Category Archives: General Blog

When Suffolk County Got Its Foothold on Open Space

A big contributor to the preservation of open space on eastern Long Island during the critical early boom years of luxury development—1967 to 1999—was the Suffolk County, N.Y., parks department. It was no coincidence that this happened then: the parks authority had only recently been created.  It is a reflection of the era that wasContinue reading “When Suffolk County Got Its Foothold on Open Space”

Making a Hash of Legal Cannabis

“Recreational” marijuana sales are legal now in nearly half the U.S. states, but the effort has gotten ahead of itself on the retail front–or at least, ahead of the regulation still imposed on it. The rollout of shops for legitimized selling of weed, which memorably suffered in early-adopting California, is continuing to give New YorkContinue reading “Making a Hash of Legal Cannabis”

An Excise Tax That Fortifies Long-Island Wine

Some milestone anniversaries on the East End of Long Island have been easy to overlook but not so its start as a wine region. Fifty years ago, as the “Hamptons” south fork of the island was consumed with some of its earliest development battles, the north fork saw the planting of its first commercial vineyardContinue reading “An Excise Tax That Fortifies Long-Island Wine”

A Dry-Witted History of Dismally Easy Money

We’re never long or far from a reminder that interest rates have a powerful effect on the human economy. Nearly $700 billion has flowed into money-market mutual funds this year because they offer a decent yield–4+%–when many bank savings accounts pay next to nothing. In this inflationary period, that’s a financial no-brainer, as well asContinue reading “A Dry-Witted History of Dismally Easy Money”

Why Only a Few Fly to the Hamptons

If in 2023 we are commemorating notable anniversaries in the preservation of Long Island’s East End—the 40th of the Peconic Land Trust and the 30th of Southampton Town’s wetlands building restrictions—it may be time to look farther back, 75 years, to another pivotal sequence of events. These speak to why there is no commercial jetportContinue reading “Why Only a Few Fly to the Hamptons”

A Korean-American Crossing

Nostalgia is a powerful draw in photography–witness the many Facebook and other social-media groups centered on vintage pictures of this or that place. So it is with a compact new exhibit at the Korea Society on Madison Avenue in New York. “Koreatown LA/NY,” running through Aug. 17, features work by Emanuel Hahn (from midtown LosContinue reading “A Korean-American Crossing”

Is Modi Chasing Away His Brightest?

Pundits are pointing to new trade potential with India as the U.S. works to disengage with much of the Communist Party-linked economy in China, but one American “export” opportunity isn’t getting enough attention: enrollment in post-secondary education. U.S. universities, for all their widely discussed flaws, nonetheless have long been a draw to talented or wealthyContinue reading “Is Modi Chasing Away His Brightest?”

40 Years Later in $alt Lake City

The snow in Park City, Utah, was the best in decades for an end-of-January ski trip that also inspires these observations: *Utah was a cheaper and sleepier alternative to Colorado mountain resorts when I started going there 40 years ago. It has ceased to be that, for the most part.  And not just at luxuriousContinue reading “40 Years Later in $alt Lake City”

Another Supply Factor in Home Sales: Who Can Broker the Deal?

America’s latest bout of realty mania may finally be dying down, as home prices and particularly sales volumes decline after a rise of interest rates. With mortgage payments more costly, and expectations of equity appreciation diminishing, the fees charged by brokers may become a rub again. Five percent off the top, a typical full transactionContinue reading “Another Supply Factor in Home Sales: Who Can Broker the Deal?”