Results tagged “richpeople”

After Rep. Anthony Weiner revealed his hesitance about running for mayor this fall, reporters asked Mayor Bloomberg if his wealth was intimidating to other potential candidates. The mayor, the 17th richest man in the world, is reportedly spending $80 million (or 0.5% of his wealth) on his campaign. Politicker NY, which has video of the extended answer, reports that Bloomberg said, "There’s no evidence to me that there are fewer candidates running... We don’t preclude you from running because you got a better education than I did or are better looking or more photogenic.” Related: The NY Times' Clyde Haberman explains Bloomberg's "we love rich people" remark by way of the Mayor's budget data that "show... people earning $500,000 or more a year make up 1 percent of New York taxpayers but account for nearly 50 percent of the income taxes that the city collects."

Over a year after Brooke Astor's death, journalist Meryl Gordon has published a book, Mrs. Astor Regrets, about the battle over the philanthropist's care and finances during her final years. The Post excerpted some juicy parts last month, but this Janet Maslin's review of the biography offered this interesting insight: "Many of those interviewed seem tone-deaf to their own gushing excesses and overwhelmed by displays of largess. About Ms. De la Renta’s literally gilded childhood: 'Dinner guests still recall the stacks of gold Krugerrands used as table décor and given away as party favors.'” And the saga surrounding Brooke Astor's legacy is far from over: Her son Anthony Marshall was indicted on criminal charges relating to how his mother's will was handled (believed to be forged to benefit him) last year.

Not only are rich people selling their diamonds, dropping their personal trainers, and worrying about telling their spouses to stop spending money because of the economy (at least, that's what a NY Times Styles section article says!), they are forced to advertise their multi-million dollar homes using a chalkboard--with euro conversion--on the street!

Yesterday Forbes magazine, in their annual ranking of the rich, declared New York City is no longer the billionaire capital of the world. Where have all the dollar signs gone? To Moscow, of course, who beat us out by 3 billionaires (they have 74 to our 71).

The NY Times' Styles section describes the lonely existence of new residents of the Plaza Hotel condos. Why lonely? Well, if you can afford the pricey digs ($6,400 per square foot!; an owner interviewed paid $5.8 million for a two bedroom), your neighbors are also rich people who probably have other residences and don't live there very often.

The Chronicle of Higher Education released its annual salary survey of the heads of educational institutions and the value of a college education is evidenced in the paychecks being cashed by institutions' presidents. More than a dozen heads of private universities took home more than $1 million during the 2005-06 school year. According to the New York Post, the dean of higher earning was Donald Ross, who took home $5.7 million--most in deferred compensation after...

New York magazine has an extraordinary cover story on the life of Brooke Astor, months after the "doyenne" of the city's social scene passed away. It is a sordid tale of jealousy, greed, enmity, conflicting agendas, and familial conflict worthy of the most outlandish soap opera. Her son Tony is now under i investigation by a grand jury and control of her estate has passed to Astor's friend Annette de la Renta. The litany of...

Evidence continues to be collected and associates continue to be questioned as the police try to solve the murder of "broker to the stars" Linda Stein. Stein, who managed the Ramones back in the day and had many famous friends, was found bludgeoned to death in her exclusive Fifth Avenue apartment on October 30. So far, the police have spoken to former business associates, her family, construction workers and building residents, as well as removed...

If you're really, really rich, why not offer $150 million for a triplex penthouse at The Mark Hotel on East 77th Street? The Post reports that Russian-born American billionaire Leonard Blavatnik (#102 on the last Forbes list has "signed a letter of intent" for a number of units that would total almost 30,000 square feet. That's about $5,000/square foot! The Mark is being renovated to offer residences in addition to its hotel rooms. We guess...

The most expensive dessert in the world (pictured) used to be the $14,500 “Fortress Aquamarine” served at a luxury resort in Sri Lanka. But today Sri Lankans can choke on their gilded shame, for the Upper East Side’s Serendipity 3 has put America back on top with a $25,000 triumph called the Frrrozen [sic] Haute Chocolate. Break out your giant diamond-encrusted foam fingers, because the Guinness Book of World Records will now list this as...

Two men were arraigned for trying to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from billionaire Mayor Bloomberg. Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau outlined the two schemes:

If it's April, it's time to get quarterly real estate data. The NY Times reports that the "prices and number of apartments selling in Manhattan rose" during the beginning of the year. Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property say sales were up 12% versus 2006's 4th quarter. And in an amusing example of how different data can be, BHS and HP say prices rose 6%, but Prudential Douglas Elliman says prices rose 5.4% and Corcoran says they rose 12%.

Earlier today, former mayor Rudy Giuliani was endorsed by Steve Forbes in front of the NASDAQ board. Forbes ran for president in 1996 and 2000 and, like Giuliani, appeared on Saturday Night Live. While Forbes, who has touted a flat income tax, said that Giuliani's record "showed how exercising fiscal discipline, including tax cuts, lowers deficits, spurs economic growth, and increases revenue," we're really not sure what Forbes' endorsement does for Rudy. Encourage more rich people to donate to him? Ensures a lifetime subscription to Forbes? Makes it easier to ask Bono to play at events where 9/11 is mentioned? (The Forbes-Giuliani connection is that Giuliani would like to move to a flat tax over time.)

