Gotham Gal

winding down the apartment project

There are a bunch of different pieces that fit into place when building anything.  A home, an office, a building. Different sizes but fundamentally the same concept.

I have probably learned more about the development of new construction than I ever cared to but regardless I have made a few observations.  Learn from someone else's mistakes. 

Architects have no idea what it takes or what it costs to build something.  Just because a room is 10 x 10 using a specific material that costs so much a square foot is not a simple calculation.  The room is like a pattern.  If the fabric ends up being wide or narrow the amount you need varies.  Perhaps it is a fabric really hard to work with so labor goes up.  All those particulars equal the cost.

This morning I had a conversation with a guy who makes cabinetry.  He says he consistently sees that clients expect a certain price for a build out based on what the architect tells them it will be and it ends up 50 pct more when the bids come in.  Starting the build out off on a bad foot is not fun.  Then there is the scramble to get the price down. Bad subs get hired sometimes because the price is lower. Then the work is shoddy and there are no checks and balances with a fresh set of smart eyes looking at the drawings and asking questions and what is built is crap.  In the end it costs money to fix it and you end up at the first price which was too high because of the way it was designed.

Everyone has a different set of skills they bring to the table.  Architects can design, that's it.  Contractors can build off of plans that are complete.  Incomplete plans cost the client more because this is where contractors create change orders because the price was never confirmed before going to contract, there was a range.  Clients rarely find out that the plans were not complete until half way into the job.  Then there is no choice but to pay the cost.  Architects tend to send plans that are only 80 percent done to bid.  Architects truly don't care if they spend more of your money.  It isn't important to them, design is.

My advice is hire someone who represents you and understands your needs such as budget, timing and "must haves".  It costs money to hire an owners rep (that is what someone like this is called) but saves you money in the long run because they understand everything that I have explained above.  Also do your diligence.  Ask to see the full set of plans before sending them to bid.  Trust your gut on price.  Know what the market is paying dollars per square foot for build-outs.  Talk to the contractors bidding on the job.  Don't let your architect run the job.

Its your money, get involved.  Even if you have done 200 projects, each project takes on a life of its own.  The key is knowing what you want, setting expectations and holding tight.  Otherwise you will find yourself writing checks for a lot more than you bargained for.  

Hudson River Park Fall Fling

If you have never been to the Frying Pan on the Hudson and 26th Street, go check it out.  Quirky pier with an outdoor restaurant and bar.  Perfect place to have a drink in good weather and watch the sunset.  Down and dirty and cool at the same time.  This is the location that the Friends of Hudson River Park had their Fall Fling at last night. 

This non-profit organization is dedicated to making sure the Hudson River Park remains a park that works with the community.  The entire westside waterfront of New York City from Battery Park all the way up to 59th Street has been transformed.  Work is continuing every day.  It is truly incredible what has happened.  For a city that is surrounded by water, it has taken a long time to develop that area of our town.  Unfortunately public transportation doesn't spread its wings to that area but one step at a time. 

Last night, FOHRP honored Rich Caccappolo by giving him the community advocate award.  Rich is not only a great guy but his involvement from little league and soccer to the Coro Leadership Center to his dedication of making sure Pier 40 remains downtown's central park deserves praise.  As someone who lives downtown, Rich is a fixture in this community. 

It was really nice to be there last night.  As much as the village has changed, when you take a look at last night's event and the people that were there, it really hasn't changed at all.  Congratulations Rich!

women2.org

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting with Shaherose Charania.  She is the co-founder of women 2.0 located in Silicon Valley.  Shaherose was asking the question that so many women are asking these days, “Where are all the women in tech start-ups?”

The mission of Women 2.0 is to increase the amount of women in technology start-ups.  They do that with knowledge.  In essence, Women 2.0 is an eschool.  E for entrepreneur.  They have created a 5 week, 5 days a week incubator for designers, engineers, marketers and business people. 

Conceptually each group coming out of the five-week program will feed off each other and a start-up will emerge.  Giving people the tools to understand what it takes to start a business. 

I think of it like a Media Bistro model geared  towards launching careers in the entrepreneurial side of technology world. 

