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With media attention normally focused on foreclosed homeowners, this article will take a brief look to consider the effects on homebuilders such as Isaac Toussie.

Embittered homeowners who have been foreclosed upon have taken to trashing the premises before getting kicked out, with anecdotal estimates by real estate agents putting the number of such vandalized properties at up to half of all such units. But given all the media coverage of foreclosed homeowners, it’s time to take a look now at how the same crisis is affecting homebuilders like Isaac Toussie. After all, many of the small-time businessmen had to take out loans in order to finance their housing developments. Of course, there are no such developers out on the street, and their cases, unfortunate in themselves, are not anywhere near comparable to that of homeowners who have nowhere to go at all. But it’s helpful to see how things can turn out for businessmen and women caught up in the same economic twister, and how reactions can differ – or not.

For example, many small homebuilders have had to dip into personal savings just to keep their companies afloat, a familiar predicament to many homeowners. Buyers were disappearing with cash deposits of several thousand left on the table, proof that local residential property markets had turned ice-cold. Even more unfortunately, many homebuilders have proceeded since then to file for bankruptcy protection, with vast sums owed not only to their lenders but also their subcontractors and workers. But still worse yet, these small-time builders have often financed their businesses with so-called recourse debt which allows banks to seize homes, cars, and other personal assets in case of default – again, quite a familiar scenario comparable to that faced by many homeowners.

Such problems have increased and are now considered widespread across the country. Many a builder has been left with unsold units and land, falling behind on interest payments and facing foreclosures. And in a very bad sign of the extent of the destruction involved, even very large homebuilders are in trouble, with legendary builders such as Levitt & Sons, founders of Levittown, New York on Long Island, famous for epitomizing postwar suburbia, forced into bankruptcy like some small unfortunate start-up.

It’s gotten so bad that once solid partnerships and friendships have frayed as an every-man-for-himself mentality creeps into the proceedings. Contractors and subcontractors have had to take out liens on the property they build in order to protect themselves. And it is in this manner that the ordeals of homeowners and homebuilders differ: the latter have almost no hope of any governmental assistance whatsoever, despite being affected by the same subprime mortgage industry shenanigans that’s made owning a home so suddenly burdensome.

Legal Disclaimer: Be advised that such information as has been presented so far only constitutes mere opinion and should under no circumstances be misconstrued for professional advice of any kind whatsoever! Always consult those properly licensed and/or otherwise qualified when it comes to making business decisions of any financial importance.

New York is one tough town. And it prides itself on its cut-throat lifestyle, even as the number of charities blossom as nowhere else. The serial success story that is Zalman Silber is an example of the businessman-turned-philanthropist. But isn’t it ironic that a place which worships material success gained by one’s teeth and nails, as it were, should find itself so concerned about appearing charitable, too? As if the rich are secretly ashamed of their fortunes – as if Balzac was right, that “behind every great fortune lies a great crime,” or as if Jesus was correct, that “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle….”

As if, to be frank about it, the rich give in order to assuage their guilt.

What is it about this world that should so often find the elevated so close to the base? One can observe dichotomies existing side-by-side, many times in peace and, even, complete ignorance of one another, even in New York, even in the 21st Century.

And one wonders if such philanthropy, targeted towards one’s own community, set up to benefit one’s own interests, are perfectly true acts of charity or just another way in which the ego manages to further inflate itself.

Such questions, of course, likely do not concern those like Zalman Silber, who give freely as they please and couldn’t care less about such quibbles. Indeed, it is safe to say that for those who do have the funds to give, giving is a pleasure in itself – akin to any other form of spending money.

Now that’s not as cynical as it may sound at first. For spending money is a form of experiencing one’s own power, one’s own ability to produce satisfaction and pleasure. It may well lead to egotism, and it often does, to be sure – but at its root is a simple human joy at being able to affect one’s surroundings, one’s world. It is the same joy that accompanies a child who can crawl, then walk, then run, then ride a bicycle, then drive a car, then pilot a boat or helicopter or airplane. The proper spending of money can be life-enhancing in a very deep way, far more so than the mere accumulation of creature comforts. The proper spending of money – as in charitable donations – allows one to give of oneself, in a sense, a very important sense. For money is power, and in cases of honest work to give money is to have given of one’s time and one’s very life – the time spent earning the money, the life devoted to productive work.

And such is, as the humanist Erich Fromm had noted in his many works on human psychology and human society, the most demeaning aspect of poverty, that one cannot give of oneself. For it is not he who has much, but he who gives much, that is rich – and yet, to give requires one to first have! And it is the tragedy of the poor that they can barely provide for themselves, never mind share with others – though, strangely enough, survey after survey has found that the less money one has, the greater a percentage of one’s income tends to be given away in charity. It is as if the poor know something which escapes the rich. It is as if the New York of lights and smiles is unaware of something so basic that it can only be known to those whose lives involve the basics and no luxuries.

