38real estate RUMBLINGS FROM ‘THE ROAD’ It’s no secret that commercial real estate is a daytime, Monday through Friday business, while the residential side of the business stretches heavily into evenings with open houses often taking place on weekends. But it does not mean that the work day ends at 5 p.m. Since brokers, superintendents and especially landlords are usually only available to show properties and meet weekdays during business hours, that time must be devoted to being “on the road,” meeting clients and customers at properties and their places of business. With appointments starting by 8 a.m. and 90 percent of showings, calls, meetings, due diligence visits and closings having to take place by 5 p.m., I often find myself and my colleagues typing up offers, sending out floor plans and flyers, and preparing presentations starting at 7 a.m. or 7 p.m., but only for brief 30 minute rushed sessions during the day. And, since we tend to get very involved in some aspects of construction, contract negotiations and due diligence, our schedules are closely tied to those of general contractors, attorneys and tenants/building managers, again pushing “paperwork” to whenever you find time. In a business where every economic or development cycle requires adjustment in approach and strategy for real estate portfolio, and every sale leads to some reorganization or the property’s rent roll and management style, BY DAVID DYNAK the most significant source of stress should be missed opportunities and inability to get to meet every prospective client. Also it is to return every tenant or buyer’s calls before other agents get to them; to preview and market available properties as soon as they become available; to approach tenants with expiring leases before they start looking elsewhere for assistance; to submit an offer and firm up commitment from both sides before anyone changes his/her mind. The best advice I give to anyone getting into this business is “don’t rest or celebrate until contracts are signed and checks fully cleared.” A deal isn’t really done until the tenant takes possession of the premises in leasing and/or the title is transferred to the buyer in sales. “You have to love this business and love being around all the different people who mess with it” a veteran broker told me when I asked his advice before going into real estate. “Because here in New York, half of them are crazy, and the other half can’t commit to making the deal until you force their hand to sign.” I have to say, he wasn’t exaggerating a bit! Spring market notes: Apartment sales and rentals continue on a strong recovery, driving prices higher with inventory still low. As more units are planned to be released, it remains to be seen whether we are experiencing a shortlived bubble or real recovery that has to do with increased demand for housing. In a classic display of complexity and liquidity of today’s real estate investments, the 12 -acre site on Borden Avenue in LIC where FedEx had built its new hub for ground and home delivery services is on the market as long-term ground lease investment. First, a number of brokers and landlords structured a multi-lot deal with joint venture of SunCap Property Group and Lexington Realty Trust to develop a 140,000-square-foot shipping and processing facility, which FedEx then leased as a triple-net lease to run their business. Before FedEx even moved into the facility, SunCap had already listed the ground lease for sale, essentially hoping to flip their investment to another long-term holder who believes that strength and stability of a tenant like FedEx will guarantee steady rent for the next 25 years or so. Let’s just pray that Newtown Creek never again floods like it did during Superstorm Sandy. Its mucky waters lie right next to it! David Dynak is a real estate broker at First Pioneer Properties and an LIC resident. He’s lived in Western Queens since 1993. Courtesy of Plaxall Long Island City MAY ARTS EVENTS Calendar Plaxall.com LICProperties.com 2013 MoMA PS1 Noguchi Museum 22-25 Jackson Ave., LIC, NY 11101 718.784.2084 MoMAPS1.org 9-01 33rd Rd. (at Vernon Boulevard) MAY 2013 I LIC COURIER I www.queenscourier.com Long Island City, NY 11106 718.204.7088 • www.noguchi.org Sculpture Center April 22 - July 22, 2013 Better Homes Jonathas de Andrade, Neïl Beloufa, Keith Edmier, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Robert Gober, Tamar Guimarães, Anthea Hamilton, E’wao Kagoshima, Yuki Kimura, KwieKulik, Paulina Olowska, Kirsten Pieroth, Josephine Pryde, Carissa Rodriguez, Martha Rosler, and Günes Terkol You will express yourself in your house, whether you want to or not....” - Elsie de Wolfe, The House in Good Taste, 1913. Better Homes brings together a group of artists who examine the construction of the interior through design and homemaking from critical perspectives. As the notion of home shifted in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and interior space was being redefined and redecorated according to the aspirations of modernity, the interior became integral to the construction of the subject. Interiors were an extension of identity, representing gender, fashion, and class, and re-establishing what constituted the private and the public. Now, in the 21st century, interior design has been professionalized and packaged for the mass market. With the proliferation of department stores and publications instructing consumers on how to make the best dinners, living rooms, and lifestyles, how has the notion of domestic space, and all it encapsulates, been redefined in contemporary culture? What are the impacts of shifting ideas of family, identity, politics and consumerism in the private realm? Touching on the history of the interior to its present iterations, the artists in the exhibition examine displays of domesticity, as constructed through spaces and things. Better Homes is curated by Ruba Katrib, SculptureCenter Curator. The exhibition is accompanied by a full color publication with a text by Katrib and a contribution by poet Ariana Reines. 44-19 Purves St. LIC, NY 11101 718.937.0727 www.sculpture-center.org MAY 12–SEP 2 EXPO 1: New York ROCKAWAYS: VW Dome 2: Six Stair Films: films, skateboarding and avocados Saturday, May 11, 2013, 2PM to 10PM ROCKAWAYS: VW Dome 2: Jamaica Bay Lives Sunday, May 19, 2013, 1PM to 4PM Warm Up 2013 MoMA PS1 presents Warm Up 2013, beginning June 29 and taking place every Saturday this summer through September 7. Now celebrating its 16th year, the museum’s highly anticipated outdoor music series will continue its tradition of introducing audiences to the best in experimental live music, sound, and DJs—both local and international— across a range of genres. Book Talk: “Theater of Architecture,” by Hugh Hardy Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 3:00pm Public Program Second Sundays On the second Sunday of each month, The Noguchi Museum hosts public programming at 3:00PM, unless otherwise noted. This May, the Museum is pleased to present Hugh Hardy’s new book Theater of Architecture, released April 2013. Community Day Sunday, May 19, 2013 - 11:00am Public Program Second Sundays In an interview from 1986, Isamu Noguchi described the newly-created Museum as “a place to reflect and see an alternative existence.” He noted the need to create areas “not all gobbled up by industry or speeding traffic. Open Studio: Shapes Sunday, June 2, 2013 - 11:00am Education Program Open Studio
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