - sometimes violently - in tunnels and trains, and eventually sent tagged trains to the scrap yard.

But others feel that graffiti should be preserved as an integral part of city history. And when I take the Q train from Brooklyn to Manhattan and see the "Masstransiscope" - an animated painting created by Bill Brand in the abandoned Myrtle Avenue subway station in 1980 - I can't help feeling nostalgia for New York's more colorful days.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>artcrimecriminalgraffitigraffiti artistmetropolitanmtanew york citystreetstreet artsubwayurbanAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-15T16:00:00 00:00Life in a 55 Square Foot Rentalhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/15/life-in-a-55-square-foot-rental/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/15/life-in-a-55-square-foot-rental/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/15/life-in-a-55-square-foot-rental/#commentsFiled under:

On the heels of a story about a couple's 175 square foot studio apartment in Morningside Heights, which they bought for $150,000, The New York Post has run a feature on outrageously small rental apartments, starting with the 55 square foot studio of Eddie Rabon.

The freelance producer's home in the neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, just west of Times Square, is only one square foot larger than a city jail cell. Rabon eats every meal out, and can't turn around in his sliver of a shower (some guests can't even close the bathroom door).

But after 18 months in the studio, he's still feeling positive: "The money I save not having to get on the train to get around because I'm in the center of everything is worth it." Besides, he adds, "I have a friend who lives around the corner - I consider that my living room."

Check out the video below for a tour of Rabon's home:



Related Article:
Tiny Homes of the Future [Housing Watch]

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>apartmentdesignhomenew yorknew york cityrentalrentalssmall spacesmall spacesAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-15T14:00:00 00:00Tracking Roaches and Rats by Neighborhoodhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/15/where-the-wild-things-are-tracking-roaches-rats-by-neighborhoo/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/15/where-the-wild-things-are-tracking-roaches-rats-by-neighborhoo/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/15/where-the-wild-things-are-tracking-roaches-rats-by-neighborhoo/#commentsFiled under: ,

If the sight of something scuttling across your floor prompts shrieks and weeks of sleeplessness, take note:

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has launched an Environmental Public Health Tracking Portal that lets users map the population of roaches, mice, and rats in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs. The data was derived from the 2008 NYC Housing and Vacancy Survey.
While only 9.5 percent of Upper East Side households reported seeing roaches daily in their homes, the numbers were decidedly different for East Harlem (51.1 percent), the Lower East Side/Chinatown (42.1 percent), and Washington Hieghts/Inwood (54.1 percent). If you can't afford Park Avenue, households in StuyTown, and Turtle Bay reported respectable 12.7 percent daily roach sightings, along with the lowest rodent run-ins at 6.7 percent.

But Manhattan's problems pale in comparison to the Bronx, with 43.6 percent of borough households seeing roaches daily and 36 percent reporting rodents in their buildings.

The solution, it seems, is to move to Staten Island, which has the best statistics by far - but I confess I'd rather brave the bugs.

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>buildingenvironmenthealthhomehouseholdinfestationmicenew yorknew york cityratsroachroachesrodentrodentssanitationvarmintAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-15T12:00:00 00:00Stalled Construction Sites Are Here to Stayhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/11/stalled-construction-sites-are-here-to-stay/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/11/stalled-construction-sites-are-here-to-stay/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/11/stalled-construction-sites-are-here-to-stay/#commentsFiled under:

When you live above a construction site, the promise of waking up to birds, instead of bulldozers, and sunshine, instead of tarp-covered scaffolding, is what gets you through. 'One day,' you think to yourself. 'I'll walk down my block without worrying about being crushed by a 25-story crane.'

Dream on.

Construction has stalled on 515 properties in New York City, according to an analysis by the New York Building Congress, with 237 of them in Brooklyn.
Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and other north Brooklyn neighborhoods account for 30 percent of the borough's stalled sites, thanks to the hipster-driven housing boom of recent years. The borough of Queens came in second, with 140 projects on hold, and Manhattan has 80, with particularly high concentrations in the Turtle Bay-East Midtown area.

The total number of stalled construction sites in New York City has increased by 30 percent since last July. And though a new law makes it easier for developers to renew building permits after they expire, NYBC president Richard Anderson believes the city has a long way to go. "In the midst of this credit crunch, we need a lot more incentives like tax credits, zoning modifications and land use changes to jumpstart these stalled projects," he told Crain's New York.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>boroughbrooklynbuildingconstructionconstruction sitesdeveloperdevelopmenthousinglivingnew yorknew york cityqueensreal estateAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-11T12:00:00 00:00Building's Lobby Becomes Religious Battlegroundhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/11/buildings-lobby-becomes-religious-battleground/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/11/buildings-lobby-becomes-religious-battleground/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/11/buildings-lobby-becomes-religious-battleground/#commentsFiled under: ,

With the holidays approaching, many apartment-dwellers have helped deck their lobbies with non-denominational cheer: sparkly snowman ornaments, pinecone-pimpled wreaths, and inoffensive boughs of holly.

