Me, I’m a Creator
Thrill is to make it up
The rules I break got me a place
Up on the radar
Me, I’m a Taker
Know what the stakes are
Can’t roll it back, it’s understood…
The funny thing about “the market” is it’s really not a “the.” It’s a “they,” maybe. But “the?” I don’t think so.
We so easily dismiss our frustration, and even confusion, of current affairs as the byproduct of some abstract machine grinding us through its wheels. But the cogs in that machine are no more than individuals who are just trying to make a living. Granted, some people working in the real estate and banking industries failed to have good judgment and fell to petty avarice, but it’s worth remembering that the nature of an example is its deviance from the norm.
In fact, for the most part, “they” are just people trying to stake their claims, achieve success in their careers and perhaps notoriety for helping clients reach goals—not unlike you or me. I often thought about this as this edition came to life, page by page, filled with people. People still moving the clockwork forward despite the challenges incumbent upon them professionally, and in some cases, personally.
People like Dottie Herman, a virtuoso of the real estate world, but also an admirable entrepreneur who turned a small office into an expansive organization and continues to thrive thanks to the grit, instincts and passion she brings to each day. I remember listening to her speak a million years ago. And in her moments, she focused on the hundreds of professionals working under the Prudential name. In her interview with Aileen Jacobson this month, Dottie shares her insights about what it takes to succeed, as well as lead a cadre of 3,800 professionals across 60 offices. Again, people.
Another, Gary Depersia, is a name you need to know in the Hamptons, closing deals for some of the biggest bold-face names on the East End. Gary joins us in Lay of the Land, our annual report that looks at some of the most pressing questions facing the market. Last year, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s Patricia Peterson and Emmet Laffey, of Century 21 fame, shared some pretty spot-on insights so we invited them back for a second round. Gary joins them, cautioning wisely that rather than worry about the “market,” a buyer should worry about the individual “deal” when gauging the merit of a transaction.
People are azso the heart of the matter when it comes to our quality of life. Like anything else, the very subject conjures a million varied interpretations. But one thing everyone shares is a suspicion that our tax dollars, especially property tax dollars, are spiraling out of control and offering consistently diminishing returns. Why not just get rid of them? Sound radical? Utopist? Larry Levy returns this month as a guest feature writer to explore this very idea, as well as propose an alternate structure that might create better funding of services, improve our collective quality of life and (gasp!) eliminate property taxes. The Pulitzer Prize finalist has been covering the subject for decades. In this month’s Taxes through the Looking Glass, he exposes some real ideas that have been on the table but are yet to come to pass.
Susan Konig covers Long Island Real Estate Trends (The Best Deals to be Made); our photo spread Extraordinary Estates gives you an up-close and personal tour of the five most lavish homes on the market from Sands Point to Southampton; Melissa Cohn, founder of the illustrious Manhattan Mortgage firm is our Spotlight Q&A, and our regular home and lifestyles columns are rich with predictions and ideas for improving your future. All told, sourced and developed by people. And of course, our acclaimed fashion spread, Living Fashionably, features the cars, clothes and designs to fuel you with the passions, desires and luxuries of Spring.
Got to play our cards,
—nadA
Creator, Santigold*