Definition of Principle

It has often been said that real estate agents and brokers in NYC are not exactly known for their ethics, morals or values. Let’s face it, we have a really bad reputation here in Manhattan.

Today, I was reading a few real estate sites and the message boards were full of anti-broker comments.  I must say, it is always disheartening to come across those that do not practice a set a values in this business.  On the flip side, I have had the pleasure of working with some really great brokers that always do the right thing — even if it means walking away from dishonest situations.  Over the years I have diligently tried to change that perception –it is actually one of my written goals.

Recently, without going into details or tarnishing the image of the individuals that are involved, I was put in a compromising quandary here in NYC real estate.  Something I could not agree to do.  So, I simply said,  “ I cannot do it because of the principle of it!”

It is nearly seven days after that meeting and nothing has been resolved.  My children, Grace and Sam asked me tonight about the status.  By their questions, I also realized they, like those of last week, do not know what is meant by me when I say, “it’s the principle of it”.

So, I used a very simple analogy to explain it to my children.

I said to them:

“Let’s say you worked really, REALLY hard all quarter long at school and earned an “A” in every subject. During that same quarter you happened to notice that a really popular classmate (whose family gave a lot of money to the school) was cheating – you said something to the teacher about the popular kid cheating and never brought it up again. You actually never thought about the kid that cheated again because you were too busy working for those As!   Even though you are not popular, did not come from a wealthy family -like your classmate, you were really proud of what you accomplished and could not wait to get that report card. 

It is now the last day of the quarter and you are waiting for your teacher to give you your report card and see your name on the honor roll! But, your teacher kind of made it difficult for you. Your teacher said to you, that in order to get your report card and be on the honor roll, you would have to sign a document that said you never saw or reported that your classmate was cheating…What would you do?”

Sam said: “Mom, that’s just not right!”

Grace said: “Mom, that would be a bribe…”

Sam said: “Mom, that would make me a cheat too by lying…(long pause) I could not do it.”

I smiled and said: “That is what is meant by: it’s the principle of it!”

Grace and Sam replied: “We get it Mom.”

Definition of Principle (n):The collectivity of moral or ethical standards or judgments: a decision based on principle rather than expediency.

The Signature in Real Estate

Over the years, I have rolled my eyes when I have received emails with huge signature taglines and have kept my thoughts to myself.   However, this evening, as I was cleaning out my “inbox” in Outlook, I noticed that the majority of the huge mail items were from real estate agents –mainly, because their “signature” attachments are so large.  

When did the “signature” become more important than the message?

Example 1:  An agent sent a one sentence message to me that was “26KB” because his signature line was 4 inches –I am not exaggerating. A signature that included:  his name, his personal logo, his official title,  his contact info, all of his awards, his broker’s logo, a movie attachment (about himself), a link to “his properties” and a “think green logo”.  (I refrain from commenting on the “green” aspect of such a signature!!)

He is not alone in this tacky display of inconsideration that is interpreted by many (in the profession) as someone that is a genius to “Branding” and to others as rude…

Example 2: Another agent had a similar signature, but, with a few more additions: follow me on twitter (link); following me on Facebook (link).

I thought to myself:   “Are you kidding me? How are you taking care of your clients with all of this self- branding via social media? Do people really care that you showed an apartment and then went to Pastis — is this why you never submitted my offer?” 

When did the “Brand” replace the “product”?  When did the “product” become the agent (broker) and not the apartment (and client)?

A Greenwich Village Soliloquy

In the past I have made an effort not to be biased in my writings of neighborhoods within this island called Manhattan; but, this evening I have decided that my romance with Greenwich Village needs to be voiced on this page.

It has been said that, “the Village is the most significant square mile in American cultural history”.

I must admit, that it definitely has made a significant impression on me: from my pre-teen years in a small college town in Ohio that leads to my passion as a professional in this city today. 

Proustian memory took its hold on me as I walked through the Village today…

Flash to 12 years old:  In my hometown of Wooster, Ohio I was learning a piece of music, “Still on this Shining Night” by Samuel Barber. The lyrics to the piece haunted me and I needed to find out more about this James Agee that inked them. So, I  fiercely studied Agee’s “Descriptions of Elysium” and other parts of Permit Me Voyage. I became slightly obsessed with Agee from that age of twelve. Because of my obsession with his writings, he introduced me to the photographer, Walker Evans in his book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Both Agee & Evans were residents of Greenwich Village.

Reflection to Teen Years: Still in Wooster, I would take escape from the mundane rural life and visit my public library. I would sit for hours and devour huge art books working my way up to 20th century masters including on again off again Village residents as Winslow Homer, Diego Rivera and John LaFarge. Not knowing then that other residents such as Man Ray would peak my interests so many years later.  And that abstract expressionism, which found its tone in Greenwich Village would be a style that I would want to learn more about now in my thirties.