But Justine Swartz is not amused. The Brooklyn Heights resident claims that her co-op building has violated her freedom to worship by forbidding her from lighting her menorah and praying in the lobby.

"My building's menorah lights have been extinguished," Swartz told The New York Post. "I have not kept the Jewish commandment that requires the menorah to be lit in a public place."

Swartz, who used to decorate the lobby Christmas tree, alleges that the co-op board recently upheld rules prohibiting religious display in common areas. When she called the property manager, BPC Management Corporation, to complain, she was asked, "You wouldn't want a Nativity scene, would you?"

"I believe space should be made available in this season of brotherly love for all people that want to pray and pay respect to God," she told The Post.

What do you think? Should a building's common space reflect different religious affiliations?Or should we stick to non-denominational decor?

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>apartmentapartment buildingbrooklynbuildingchristmaschristmas treedecordecoratingdecorationholidayholiday decoratingsmenorahnew yorkreligionAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-11T11:00:00 00:00After Disaster, Residents Rebuild Greenhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/10/after-disaster-residents-rebuild-green/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/10/after-disaster-residents-rebuild-green/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/10/after-disaster-residents-rebuild-green/#commentsFiled under:

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which tore through New Orleans on Aug. 28, 2005, architects and city planners had an opportunity to rebuild a major U.S. city in a thoughtful, sustainable way.

But more than four years later, New Orleans is still struggling with the nation's highest rates of murder and child homelessness - problems that make the much-publicized new eco-homes by Brad Pitt's Katrina relief organization, Make It Right, seem like superficial achievements.

Greensburg, however, a town of 1,400 in rural Kansas, may give you hope:

On May 4, 2007, a category-five tornado killed 11 residents and leveled 95 percent of the Greensburg. But days later, a town once known for the world's largest hand-dug well, decided to set itself apart in a different way: Greensburg residents vowed to rebuild the town as a model, green community and become the first U.S. city to have all municipal buildings meet LEED platinum standards.

Today, the Greensburg community center is LEED-certified and the city hall is expected to receive the same recognition. Last October, workers broke ground on the Greensburg Wind Farm, a 10-turbine tract that will harness the very force that demolished the town. A flurry of construction projects, including a series of model eco-homes and a new K-12 school, are underway.

"The tornado was a crisis that bonded people, which I think is a natural element of shared adversity, and the community was able to tap into that in a big way," Daniel Wallach, founder of the grassroots organization Greensburg GreenTown, told Mother Earth.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>architectarchitecturebuildingcommunityenvironmentenvironmentalgreengreensburggreensburg-kansaskansasLEEDnew orleanssustainabilitysustainablesustainable livingAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-10T15:00:00 00:00New York Rolls Out Electric Buseshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/10/new-york-rolls-out-electric-buses/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/10/new-york-rolls-out-electric-buses/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/10/new-york-rolls-out-electric-buses/#commentsFiled under:

Living near public transportation is traditionally considered a boon. But talk to New Yorkers who live above bus stops, and you'll likely hear horror stories of round-the-clock beeping, braking, rumbling and honking.

They're not imagining it. Researchers from Columbia University and the University of Washington found that noise levels at a Metropolitan Transit Authority bus stop reached 101.6 decibels (dBA). To put this number in perspective, consider that conversation typically hovers between 60 to 70 dBA, while gunfire reaches 140 dBA.

Fortunately for sleep-deprived city dwellers, the MTA recently rolled out a limited fleet of silent electric buses, with 87 more to come by the end of 2010. The buses by New Zealand-based manufacturer DesignLine cost $559,000 each, and come equipped with 37 seats and bright LED panels.

But it's the softly-purring engine that's the biggest draw: "Quiet as a tomb," Doreen M. Frasca, a pleased rider, told The New York Times - beautiful words, indeed, to those living above the stops.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>buselectric carelectric vehicleenvironmentenvironmentalgreenhybridmetropolitanmtanew yorknew york citynew york timesNewYorknoisepublicpublic transportationAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-10T12:00:00 00:00Composting Gets Easier for City-Dwellershttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/08/composting-gets-easier-for-city-dwellers/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/08/composting-gets-easier-for-city-dwellers/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/08/composting-gets-easier-for-city-dwellers/#commentsFiled under:

Americans waste 40 percent of the country's annual food supply, according to a study published by the Public Library of Science Journal last month.

This figure accounts for waste in the entire food supply - from fields and factories to the moldy leftovers in your fridge. But looking strictly at the food we buy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that we waste about one pound per person per day.