Shaherose, who has been involved with more than a handful of start-ups, understands the ups and downs of the start-up world.  She gets excited when she sees knew ideas come out of Women 2.0.  Not only geared towards women but geared towards both women and men working together.  It is about more women in the market place not only women in the marketplace because women provide a balance and ideas that come from a different viewpoint than their male counterparts. 

Certainly the founders get excited when one of the groups that come through their program get funded but they don’t get a piece of that business, they just get satisfaction at hopefully seeing more women get involved in the entrepreneurial arena. 

Don’t be surprised to see an Eschool coming to more technology hubs around the world soon.  

Room, Emma Donoghue

I have not done this in a while.  At around 815 I started reading Room.  I had already read about 20 pages the night before.  I started to read and read and read and before you know it I had finished the book.  It was midnight and I was exhausted but I couldn't put the book down.

A really original book.  We enter the book meeting Jack and his mother.  Jack is turning 5.  As the story unfolds we realize that Jack and his mother are being held in captivity in a small room.  His mother has tried to make life normal for Jack through stories, exercise, games, bedtime rituals, etc.  Jack only knows the confines of this room and his only human contact has been with his mother.  His mother on the other hand did have a life outside prior to being in the room.

The story is told through Jack's perspective.  Ma realizes that they must get out of that room and the story then sends the reader on a page-turning rocket ship. 

I won't give the details but writing about new experiences that we take for granted through the eyes of a five year old boy are magical.  A wonderful book that I am glad that I was able to read in one sitting. 

La-Loos Ice Cream

I have been ordering 6-8 ice creams at a time to keep the freezer filled for the human garbage cans who frequent our house on a daily basis. 

Last week was Jeni’s.  This week I went with La-Loos.  A new ice cream I had just read about.  Goat Milk based.  Supposedly healthier for you.  Questionable.  Regardless, really interesting taste.  Definitely different. I can't decide if I like it but the taste has not affected by human garbage cans consumption.

 

Next week I might do a return to Graeters.

weekend wrap-up

I started Friday afternoon schlepping up to 112th and 1st Avenue to watch Josh play soccer.  The good news is I went, the bad news is that they lost and the worst news is that their games are not even remotely located in areas near the school. 

Fred and I walked up to Scarpetta to sit at the bar for dinner.  I had never been.  A few glasses of wine and a mixture of appetizers is all we needed.  Nice vibe in there.  Some of the appetizers were delicious and others were just okay.  Perfect Friday night.

Saturday was a day of walking.  We attempted to check out a few new food spots for lunch but they were not open for lunch or even open yet so that didn't work.  We ended up at Co. in Chelsea.   They do a good job. Second time back.  Escarole salad, two diet cokes and a stracciatella pizza hit the spot. 

We then wandered around the art galleries.  First stop was Margaret Thatcher Projects.  She is such a lovely woman and I have yet to buy from her.  I want to because she has a good eye and just charming.  Her new location is store front on 23rd street so if you are in the neighborhood, stop by and see what show is up.  I particularly liked this piece from Maria Park. 

Next stop was i-20 Gallery where I bought a piece by Casey Cook on Thursday night.  Fred loved the work too.  Phew!

Stopped into 303 Gallery where there is a Sue Williams exhibit called Al-Qaeda is the CIA.  Didn't love it.

Took a stroll over to Gagosian.  He has created an empire and it is impressive.  This particular artist is Dan Colen.  I loved this piece.  It is huge and the beautiful colors that are stretched across the canvas are made of gum.  Smells like gum too.  Next door was Mary Boone but nothing rocked our boat there.

We strolled back over the Highline which still blows me away every time I walk up there. 

Dinner that night was at Peels.  Great company not such great food. 

Sunday is the norm.  Read the NYTimes cover to cover and complete the crosswords if I didn't on Saturday.  Clean up the desk.  Clean up the bananas.  Baked some banana bread.  Made the trip to Citarella for the pre-week shop and watched football. 

Prepping for Monday morning. 

Peels

Last night we had dinner at Peels which is Freeman's new sister restaurant on the Bowery.  Yes it is the new hip spot to check out on the Bowery.  I had actually walked through Peels one of the first nights it had opened and checked out the place and the menu.  It didn't really rock my boat but my friend got me the reservation and I decided what the hell. 