Spell of 18 years old:  In Cleveland, I found myself massively in-love for the first time. My first love introduced me to the works of Jackson Pollock. Pollock lived at 46 Carmine, 47 Horatio, 46 East 8th in the Village.  I in turn introduced my first love to my fascination with the writings of Henry Miller—a resident as well. And then, heart-break entered my world. During the laments of such agony with my once (naively) betrothed, I read Kahlil Gibran’s, The Prophet. I am reminded of my first engagement with heart-break every time I pass, 51 West 10th Street – where Gibran lived.

Of course there are so many “Great Minds of the Village” that influenced me over the next twenty years -including important social movements. But, today was just a quick flash to my youth, reminding me, I have always had a connection to this neighborhood. It started in Greenwich Village for me–even though I had never been.  

I  desire to make my own imprint on the Village one day. Maybe, a real estate legacy of some sort…

 

Celebrate the Village in 2009:

Summer events sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

Beyond the Beatniks: The Hidden History of St. Mark’s Place
A Walking Tour with Eric Ferrara
Sunday, July 12
1:00 – 2:30 P.M.
Meeting place given upon reservation.
Free; reservations required.
RSVP to rsvp@gvshp.org or (212) 475-9585 ext. 35

St. Mark’s Place staked its claim as an epicenter of pioneering radical arts, activism, and counterculture in America over half a century ago — but there is much more than meets the eye. Before the beatniks, hippies, and punks (and way before the t-shirt and yogurt shops), St. Mark’s Place served as an important social and political hub for the ever changing immigrant groups populating the neighborhood over the last 150 years.

On this tour, we will peel back the layers of myths, legends, and misconceptions of St. Mark’s Place to reveal little-known history about this fascinating street and time capsule of East Village/Lower East Side/New York City history.

Eric Ferrara is a fourth generation/native Lower East Sider, published author, licensed guide, and executive director of the East Village History Project and East Village Visitors Center. Ferrara offers years of unprecedented research along with personal anecdotes and oral history which make for a truly unique experience.

This event is co-sponsored by the East Village History Project/East Village Visitors Center.

An Evening at the Jefferson Market Garden
Featuring the cast of the Greenwich Village Follies
Tuesday, July 28
[Rain date: July 30]
6:00 – 8:00 P.M.
Jefferson Market Garden
Enter on Greenwich Avenue at Sixth Avenue and West 10th Street
Free; reservations required.
RSVP to rsvp@gvshp.org or (212) 475-9585 ext. 35

The Village on Film Presents: Wait Until Dark
A GVSHP Film Series
Thursday, August 6
6:30 – 9:00 P.M.
Neighborhood Preservation Center
232 East 11th Street
Free; reservations required.
RSVP to rsvp@gvshp.org or (212) 475-9585 ext. 35

Following our May screening of Next Stop, Greenwich Village, GVSHP presents Part Two of our Village on Film Series.

Come see Audrey Hepburn’s Oscar-nominated performance in Terence Young’s Wait Until Dark. Hepburn plays a recently-blinded woman who lives on St. Luke’s Place. After her husband agrees to carry a doll over the border for a stranger, Hepburn’s Susy Hendrix is then terrorized by three criminals (led by Alan Arkin as Roat) who believe that their large stash of stolen heroin is inside the doll. The search begins benignly but turns violent as Susy catches on to the thieves’ plot and forms a plan of her own to level the playing field.

This film screening will be held in GVSHP’s living room with popcorn and goodies provided! Space is limited.

The Villagers of Ellis Island
A Walking Tour of Ellis Island with Tom Bernardin
Sunday, August 16
Meet at 11:45 A.M.
Meeting place given upon reservation
$12/person for ferry fees.
RSVP to rsvp@gvshp.org or (212) 475-9585 ext. 35

Greenwich Village has often been celebrated for its rich immigrant past, including the South Village’s Italian community, the groups of French immigrants living on Bleecker Street in the nineteenth-century, and the Ukrainian heritage of the East Village. But how did these future Villagers enter our country? In many cases, they came through Ellis Island, the long-acknowledged immigration hub of the United States.

Join Tom Bernardin, former National Park Service Ellis Island ranger at pre-restoration Ellis Island and author/publisher of The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook as we explore Ellis Island and its connection to Greenwich Village immigrant groups. This program will provide an entire day’s jaunt out to Ellis Island, including a tour of the island exclusively for GVSHP followed by individual opportunities to explore the Island.