Category: General (Page 4 of 5)

There’s always a lot of contention and rhetoric regarding the issue of rent stabilization, as evidenced by the annual raucous event in June when the Rent Guidelines Board holds its meeting. To be sure, this is to be expected when one is dealing with issues of finance, livelihood, profits, and making ends meet as a tenant or as a landlord.

There are many in New York City who allege that rent stabilization is to be blamed for the continued housing shortage and high rents. Many landlords with personal agendas refuse to see beyond the lining of their own pockets. They, and their numberless advocates, would like to see the poor, the indigent, the working class, the hardworking fireman, police officer, nurse, janitor, stockroom clerk, and myriad decent, law abiding citizens run out of town and replaced by the wealthy, the Wall Sreeter, loaded foreigners using NYC as a playground for second homes, and kindred types in an assorted well-heeled only clique.

Well, they can dream on, if they must, but the state legislature, many years ago, acted wisely in recognizing that if market forces alone were to determine housing costs in NYC, this great town would become a playland for only the Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue gentry and similar other financially well-endowed individuals. They realized that NYC stands as a beacon to the world of the best of America, that it is more than another metropolis for only the likes of the Rockefellers, JP Morgans, Vanderbilts, and a wave of pseudo and nouveau wealthy, and the menagerie of individuals who have attained or inherited wealth by legal or illegal means.

They understood that NYC is not Beverly Hills, that it stands alone in America and throughout the world as a place for people of all ethnicities, all races, all classes, all religions to coexist, to work, and yes…to find shelter.

Some have argued that since food prices are not generally regulated, why should some housing be subject to rules and price restraints. Housing and food are considered basic human needs in all societies and here in NYC and in America we do provide safeguards for many against out of control food prices by providing food stamps and other assistance to those who cannot afford the market rates by virtue of income and assets. Likewise, in NYC we provide rent regulations to ensure economic diversity in the city’s population and affordability for those who would otherwise be priced out.

For those who cry foul alleging that regulations are killing landlords, one must consider also that many owners of rent regulated buildings and units have enjoyed tax breaks, abatements, concessions that were granted to them up front and which some continue to enjoy.

Most Americans support our capitalist form of government in which the marketplace is the dominant mechanism at work. We also demand governmental oversight, vigilance, regulation, interference in ensuring safety, health, environmental standards are met and also that the economic pie is available for all hardworking and that cities like NYC remain economically and socially diversified and well-balanced.

This combination ensures that NYC continues to attract the best talent to manage its industries and governments as well as those at ground level to care for the work needed there. It allows NYC to be the residence and workplace for those also who work to maintain its infrastructure for all – teachers, police officers, firemen, paramedics, construction workers, and a long list of hardworking others scattered throughout the city.

There will always be a few culprits on both sides who abuse a system that was designed to do good. There will be stabilized tenants with lofty salaries and assets, riding high, frolicking in the sand and beach at their other villas; there will be landlords never satisfied with the rent they are getting if they can eke out one more penny from another hapless tenant including the old granny living off of her tiny social security check and struggling to buy food and medicine.

Many owners of regulated apartments do indeed have a difficult time keeping pace with rising costs of energy, labor, maintenance, supplies, etc. We cannot ignore the legitimate concerns of struggling landlords facing escalating costs. But the Board does take into account their concerns when it meets annually to determine the allowable percentage increase in rents for buildings under stabilization.

When the smoke clears and the dust settles, one finds that sometimes there really are struggling landlords; and yes, sometimes there really are people who are unable to move elsewhere not only in the city but practically in any other corner of the planet.

The status quo in rent stabilization may not be ideal, it may not be perfect, and it may well indeed be in need of tweaking or even fundamental reform to address abuses and to find alternative or complementary means of housing affordability. Let’s however not throw out the baby with the bath water but work together as residents of the city through our elected representatives to address the concerns of all constituents.

“It’s ironic that very often the ones who root for you, encourage you, motivate you, or see in you the prospects to cross an important personal threshold, end up being strangers, acquaintances, and friends, rather than immediate family or loved ones. Perhaps, as Jesus once said, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown.’

“The piercing and insightful words by the Son of God can be metaphorically applied to so many individual situations.