Downstairs is totally communal.  Drop by and grab a seat and eat.  Upstairs is the dining room.  The menu has a Southern twist.  The dining room sort of feels like a beach restaurant.  Clean, white and light wood.  The noise level is insane.  Perhaps part of the charm but definitely was raising my voice to be heard. 

I had a hard time deciding on what to order.  Doesn't strike me as a menu that would drive someone back over and over again.  But let's begin with the orders.  We did a couple of appetizers to split.  Had to try the andouille corn dogs.  Clever.  Lots of corn very little dog.  Sorry about the blurry pic.

Market vegetables and trout spread.  Radishes, carrots and cucumbers.  The trout spread was more like a trout crumble.  You tasted more citrus than the trout. 

Grilled calamari mixed with jalapenos, red onions and greens.  The calamari was perfectly grilled but the greens got mushy.  I liked the shot of spice with the jalapeno.  One of the better dishes.

Shrimps and grits was hands down the best thing.  Outstanding.   A few pieces of shrimp tossed around a soft fried egg with little pieces of bacon and grits sitting in a bowl with a brown sauce.  Really good and super rich.

One of us had the special of the night which was a braised lamb shank with a mole sauce.  It was good nothing great.  How heavy does this look?

The rest of us went with steak.  On another night I might have picked a different entree but it is September and I am over eating swordfish with summer tomatoes.  Fred had the t-bone and said it was just not good.  No flavor and tough.  He was right, I tasted it.  Also had an order of the roasted fennel on the side which was fine.

My friend and I split the massive rib-eye which was good.  Nothing special but the meat was had flavor.

Dessert was terrible.  As Fred said, it is unacceptable to make a bad dessert.  I kind of agree with him on that.  We had the special dessert which was an apple crumble.  Really tart and sour. 

The sundae was not that interesting and in need of something to jazz it up. 

The s'mores dish was just stupid.  Just what you expect.  Two pieces of graham crackers with a piece of chocolate and a housemade marshmallow inside.  A bottle of milk on the side with a straw.  Not only hard to eat but I make a better one at a beach barbecue. 

Hate to dis Peels because they couldn't have been nicer.  It might also be the latest hot spot among the Freeman die-hards but work on the noise level and tweak the menu.  Not sure Southern fare is going to keep the doors open for years to come.  I hate to do it but Peels...thumbs down. 

Toqueville, the private room

This past week the entire crew from USV got together to celebrate the upcoming wedding of one of the team members.   They booked the private room at Tocqueville. 

I have always loved Tocqueville and I don't get back there enough.  The owners, Marco and Joanne, also own 15 East which is a little farther down the street.  The bar in the front room is small and inviting and the main room is special.  I always think of Tocqueville as a place to go when you want to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary but the truth is, it is good any day of the week.  As I said to Marco, I always think of Tocqueville as an adult restaurant.  I probably feel that way because there is a elegant sophisticated feeling the minute you walk in the door.  We had such an incredible meal that I made a reservation to return next month. 

We started with a variety of passed appetizers.  I snagged as many pictures as I could.  Each one was just an explosion in the mouth.  When we first got there they gave us a basket of gougere.  Warm and delicious.  The appetizer above was with foie gras.

The second appetizer I snapped was above and honestly can't remember what it was.

The third is here.

For the first course I had a salad of greenmarket summer vegetables.  I loved how they served them.  Each vegetable was prepared differently then piled on the plate with a basil dressing.  The other options were a yellowtail crudo and tartare with a grapefruit mixture including jicama and lychee and sea urchin and angel hair pasta with lime and soy.  I did get to taste both and they were each divine.  The crudo had combo of flavors on a perfectly orchestrated plate.  The urchin was decadent.

My main course was a slow roasted ocean trout with crispy fennel and a potato panini.  What I loved about each entree was that when you read the menu you assume one thing but when the plate comes it is something creative and probably not how you thought the entree would be served.  The other options were poached main lobster and roasted aged rib eye of beef.  Everybody was oohing and aahing so I am guessing all were delicious.

For the dessert, I went with the cheese plate but the other options were good too.  Frozen banana souffle and blood orange cheesecake.  There was also a taste of something at the beginning and a plate of chocolate at the end but no pictures.

A really nice night with delicious food.  I am so glad I snagged that reservation to return on the way out the door. 