Composting is a natural solution to food waste. Homeowners with backyards need only carve out a little space to dump or bury food scraps. But city dwellers, whose outdoor experiences are limited to public parks and tar-blotched roofs, have traditionally had few options.

Over the last couple years, however, increasingly sophisticated (read: odorless) ways of composting inside your home have been introduced. Here are a few options:

  • The top-rated indoor composter company is Nature Mill, whose electrically-powered products grind food waste into houseplant-friendly fertilizer without causing a stink. Made of recycled polypropylene, NatureMill composters are slim enough to fit inside a kitchen cabinet and can process 120 pounds of food waste per month. The NatureMill XE Series, which debuted last October, ranges in price from $299-$399, and is already garnering positive reviews.
  • If you have a place to take your compost, you might like the Ceramic Compost Keeper by Norpro (pictured above). Ranging from $45-$70, the composter has charcoal air filters that effectively remove odor and is by far the best-looking option on the market. That said, the Compost Keeper needs to be emptied every few days, and customers complain about its slippery handle and popularity with fruit flies.
  • The All Seasons Indoor Composter, $65.99, can slide under a sink - but you might want to keep it there: Not because of the smell of rotting food, but because the mix-in "compost starter," whose microbes accelerate decomposition, is pretty pungent. That said, the Happy Farmer is praised for quickly fermenting and pickling food scraps.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>apartment earthApartmentEarthcompost binsCompostBinscompostingeco-friendlygardeninggreenrecyclingAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-08T08:00:00 00:00How to Choose a Solar Panel Systemhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/03/how-to-choose-a-solar-panel-system/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/03/how-to-choose-a-solar-panel-system/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/03/how-to-choose-a-solar-panel-system/#commentsFiled under:

Have you ever thought about putting solar panels on your roof? Now might be the time to do it. Prices for solar panels have plummeted, and industry experts anticipate a continued decline.

The culprit is an oversupply of silicon, an essential component of most solar panel systems. "Raw silicon that used to be $450 bucks per ounce is now worth $45 bucks per ounce," said Gaelan Brown, spokesperson for groSolar, a Vermont-based installer and distributor of solar panel systems. This, coupled with a 30 percent federal tax credit for solar installation and ever-cheaper models from China, have saved homeowners as much as $14,000, according to Mr. Brown.

There are a nerve-wracking number of solar manufacturers and installers out there, so I caught up with Shawn Roe of SRoeCo Solar, a solar advice service, and asked him to share five questions that all consumers should ask before purchasing a system. I hope you'll find his insight as helpful as I did:

1. "How many systems has your company installed?"
Due to the recent spike in solar panel installations, and the decrease in other construction-related businesses, many roofers, fencers, and builders are attempting to start solar installation companies with no solar experience and without proper solar installation knowledge. Look for a reputable installer with at least 50 installations and a few references.

2. "Is the warranty on my solar panels 25 years?"
Most solar panels on the market are high-quality and will have a guaranteed output of not less than 90% after 10 years and no less than 80% after 25 years. Any panel should have this warranty, whether it's made in Germany, China, or America.

3. "Is the warranty on your labor 10 years or longer?"
Some states require installers to warranty their labor for 10 years in order for the system to be eligible for state rebates. Any good installer should have no problem including this.

4. "What is the total output of the solar panel system in kWh/year?"
This is arguably the most important factor in comparing solar electric systems (other than price, of course). If you have solar panels warranted for 25 years, and labor guaranteed for 10, then the brand of solar panel - whether monocrystalline, polycrystalline, or any other - doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is how much energy they are expected to produce in a year. Many times the cheaper, "less efficient" solar panels will produce more energy in a year at a better price than the pricier, "more efficient" solar panels. When warranties are the same, output is the money-maker, not brand or efficiency.

5. "What is the final cost after parts, labor, installation and rebates?"
Don't compare the cost of the panels exclusively, or the labor exclusively. Compare the bottom-line cost after rebates. Whoever can give you the most output (kWh/year) at the best price, is the company you should chose.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>energyenergy savingenvironmentenvironmentalenvironmentally friendlygreengreen energyhomehouseHousing WatchHousingWatchroofsiliconsolarsolar energysolar panelsolar panelssolar powersunsystemAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-03T17:21:00 00:00Richard Gere Kills Trees, Infuriates Neighborshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/01/richard-gere-kills-trees-infuriates-neighbors/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/01/richard-gere-kills-trees-infuriates-neighbors/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/01/richard-gere-kills-trees-infuriates-neighbors/#commentsFiled under:

Actor Richard Gere has starred in "Chicago," "Runaway Bride," and last October, in "Amelia," alongside Hilary Swank. But his latest roll? 'Tree-killer,' according to angry neighbors in Bedford, N.Y., where Gere and his wife, Carey Lowell, own a 14-acre property.