“People often have dreams or talents or skills or goals that they work hard to attain. They often have messages that they desire to share to those at large. The paradox that obtains so frequently is that the ones that they expect to see their message,e or to root for them, see nothing at all, or find nothing worth tipping their hat to.

Make Mine Well Done And On The House

It’s seventy-five degrees, cool breeze blowing, beautiful summer evening at a prominent watering hole and steakhouse on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The restaurant is doing a brisk business both indoors and in its outdoor/patio service. Patrons are happy, jovial, sipping their drinks and enjoying a nice meal, good company, pleasant conversation, and a relaxed atmosphere.

Guy walks in off the street, impeccably dressed, warm smile, steps up to bar and asks bartender for John. Bartender replies that John left establishment about one year ago. Fella looks disappointed but peruses menu anyway and orders most expensive cut of steak from this well-known steakhouse. He enjoys a martini while awaiting his well-done steak. While taking in the ambiance and frivolity, he engages others at bar in friendly conversation – discussing local politics and the day’s headline news.

After his hearty meal, he orders another martini, followed by a glass of Muscata, a fine Italian dessert wine. He then orders dessert and in the meantime steps outside to apparently have a smoke – as other diners were also doing.

The well-dressed, suave, friendly, conversational gentleman never returns and the bartender is stuck with a bill of $125.00.

Rumor has it that this fella enjoys his evening meals repeating this episode in fancy restaurants across town

Ketchup, Anyone?

Middle-Aged man in Texas hat and cowboy boots strolls in to Mickey D’s in Rockefeller Center area. Walks up to cashier and bellows, “Give me a Texas-sized burger and some good old Southern fries!” Cashier corrects and fills his order and he grabs a seat. Everyone stares at him as he rapidly devours meal, belches loudly, and gets up to put on top half of rodeo outfit – a stylish denim jacket that he had hung on chair back.

Man and woman seated behind jump up and point out to him that there’s a heap of ketchup and mustard at back of his jacket. Woman grabs his jacket and whips out tissue from purse to render assistance. Meantime her male companion engages Texas man in conversation about weather in NYC, asks tourist how’s it down there in Texas, is Bush still a popular hombre there, etc.

Wiped jacket returned to grateful man from Texas who profusely thanks couple for kindness. Couple exit hurriedly saying they’re in a rush for the early matinee at Radio City. Texas man leaves Mickey D’s, then moments later runs back in yelling, “I’ve lost my wallet and my cell phone that were in my jacket! Anybody found them?!”

The ketchup scam strikes again.

There’s so much at stake when one uproots oneself from a place called home, perhaps all one’s life, to relocate elsewhere. Even though one may have done all the research and taken all the intelligent steps, one can find that, years after one has relocated, one falls into a number of categories. One may end up disappointed, ecstatic, or just about on average satisfied that one has done the right thing.

We are all different and each of us may have different visions than another individual or individuals. This is so true in just about anything in life – occupation, entertainment, dining, neighborhoods, religious and ethnic backgrounds and dispositions…and certainly in being happy in a new locale, state, or part of the world.

Perhaps that is why we can never visit online or other forums for absolute approval or disapproval of a desire to live somewhere. We can be guided only so much by others’ experiences, points of view, and their stories of success or failure.

We must also constantly be aware that so much goes into making a place of residence the place that it is – weather, jobs, traffic, crime, religious and political climate, level of tolerance for others of differing perspectives, cultural opportunities, recreation, dining, entertainment, educational infrastructure, access to decent medical care, family and friends…and the list goes on.

We can do all the research online on forums and other sites, we can visit different areas for extended periods, chat with locals, read local newspapers and use other media – all good to go. I believe, however, that in the final analysis, we sometimes can never know unless we try it out by actually living somewhere. However, though it’s not foolproof, doing all the necessary research, visits, and soul-searching can at least give us a clearer idea of whether we should eliminate a place from our list or go right on ahead with the relocation plans.

There will always be pros and cons wherever we go in life, in whichever part of the world or the country we yearn for. And what’s fantastic for one person is a disappointment for another. At least by exploring the pros and cons which a very large percentage of people experience, one can determine whether: (a) one can be happy with such a list or (b) one does not feel the same way as the majority and therefore need not be guided accordingly.