Greyston Bakery

I have written about Greyston Bakery before.  They make delicious brownies as well as other products but in reality that is not what they do.  The baking business is just an avenue for Greyston to accomplish what they really do which is to save lives, one at a time.  Hence the tag line, "we don't hire people to bake brownies.  we bake brownies to hire people."

This week, I had the pleasure of taking a tour if the facility.  It was a long day which began at 10am and continued until 3pm.  I got there late because I entered avenue instead of street on the GPS system, alas.  I also had to leave a bit early because the off-site part of the trip started late and I knew I'd never make it back to the city for an afternoon meeting. 

Greyston began some 26 years ago as a social enterprise.  The concept which is now taught at the best business schools in the country is slowly being replicated across the globe. The bakery is a for-profit business.  The profits generated from this business fund the non-profit foundation which completes the social mission that begins in the bakery.  The foundation funds a HIV center for the community in the Younkers neighborhood, there is affordable housing for Greyston workers, a health care facility, a child care center including a green park.  The concept is that there is a complete social program for the workers and the community to support people on their individual paths of life be it in the work place or the home. 

Five years ago, Greyston built a new bakery.  A huge facility where they took on serious debt.  I get the feeling that the facility although well intentioned was built by people who had never built a baking plant before and because of this it really is not that efficient although only up to 45% capacity.  The good news is that partnership companies like Ben and Jerrys are willing to pay a higher cost for their product because they believe in the mission.  Unfortunately the profits generated at this point are going towards paying back the debt instead of the to the foundation.  It appears that they have brought in a few managers that have been in the food industry for 30+ years and are helping grow their business more efficiently.  I have some ideas on how they could evaluate their debt but I won't use this platform for it.

Let's get down to the important part.  I got to walk through the facility and see the brownies get made.  I also worked in the R & D lab and made my own brownie concoction.  But hands down the most moving part of the day was listening to four of the workers speak to us about their individual experiences at Greyston.  Honestly made me cry.

The plant workers are comprised of people who have been in jail, into drugs, and just down on their luck.  The plant has a day where people come and put their name on a list and hopefully at one point there will be an opening for them.  No interviews, no resume, just a name. 

The first guy got up who had been way into drugs and now has been at the plant for 12 years and plans on retiring there.  The second guy, who had been there 11 years to the day, got up and told his story.  He had been working for the city for two years just taking shortcuts.  He was dealing on the corner while working for the city.  He said that two things will happen to you when you deal drugs, you either end up dead or in jail.  He ended up in jail for 7.5 years.  When he got out it took him 9 months to finally land at Greyston.  He is now married with a kid.  Greyston saved his life and now he can show his son how to be man.  He is now a good role model for his family and community.  The next guy got up.  He was probably around his late 20's early 30's.  He had never had a job his whole life.  He had been in jail for four years and had now been at Greyston for 20 months.  He started to tell his tale on how Greyston made him want to work, it changed his life and then he started to cry. He couldn't stop.  He was so incredibly grateful.  It was unbelievably moving. The last person was a woman who had been there when she was 19.  She found herself going off the deep end and left. Eventually returning to Greyston four years ago realizing that the support there was the foundation she needed to live her life. 

The last story which was was told by the head of HR.  There was a woman who was promoted to manager.  This woman came to the head of HR and told her that she had dyslexia and didn't know what to do because she couldn't create schedules and what was expected of her.  She was embarrassed. Greyston got her help.  It ended up she needed a $2000 evaluation that they paid for and continued to help her with special classes until she was able to take on her promotion comfortably.  They spent the money and time to help her understand, work and read with dyslexia.  That is a truly incredible story.  How many companies would do that? 

The pictures are of the plant but the real picture is the people.  Hearing the stories and watching the community work together is inspiring.  Greyston gives people who possibly have no where else to turn opportunities to transform their lives.  Greyston provides a nurturing supportive environment.  What is even more amazing that Bernard Glassman had the vision to start this in 1988.  Today it seems like more people and organizations are getting on this band wagon.  Bravo!

Get involved with Foodzie....first ten emails

Foodzie is inviting a select group of people to participate in a new, beta program that includes a free box of curated samples from their producers. We're selecting 10 people to receive the boxes. The first 10 people to reply will get an invite in the next week, which will include more specific details from Foodzie.

I am participating.  Always fun to get in on something food oriented.  First 10 wins!