One way of generating money on the web is to find explosive niches to blog about, wildly popular topics that individuals go online to research and read. For example, you can start a web site devoted to a successful Television shows with a huge audience. This ensures interest in your website, which is the first step in generating money online: providing something that people find valuable.

This is what it means to find explosive niches to blog; you want to provide a forum where individuals interested in a particular topic can gather and exchange viewpoints. In order to make money, the topic has to be “explosive” but “niche” – popular but not so popular where you’re likely to be a Johnny-come-lately to the proceedings.

The trick is to find that delicate balance where the territory is still fresh enough, so to speak, so that you can claim your own stake, and territory that isn’t so out of the way such that really few people will be interested in dropping by (your web site).

That’s how you can blog residual cash to your business, generating money even while you sleep because the whole thing is computerized and automated! The idea is that you have what’s known as a turn-key system set up that will basically run on its own without needing your constant supervision.

So to continue with our Television show example from above, you would produce a website devoted to that Television show, with gossip, news, and reviews about the stars, episodes, and plotlines – anything that would be of interest to a fan of that show. This show has to be popular enough to assure you of numbers (very important as any salesman will tell you: only 1-3% of “eyeballs” actually “convert” into real sales – money in your pocket), but not so popular such that other individuals already have web sites up (which you will be hard-pressed to steal readers from!).

When choosing real estate, articles generally talk about what is recommended by industry experts such as Isaac Toussie. But learning from failure is as important as learning from success; indeed, the two are symbiotically connected. And thus, following up on the previous installment’s discussion of desirable but still affordable New York City neighborhoods, we will consider the worst of the worst here by way of steering you to properties elsewhere!

A borough-by-borough run-down concludes as follows:

Staten Island: generally speaking, the areas closest to the ferry terminal will be the worst, with crime, noise, and other social ills most prevalent.

Manhattan: a much more diverse set of circumstances here, but a good rule-of-thumb principle holds that areas north of Central Park should be avoided (though gentrification has made many such areas much better than previously was the case). With the exception of Chelsea and Upper East and West Side areas like Lincoln Center, avoid all areas with a public housing project.

Bronx: the whole borough should be avoided (but for Riverdale on the west coast and Throgg’s Neck on the southeastern one).

Queens: the most complex situation in the whole city, with many neighborhoods fairly mixed ethnically, racially, and socio-economically. But clearly inferior places include vast tracts of Jamaica and surrounding areas, especially towards points south near Brooklyn. Ravenswood is another problem area, next to Astoria in Long Island City. Roosevelt Island is deliberately mixed, but as is always the case, the bad will drive out the good, and it’s quite a debate whether gentrification can work there. East Elmhurst (but not all of Elmhurst proper) should also be avoided for the mix of noise, crime, and other social ills presented by many of its denizens. Jackson Heights is on the borderline, once a nice nabe but now host to a vast illegal immigrant community.

Brooklyn: another complex case, though rather more clear-cut than that of Queens described above. Sunset Park is gritty and working-class but at least somewhat safe, relatively speaking. Definitely avoid Bushwick and environs, as well as Flatlands and even, nowadays, Canarsie. Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights are not very desirable areas and have a history of violence, as is the case with Ocean Hill and Brownsville. East New York should be avoided like the plague. Coney Island is also often bad, though the City of New York is finally committed to a wholesale revitalization effort.

Tough stuff? Not really. One cannot be too truthful when it comes to the persisting pockets of urban blight. For those new to New York, such “color” is frequently delightful. But for many others, peace and quiet is desired above all for thinking, studying, and enjoyment of being.

The neighborhoods listed are anathema to those values, peopled as they are by those of a disposition, whether cultural or otherwise, towards noisy commotion and even physical violence. Yet because the city bursts with new arrivals each day, industry observers like Isaac Toussie agree that property prices and rent will still be very expensive, even when compared to more desirable spots in the same city. For example, Kingsbridge and Bedford Park in the Bronx, ghetto to the core, can still command rents only a couple of hundred less than those in premier places like Riverdale or Throgg’s Neck!

New York City is a great place to live if you have the means to live in a great neighborhood. However, while rents are very high, industry experts like Isaac Toussie say that it is still possible to find fair honest deals where you get a lot of space in return, among other things. Many factors go into any consideration, such as convenience and access, look and feel, and noise levels. Here is a survey of some neighborhoods that offer a good balance of all these factors in relation to typical prices.