Potential transplants must also determine whether they have the financial, emotional, and other resources to fall back on should they decide that their new locale is not the place to be. Or at least they might evaluate whether they can make the best of a bad situation and move on with life. Then, of course, they might just find out that moving to their new town, city, or country was the best decision they ever made.

I know America is not a perfect place. No place is. But it so irks me to see the hate toward this awesome country emanating from people right here, and from all over the world, people who blame us for everything bad under the sun since the dawning of civilization – even though America is only part of the New World.

Yet, millions continue to flock to the shores of this beautiful land seeking a better life. They come from countries far and wide with varying forms of government – communist, socialist, secular, theocratic, monarchical, royal; countries that are poor, rich, not so rich

Sure America does not have an unblemished history, Sure, it’s taken generations for it to live up to the promises in its glorious Constitution. Sure, we’ve made blunders around the world. But we’ve also sacrificed the lives of Americans in uniform answering the calls of the distressed and oppressed in country after country. The sad reality, though, is that sometimes the same ones who cry out for our help often eventually assail us for being there.

We are often accused of seeking oil where there is none, seeking profits where all that exists are barren lands, grieving mothers and children, oppressed peoples, and belligerents hiding in mountains seeking to take us out for anything generous we do – from humanitarian aid to military assistance offered in response to the cries for help.

Let the record be clear. This is one immigrant writer who thanks God every day for bringing him to the shores of the blessed USA.

Even though I am cognizant of the inequities that still exist, of the mistakes that will always be made, America is like a lover. You take her as she is with all her faults because you love her immensely. You recognize your own imperfections and thus do not expect her to be perfect. You’ve tried other experiences and have found out that in life there is no perfection, for we are still all human. But you also know that the one you hold close to your bosom is the one who drives you wild with passion, the one who takes you to the peaks of mountaintops that no one else can, even if they might have a few characteristics that you wish your lover had.

Then again, you reflect, that there is no other who completes you like the one you have fallen for. The one you hold dear in your heart is the one that you will stand up for – come hell or high water. I’ll stand up for America while accepting its imperfections. And I won’t reciprocate animosity to those around the globe who have a love/hate perspective on America.

I’m just thankful that I’m here, that my love is here, and I’ll use my pen to continue to fervently express my admiration for the love of my life.

Quotation: “Sir, no nation has ever yet existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has been given to man, and I as chief magistrate of this nation am bound to give it the sanction of my example.”

The above-referenced quotation was alleged to have been made by Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father, Principal Signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Third President of the United States of America.

Many today debate whether America was founded as a Christian nation or not. It appears to me that while the Constitution makes no direct reference to God, circumstantial evidence existent at the time of its drafting and passage clearly support the idea that it was indeed founded based on Christian principles.

For me (a Christian by birth and a believer in God), the issue today facing America and the world is not whether America is a Christian nation or not. There is a larger issue, in theocracies where they exist (as in the Middle East and elsewhere) and in other countries, of how best to safeguard the rights of those within who share dissenting beliefs.

Certainly, in God’s good earth, very few would argue that a nation should expel individuals who do not subscribe to the prevailing religious doctrine. Likewise, too, it is a tough idea to sell that governments and constitutions must be required to obliterate all religiously-inspired principles of right and wrong in their establishment and functioning.

Constitutions, statutes, judicial rulings and interpretations are not created in a vacuum. Human beings are behind the drafting, enactments, and rulings. Human beings are influenced by what they believe in and their ideas of what is just, what is evil, what is right, and what is wrong.

Therein lies toady one of the biggest challenges facing many countries around the world – how to reconcile religious conviction with the rights of other citizens who may be atheistic, agnostic, or of differing religious beliefs and interpretations of divine principles. It is not an easy road to travel.

Today, one often turns on the TV or goes online, and sees horrific examples of people in many parts of the world becoming victims of atrocities committed by others inspired by their religious convictions. Throughout history, there has been much violence, bloodshed, and victimization of others because they were considered heretic or evil for deeds deemed punishable by scriptures.