Untitled, by vanshnookenraggen on Flickr. Tag yours "Gothamist" if you want us to use them.

- And finally, poor Alice Coote.

Radical Cartography has launched another interesting comparative maps project called City Income Donuts:

As World Cup fever slowly infects its way across the five boroughs (we can't be the only ones who've found ourselves standing for hours in bodegas staring at soccer matches when we've already bought the beer we came for) the city has announced its own new competition, and we're pretty pumped for it, too! Using one of the few remaining large vacant properties in the city's portfolio, the Bloomberg administration and an architects' group are announcing today "a competition to pick an architect and a developer to build an apartment complex on vacant city-owned land in the South Bronx." (specifically on Brook Avenue and East 156th)

The criteria to be used by the jury of architects, developers and city officials that will select the winning plan will put a premium on design quality, affordability and factors like energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources. Then the city will give the winning team the site, a 40,000-square-foot former railyard, for about a dollar a lot for the two lots involved.

Continue reading "A Development Competition Grows in the Bronx"

- And speaking of bad behavior by rich people: Eater hears a rumor about CSFB bankers bribing their way past the line at Shake Shack. Scandal!

The Department of Homeland Security want to help New Yorkers - New Yorkers who can afford $140 helicopter rides from downtown Manhattan to JFK Airport that is. It seems that the Downtown Heliport at Wall Street will be the offering 9 minute rides to JFK for seven sweet Andrew Jacksons. The Downtown Heliport will be "federalized," with federal screeners and everything which will enable rich people or people with generous expense accounts to bypass security lines at JFK as well. U.S. Helicopter, which will offer the rides in March, is charging $139 each way for as an "introductory offer." The heliport at East 34th Street will be federalized too, with hopes that the West Side heliport at West 30th will be as well. Gothamist loves the idea of getting to the airport faster, but with the extra cash you spend, you could book a cheap flight somewhere...or at least have a nice meal. Clearly, another way to make the captains of industry feel better and us plebes feel crappy.

It's New York magazine's 2005 Salary Survey, and the lesson is clearly: The city is full of rich people who are not you. In our highly unscientific early-morning survey of a few pages of the survey, it seems that well over half of the incomes are over $1 million. According to the U.S. Census, only 3% of New York City households have an income of over $250,000. Overlaying that with the number of households in the city, that's just over 90,000 households. Gothamist expects many people to be obsessing over this survey while at work today.

- The two teenage girls who died on East Houston Street a week and a half ago died of heroin-and-cocaine overdoses

New York is in a tizzy because it's the day before The Gates in Central Park officially open. Gothamist must say, we love how there's so much excitement about public art. Honestly, there hasn't been this much excitement and anticipation from photobloggers in New York since...the Republican National Convention last summer. Wow, Mayor Bloomberg, you really know how to push New Yorkers' buttons! The finishing touches won't be put on The Gates until tomorrow at 8AM. Christo and Jeanne-Claude were beaming on the Today Show, alongside Mayor Bloomberg; Katie Couric showered all three with hosannas over the project, and Jeanne-Claude is Gothamist's new hero, as she smacked Katie a little bit. Seriously, whether or not people love or hate The Gates, it's pretty thrilling there's so much passion around public art. Even Newsday's Ellis Henican agrees!

Subway riders are still grousing about the C-line suspension, even though C will be running again in a few months. One of the main reasons might be because having the C, plus part of the A out, many other subway lines are affected (the A is running on the F/V), making everyone's subway commute feel twice as long and harrowing in a way only the MTA can do. One person told Newsday, "the rats look bigger, too."

Andrew Boyd, Cultural Activist and Founder, Billionaires for Bush

And two reasons why keeping things "simple" at home is a good idea: Patrice Moore's apartment and the legendary Collyer Brothers.

Steven I. Weiss, Journalist/Blogger

"It is certainly a shame that this has to be done at this time," state Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus told jurors after announcing his decision.Shame? It's a lowdown, dirty shame! Okay, fine, maybe that's just what judges have to do. But six months of tax payer money for these money-grubbing rich people. Gothamist mad!

Samology has a very informal survey on 1+ bedroom rents in SoHo, the East Village, and Park Slope, based on data from Craigslist, which makes us wonder, what would you pick? A cheaper one bedroom on the Upper East Side relatively near creature comforts with an elevator or rundown but hip East Village/Lower East Side/Williamsburg walk-up?

Yesterday, jurors for the case against free spending ex–Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski were treated to home video footage of his $18 million Fifth Avenue apartment, which the prosecution says was paid for by Tyco monies. Another $14 million was sunk into the apartment for renovations, art, and furnishings. The highlights: Paintings by Monet and Renoir, a $17,100 "leather and bronze toilette box" Kozlowski hated and stashed in a closet, and the infamous $6,000 shower curtain. The silver-threaded shower curtain reminds Gothamist that we're in the wrong business: Clearly, overcharging rich people to overdecorate their apartment is where the money is.