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Showing posts from December, 2008

A White Christmas 2008 in Valletta - Malta

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Rent-Stabilized life in New York

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Editta Sherman has celebrated more than half a century's worth of new years in her palatial studio apartment above New York's Carnegie Hall. But it's unlikely the celebrated portrait photographer will be raising her glass there next year........... The city of New York wants to renovate the space above Carnegie Hall, where Marlon Brando once lived and where Sherman and five other renters, including iconic New York Times' photographer Bill Cunningham, have enjoyed rent-stabilized bliss since Frank Sinatra cut his first demo. Sherman pays $650 a month for her studio, a drool-inducing space basked in natural light with floor-to-ceiling windows. An enormous skylight hangs over bold, black-and-white tiled floors; a cast-iron circular staircase leads to a loft stuffed with props....... Read the full article here .

Madoff Scandal Shaking Real Estate Industry

Almost no segment of New York City’s real estate industry was spared in the Madoff scandal, which may be history’s largest Ponzi scheme: commercial brokers large and small, little-known developers and prominent families like the Wilpons and Rechlers all lost money to Bernard L. Madoff, industry executives say.............. “They knew him from golfing in the Hamptons. They knew him from the locker rooms,” Mr. Reisman said. “He was considered a wizard.” Mr. Reisman said his clients were especially concerned because they counted on Madoff investments to complete some of their real estate projects, pledging their investments as collateral for projects. Those developers fear that when their banks realize that their investments with Mr. Madoff have disappeared, they will demand new collateral from other sources, Mr. Reisman said. Finding those alternative lenders will be difficult given the financial crisis — and given that many other real estate investors have been hurt by the Madoff case.

MEPA proposes street categorisation

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) is in the final stages of proposing several schemes involving the categorisation of streets in urban conservation areas. The four areas in the Malta Local Plan set to be categorised are: the North West Local Plan, the South Malta Local Plan, the Marsaxlokk Bay Local Plan, and the Central Malta Local Plan. The proposals were presented to several non-governmental organisations on Tuesday for consultation and will be presented to local councils on the week starting December 8. The Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue, Chris Said said that government worked hard to seriously consult the involved sectors so that the best results could be achieved in realising these schemes. di-ve.com 02 December 2008 -- 19:50CEST