As a believer in a Divine Being, I enjoy the company of believers, but I also recognize that, as with all other living species, there is diversity in the human race. We must live and let live. We often have to tolerate without approving. We must ensure, as best we can, our own rights, while safeguarding the rights of others who may not be part of the majority consensus. This is all easier said than done.

As a writer, I explore and question. Unfortunately, an artist cannot solve the world’s dilemmas. He or she can only raise questions, or address the consciousness to issues that matter.

It is collectively as human beings that we must find answers. And one of the most pressing matters we face today is how to balance religious beliefs with the rights of non-believers and those whose beliefs are dissimilar to our own.

When I think of the pros and cons of living in NYC, I list the subway both places. It’s a pro in that you save on the costs of owning a car. That’s it for subway pros.

The cons? How about jam packed trains and cars, people reading their newspapers on your back, shoulder, or any of your body extremities that happen to be in view? How about the people with their ipods and backpacks who can’t hear you say excuse me so that you can get by them in a crowded car and who hit you with their backpacks if you do try to squeeze by anyway? Or the well dressed guy in the 3-piece Armani who grabs the seat next to you and smells like the bum that you tried to avoid sitting next to in the other car?

The folks who decide it’s their constitutional right to stand at the exits of the car all the way from uptown Manhattan to downtown Brooklyn and who look at you with a scowl when you try to make your paid for ingress and egress from the train? The people seeking handouts who decide to board the train at 5:00 p.m just in time for rush hour? You move over to another car and there’s a five-man vocal group who never made it in the 60’s and strangely enough still think they have a shot at it in the 2000’s and need to exhibit their talent in an overcrowded train full of tired, frenetic, depressed commuters who just heard on the news before leaving work that the Dow plummeted another 500 points thus converting their 401k’s into 101k’s?

The old lady who shoves you out of the way almost causing you to lose your balance as she dashes for the one available seat in the car competing with a 350-pound man who gets there first and hastily sits down, in the process displacing two seated individuals to the left and right?

How about the subway conductor to whom you ask a question about how to get to South Street Seaport and who refers you to the map in the car which you can’t see properly because of the tall fella sitting next to it and whose body covers it entirely? What about those tourists that just have to saunter in with their maps, papers, backpacks, luggage at rush hour rather than taking an earlier train since they pretty much can control their own schedules?

The crowds, the scents, the perverts having a field day with crowded cars, the scowls, the pole and door huggers, the ipod wearers who don’t give a damn about you trying to get by, the seats designed in the Orient for smaller sized people and unsuited for Americans thus forcing you to stand if an even slightly overweight person sits since she then needs to occupy 1.5 seats leaving you no room? And some highly paid MTA consultant probably recommended the ordering of fore mentioned cars in order to “save costs” but in reality to show that they are earning their grossly paid fees.

I tell you, if I could land a job somewhere nice where I could drive to work, secure a house with even a small yard, and seduce a loving woman to worship the ground I walk on (lol), I would exit the city in a New York minute and never look back at an NYC subway again.

Ah…a little fantasy never hurt anyone. What’s that, sir, the train is out of service again and I’d better wake up or get kicked off?

There are so many who make a mad dash to be the first in some endeavor or attainment. Being first has its positives, and can be an exhilarating experience both for the one who gets there and for those who root for one.

If, though, in order to get there, you lack authenticity, try to appeal to all and sundry as being in accord with everyone, put on a phony act, or get to the finishing line via devious means orchestrated by some supporters and others who violate the rules of the game…if you attain a first time distinction or place like this, the facade will one day crumble.

As you travel through life, never under-estimate your star power. You may not realize it, but you are a star.

The stars you see in entertainment news are stars too. Sometimes their stardom lasts a year or two, sometimes several decades. You star will last a lifetime. You have the power to make a difference in the lives of those you encounter each day along the way.

The journey to success, my dear readers, can take many paths. There is no one road that leads there and when we arrive at our destinations, let us not compare our achievements in absolute terms to those of others.

Success can take many fashions, shapes, and forms. For some it may mean a whole lot of money in the bank or the attainment of an educational goal. For others it can be any point on a spectrum that includes a happy family life, helping a family member, relative, friend, even a stranger, along life’s arduous pathways, the overcoming of a physical, emotional, or personal handicap, career success…and a long list of other honorable goals.