Customer Reviews

The Sky's the Limit : Passion and Property in Manhattan

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I approached this book with indifference. But by page three, I was a convert, and engrossed in this vuyeuristic story of opulence and property on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, an area the contains the greatest concentration of personal wealth on Earth. I never knew the names behind these social register families, the newly-rich strivers, the surnames who raise most of the funds for New York's cultural institutions, and the re-branded real estate brokers who serve these super rich co-op owners. Gaines throws in the juicy stories of how Nixon was rejected by buildings, how Vanderbilt sued for entry into a GB (Good Building), how Streisand got stuck with her place for years, and how the powerful and wealthy are brought low by dictatorial co-op boards. There are stories of well positioned board packages, the mistakes of wearing the wrong clothes or being a pretty divorcee at board interviews, and how one should say that they love dogs if the board president is the largest funder of the ASPCA. Gaines uses the story of Tommy Hilfiger and his "board package" to show the evolution of upper east side real estate - namely the acceptance of some "garmentos" in to the best good buildings. Of course, when Hilfiger finally got a place, his divorce forced the apartment to be flipped (and flipped again.) When people say a book a juicy, this is the sort of book they mean. It is hard to put down, and it illuminates a world few of us will ever experiences.

Real estate seems to be the number one topic at dinner and cocktail parties. Everyone has a story about how incredibly real estate prices have risen and how someone has made a killing. Nowhere is this phenomenon more over the top than in Manhattan.

Steven Gaines is an investigative journalist who, in a previous work has examined the mansions and millionaires of the Hamptons, now focuses on the exclusive world of Manhattan co-ops.

According to Gaines, the "good buildings" and the "best addresses" run along Fifth and Park Avenues. One such good building is located at 820 Fifth Avenue. Gaines tells us that everyone was shocked when the board of the co-op approved Tommy Hilfiger. Its not that he didn't have the $100 million liquid assets needed to qualify, but the fact that he designed baggy gansta rap clothing.

Gaines gossipy anecodotes are told mainly from the point of view of some of the carriage trade brokers that do the deals. Many of the brokers are very hard-working and much more sensible than their clients.

Dolly Lenz, for example, was the highest earning broker for Prudential out of a sales force of 58,000 nationwide. Not only does she work in the rarified atmosphere of Manhattan co-ops, she also has the distinction of having sold the most expensive house in the New York.(Burnt Point in the Hamptons was sold to the CEO of Kinray for $45 million.) Working seven days a week and the ability to thumb-type 80 words per minute on her Blackberrry, she still finds time to have dinner with, say, Bruce Willis or Barbara Streisand.

Another good story, had to do with the San Remo building, possibly one of the most exclusive buildings in Manhattan. Steven Jobs of Apple Computer bought the top two floors of the North Tower and spent five years and $15 million renovating it. The other tenants were so frustrated by the renovation that they brought action limiting the amount of time renovations could take. Jobs lost interest in the building and offered it to Bono of U2 for the cost of the renovation. Bono, smelling a bargain, snapped it up.

Gaines is very good at analyzing the social distinctions between the different buildings and neighborhoods and the people who inhabit them. Although it may not add much to the sum total of human knowledge, it does entertain and give insight into the otherworldly ordeals of the super rich.

Among the many excesses that New York City can claim is one of the most rediculous real estate systems in the world. The sub-title of this book says a lot, there is a passion in the real estate business in Manhattan. In a space of only a few square miles the rich (sometimes famous, sometimes not) have created a strange sub-culture that exists just like others around the city.

The difference here is that these people are the people you would expect to be secure in their lives, not filled with petty gossip and rivalries. But that's not the case. A good bit of the book is about the co-op board who has the right to accept or reject a new prospective purchaser. For instance no attractive divorced women need apply, the wives of the existing tennants don't want their husbands riding in the elevators with them. Likewise, no single men, we, after all, don't want gays in our building. I was surprised to read a lot of this. I would have thought that the civil rights legislation would have prevented such actions. But perhaps that was only to be applied in the South.

Very interesing side of the housing market.

Fifth Avenue is the address against which all others are measured, according to Gaines. It is 6.5 miles long, mostly high-end retail space and skyscraper office buildings. On the 1.5 miles facing Central Park there lives the greatest consolidation of private wealth assembled in one place.

Some would say 820 Fifth Avenue was the best address - certainly its co-op board has taken a very aggressive position and repelled three billionaires, including Revlon Chief Ronald Perelman. "The Sky's the Limit" provides insights into co-op board motivations and methods, as well as those of the city's most successful real estate agents.