This morning, The New York Post reported that Gere felled up to 200 trees on his property, without a permit, to make room for a horse paddock (the actor is a passionate equestrian).

Rather than seeking the proper channels and permits, he hired someone to cut them down," R.J.Marx, editor of the Record-Review, a local paper, told The New York Post. "He's generally a good neighbor. It was out of character."

Gere and Lowell restored an old farmhouse on their property and turned it into a bed-and-breakfast called the Bedford Post. In addition to the inn, which opened last July, the establishment boasts a yoga studio and a restaurant recently hailed by Esquire magazine as one of the best new restaurants of 2009.

But that was no comfort to rankled residents. "This is a town where money isn't an issue. What matters are good manners and caring about the community," another local told The Post. "I'm not sure what he was thinking."

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>bed and breakfastcelebritycelebrity real estatedeforestationenvironmentenvironmentalenvironmentallyfriendlygreenhomehousingwatchinnlocalneighbornew yorkpound ridgeresidentrestaurantrichard geretreetreesAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-01T15:40:00 00:00Richard Gere Kills Trees, Infuriates Neighborshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/01/richard-gere-kills-trees-infuriates-neighbors/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/01/richard-gere-kills-trees-infuriates-neighbors/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/01/richard-gere-kills-trees-infuriates-neighbors/#commentsActor Richard Gere has starred in "Chicago," "Runaway Bride," and last October, in "Amelia," alongside Hilary Swank. But his latest roll? 'Tree-killer,' according to angry neighbors in Bedford, N.Y., where Gere and his wife, Carey Lowell, own a 14-acre property.

This morning, The New York Post reported that Gere felled up to 200 trees on his property, without a permit, to make room for a horse paddock (the actor is a passionate equestrian).

Rather than seeking the proper channels and permits, he hired someone to cut them down," R.J.Marx, editor of the Record-Review, a local paper, told The New York Post. "He's generally a good neighbor. It was out of character."

Gere and Lowell restored an old farmhouse on their property and turned it into a bed-and-breakfast called the Bedford Post. In addition to the inn, which opened last July, the establishment boasts a yoga studio and a restaurant recently hailed by Esquire magazine as one of the best new restaurants of 2009.

But that was no comfort to rankled residents. "This is a town where money isn't an issue. What matters are good manners and caring about the community," another local told The Post. "I'm not sure what he was thinking."

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>bed and breakfastcelebritycelebrity real estatedeforestationenvironmentenvironmentalenvironmentallyfriendlygreenhomehousingwatchinnlocalneighbornew yorkpound ridgeresidentrestaurantrichard geretreetreesAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-01T15:40:00 00:00LEDs Find Their Way Homehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/01/leds-find-their-way-home/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/01/leds-find-their-way-home/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2009/12/01/leds-find-their-way-home/#commentsFiled under:

A study published yesterday by Osram, a German Lighting company, proves once and for all that LED bulbs and lamps require less energy to manufacture than incandescent bulbs. And the differences don't stop there: While incandescent bulbs last 1000-2000 hours, LEDs have a lifespan of 25,000 hours, and can reduce energy bills by as much as 80 percent.

So why doesn't everyone own an LED lamp?

"It's expensive," said Liz Johnson, a manager at Green Culture, a California-based retailer of environmental products. "You can go to Target and buy a lamp for $50, but an LED lamp might be $150." And that's just the sale price - the LED lamps sold at Green Culture normally range from $282 -$394.

Another problem: You can't simply screw an LED light bulb into a lamp you already own. "LED technology has been perfected for outdoor and architectural applications, like bridges and tunnels or traffic lights and exit signs," said Susan Bloom, communications director at Philips Lighting, the largest lighting manufacturer in the world.

But no such luck for consumers. "The holy grail of the whole LED industry is to create the LED equivalent of a 60 or 100 watt bulb," she said.

Last month, however, Philips came that much closer to this goal: The company launched a line of retrofit LED bulbs intended to replace incandescent bulbs in recessed, track, or accent lighting, as well as chandeliers and wall sconces. The bulbs are sold at Home Depot and range in price from $16-$70.

Bloom hopes that the accessibility of Home Depot and the easy incandescent-to-LED switch will brighten the bulb's prospects, despite the initial expense. "It's a new approach to lighting - a bulb that can, theoretically, last 25 years can be treated like an appliance. When you move, you take it with you," she said.

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>bulbenergyenergy efficiencyenergy efficientenergy savingEnergySavingenvironmentenvironmentalgreengreen livinghomehome depothousingwatchincandescentincandescent bulbslampLEDlight bulblightingphilipstechnologyAudrey Tempelsman2009-12-01T11:30:00 00:00