Since last Thursday, there have been 200 price cuts on properties listed at less than $10 million on Manhattan's Upper East Side or Upper West Side -- a 17% jump from the week before. Deanna Kory, a broker with New York-based Corcoran Group who's handling nearly two-dozen properties priced between $2 million and $10 million, says her showings are down by about 40% in the last two weeks compared to the same time last year. A slew of new buildings set to open in the next year will only increase supply. (Wall Street Journal)
So, how was your week? As I've written before, I work in the Financial District, though my job has nothing to do with financials (or districts). Or Wall Street. Anyway, as you read here exclusively last week, things aren't going so well on Wall Street. But seriously, this past week was -- for a lack of a better word -- interesting. I noticed this giddy undercurrent while walking around. Especially among the tourists, who sensed they were witnessing history. And there was no shortage of activity, which is documented in subsequent posts. On Monday, a small group (uh, four) of Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty volunteers took to the steps of Federal Hall to voice displeasure over the Fed's bajillion dollar bailout proposal.
[For the record, that is NOT my thumb with the dirty nail...]
Also! Reporters and various rubberneckers stood outside the Federal Reserve on Maiden Lane to look at some well-dressed white people in suits. They were waiting to see Hillary Clinton.
And I think we all know why there was such commotion at the Fed...the missing gold!
Members of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) held a small demonstration at the side of the Chase Plaza on Liberty Street late in the morning. They ask that Congress protect homeowners facing foreclosures (paraphrasing here) instead of the Wall Street fatcats who got us into this mess.
Meanwhile!
Offices are being emptied...
Streets are being ripped up...
and this guy tried to charge me $20 to take his picture.
VIPs are rushed to the entrance of the NYSE. A pack of photographers wait. Tourists get as close to the action as they can. Cops and Secret Servicey-looking people stand guard. Bomb-sniffing dogs whip into a frenzy. Who is it? Brad and Angelina?! (Oh, God -- please let it be! And who started this rumor in front of so many tourists? Heh.) It's, it's...
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark. Oh. Let's hit Century 21!
When: 4pm – ? Thursday, September 25. Where: Southern end of Bowling Green Park, in the plaza area What to bring: Banners, noisemakers, signs, leaflets, etc. Why: To say we won’t pay for the Wall Street bailout Who: Everyone!
In certain Asian countries, Betelnut is a popular stimulant sold by scantily-clad young girls in streetside booths. A couple years ago, artist Annamarie Ho recreated a Betel nut booth as a gallery installation commenting on this "sexually provocative sales style" in which, it would seem, customers are buying interaction with the salesperson as much as they're paying for the Betelnut. For the next two weekends, Annamarie is reviving the piece, Binlang Xi Shi (Betelnut Girls), but this time in the more unpredictable location of a New York City storefront.
Here's that storefront:
west side of Cleveland Place, south of Kenmare Street around the corner from La Esquina
Michael Douglas fielded questions yesterday about the current economic crisis facing America. Apparently, playing Gordon Gekko in Wall Street over two decades ago makes him a financial expert. Wow, way to hit a home run, mainstream media. For a minute there, I was almost worried people might not think we're a nation of total idiots. The Associated Press reports:
After world leaders here condemned the "boundless greed" of world markets, Douglas was asked to compare nuclear Armageddon with the "financial Armageddon on Wall Street." But the likening to Gekko did not end there, with a reporter asking: "Are you saying Gordon that greed is not good?" "I'm not saying that," Douglas replied. "And my name is not Gordon. He's a character I played 20 years ago."
Ironically, no one asked Michael Douglas how to run the country even though he starred in The American President.