820 Fifth Avenue has 12 apartments (one/floor), with 7,000 square feet each. Prior residents include a former N.Y. governor, Arthur and Mrs. Murray, Alfred Sloan (former G.M. Chairman and CEO), Pierre Lorillard (tobacco magnate). Co-op applicants are required to provide detailed and certified financial statements (purportedly to ensure that they can cover any unforeseen maintenance required), and respond to a number of lifestyle questions (boards are very concerned about how their new neighbors and their families will comport themselves). The finished product can weight 5 lobs, and cost $10,000 in accounting and legal fees. Co-op boards are likely to look disfavorably on public figures (likely paparazzi disruptions), those who are single (who know what the spouse will be like; questions about attention-grabbing lifestyle), too many Jews (give me a break - I'm just the reporter here), and overly-ambitious renovation plans (long-term noise, dirt). Finally, an interview is also required - timeliness and appropriate attire are important! Gaines reports that about 5% of applicants are turned down. However, he also tells us that many boards are exclusively represented by a selected real estate agent, and one of their primary jobs is to pre-select those who are brought before them.

The original intent of the co-operative plan was to life a million immigrants out of tenement housing - eg. 20 families in sub-divided, freezing housing, sharing one toilet. Under the initial 1879 proposal groups would band together and build a fireproof house, with separate living quarters for each family. However, problems with neighbors and the practice of leasing units out for parts of the year prevented the practice from taking off - by '53 there were only 162 co-operatives, vs. 5,797 apartments in NYC. There are now over 3,500 in Manhattan and 10,000 in all five boroughs.

Condominiums developed partly to avoid co-op boards, and between 1985-1988 over 15,000 were built. At first it was thought that realtors would play little role in their sale, but events have proven that idea wrong. Gaines provides considerable detail about how several successful realtors work, and fight amongst each other.

Finally, it was also interesting to read how even New York City real estate has had its low points - eg. the latest being in the late 1970s, thanks to high-crime, high welfare numbers, and the city being on the edge of bankruptcy. Top units at that time fetched only about $250,000 - vs. today's commonplace $10+ million.

Surprisingly interesting!

This is an incredibly interesting and entertaining read of the high-society of Manhattan's co-ops and apartment buildings. Gains does a great job of discussing the rise of the co-ops (originally intended as a measure to move lower middle class families out of the tenements of the lower East Side) and, more recently, the rise of high-end condos (which do not have the strict cliquish boards like co-ops) at the expense of co-ops. Reading many of the stories of what people would go through to be be approved by a co-op board is incredibly entertaining and gives good insight into just how shallow and prestige focused the ultra-rich really can be.

However, I think that this book has two major flaws, and I have subtracted 1 star for each. First, this book really needs a map. Having grown up only 20 miles outside of Manhattan, I am very familiar with the city and the layout of the streets. However, I found myself spending too much time trying to figure out exactly where a certain building discussed in the book is located. When Gains discusses a certain address, say 630 Fifth Avenue, it would be helpful to flip to an easy to find map in the book and see exactly where that is - what the cross streets are and what landmarks are near by. A map would have also been very interesting, I think, in showing where all of the super high-end buildings discussed by Gains are located in relation with one another.

Secondly, I think that Gains did not put enough of his own thoughts into the book. The book ends rather abruptly and I think an extra chapter with his thoughts about the future of high-end real estate in Manhattan would have been very interesting. The end of the book discusses the recent opening of the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle. The center contains a number of very high-end condos. Gains illustrates some trends in his discussion of the multi-million dollar condos there - such as the recent resurgence of condos over co-ops and the movement of some of the very high-end real estate off of Park and Fifth Aves to the West Side (and to other locations further downtown, such as SoHo). Given these recent trends, it would have been interesting to read about what Gaines thinks the future holds for Manhattan real estate.

Despite these two big flaws, this is a very quick and interesting read that I still recommend and can see myself re-reading some time in the future when I'm stuck in my tiny studio apartment miles and miles away.

The hype about The Sky's The Limit lead me to believe this was a book about New York City real estate brokers. It is, but the real heart and sole of this book is a history of some of the most famous streets and buildings in New York- and its a much better story than those of the brokers.

After reading the book I cannot look at the buildings I see in New York the same way- I know so much more. What a story behind the Ansonia Hotel on Broadway! The history of the Chelsea Hotel will bowl you over. Fishing from apartment windows on Sutton Place-years ago. Great stuff.

Don't expect to be ready to get your real estate license after you read this, but you can expect to appreciate some of the very rich history of this great city!

This is a great read - especially if you've never really understood what the big deal about co-ops v. condos is or even just don't know the difference. The gossipy tidbits in the middle make it interesting, yet it is still fact-filled. Steven Gaines did a great job with this work!

This book was great! Another fascinating look at the New York real estate market and where there is no limit on what you'll pay for a place to live. Very interesting in how those coop boards can bring potential owners to their knees. The book was well written and provided much insight into property ownership and real estate brokers.

New York real estate is sizzling hot, holding some of the most expensive condos and offices in the country: Author/editor Steven Gaines reveals the behind-the-scenes deals and influences of big-ticket properties in Manhattan in The Sky's The Limit: Passion And Property In Manhattan. From secret rules of co-op boards which limit who can buy and live in their establishments to elite buildings which have turned away some of the biggest celebrities, this is a fascinating history of Manhattan real estate - fascinating even for those with no New York connections.

Fascinating profile of not only great buildings but the personalities involved. Author writes expertly about both. As for the reviewer signed "sadder but poorer" and his comment that the book simply does not measure up, all I can say is neither does his review.