For the most part, we will consider only Queens and Brooklyn neighborhoods, as these are the ones that best fit our criteria for all-around value. The other boroughs are either too expensive or too run-down, as in the case of Manhattan and the Bronx, respectively, or just too remote and isolated, as with the case of Staten Island. Of course, the Bronx does have nice neighborhoods, too, but these are going to be expensive, and you’ll have to avoid the rest of your borough if you want to see something civilized. Industry observers like Isaac Toussie note that while Manhattan also has its pockets of urban blight, anything decent is going to be astronomically priced. Staten Island is just another world altogether and you might as well not bother living in New York City, in that case!

So Queens and Brooklyn it is. Brooklyn is by far the more storied of the two, with more offerings of high-brow culture if that’s important to you. Queens offers culinary adventurers the best experience outside Manhattan, with the most authentic tastes at any price. Queens also tends to be much more diverse, whereas Brooklyn practically invented the ethnic enclave. Finally, Queens schools are better on average, whereas Brooklyn’s, while good, trails far behind in overall comparison.

So what are these great “nabes” and where are they? Well, in Brooklyn you will want Williamsburg and Greenpoint for the bohemian scene. Great, authentic middle-class areas include Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Fort Hamilton, and Midwood. Canarsie would have once made the cut but has been on its way down. Borough Park seems like an “in-between” situation and can still swing either way. Your basically upper middle-class places are Dyker Heights, Marine Park, Brighton Beach, and Sheepshead Bay.

In Queens the toniest nabes are Forest Hills and Kew Gardens. Almost as good are Flushing (and East Flushing) and Bayside. Astoria is known for its night life. Sunnyside, Woodside, Ridgewood, and Elmhurst (but avoid East Elmhurst) are more working-class but still often quite civilized to live in. Middle Village, Queens Village, Maspeth, and Juniper Valley are demographically between the working and (true) middle classes.

Outside these areas, you’ll probably want to stay away from. We’ll cover those in another article. But suffice it to say, even the areas mentioned here can be undesirable on their “border areas,” where they abut the urban blight of the next neighborhood over, as implied in the case of Elmhurst and East Elmhurst mentioned earlier. So exercise all due diligence and thoroughly investigate a neighborhood with some direct experience!

To sell your company is one of the most gut-wrenching decisions you will ever face as an entrepreneur. Even without any sentimentality on your part – all the round-the-clock research, all of the round-the-clock legwork, all that heavy lifting, now come to this, washing your hands of it all – the prospect of timing it all just right could be nerve-wracking. You’ll feel like some television game show guest, at a pivotal moment during you can opt to cash out or stay on for more.

Except it’s even worse than that! For there are a hundred and one factors involved when you wish to sell your company, so many different variables at play – just like when you first started up the business, come to think of it!

And if you’ve any venture capital on board, good luck; your investors will usually be the first to cash out and get their cut (unless they are, rather more simply, buying out your share).

For example, let’s say you own a full one hundred percent of your business and wish to sell your company but you haven’t yet looked into what it could be worth since you’ve been too busy basically growing the business (unless you’re one of these serial entrepreneurs who love to start up firms but hate to run them once things settle down).

You’ve now arrived at one of these so-called inflection points, a time when getting the company to the next stage of success involves considerable risk and a lot of time and money. If you were unlucky enough to have desperately needed investors, you’ll need to first double revenues and pray for stable market conditions so that you are able to make as much money on a sale as you could have without those investors – who, remember, will want their cut first.

Horse racing systems may be as old as the sport itself. It is not for nothing that racing horses has long been known as “the sport of kings” for it takes a lot of money to own horses – and to bet enjoyably on them. Sure it’s possible to put down very modest amounts in today’s races, but that would be like going to a five-star restaurant just to have a glass of water.

After all, popular though the pastime is, it’s worth a hundred and fifteen billion dollars worldwide, a sum unlikely to consist entirely of small wagers! Hence, along with this noble equestrian sport has come different racing systems created to enhance one’s odds. In the United States, betting on horse races is governed by the individual states in which the racetrack is located.

Cross state lines, however, and there is remarkably little oversight, as interstate commerce is really a federal responsibility and apparently not one that preoccupies Washington too much (after all, they hardly bother with illegal immigration). Thus have businesses sprung up to simulcast betting across state lines, largely without any oversight except for wider statutes on gambling in general.

Thus the numerous racing tips, born of the social phenomenon of parimutuel gambling (from the French for “mutual” gambling) in which all bets are pooled together, with a house take removed right away before calculating payoff shares. In a typical example, seventeen percent is withheld and eighty-three percent returned in the form of winnings.

As with all games of chance, the mathematics of probability is intimately involved, with nuances exploited by those with an understanding of the details. Modern technology aims to make it even simpler, and software exists which purports to help handicap a race with the least amount of user input possible. Interestingly, such computer-assisted handicaps don’t dampen the excitement of a bet!

Dallas Cowboys merchandise are among the best-selling in any sport, but particularly popular among football fans, even individuals whose first-choice favorite might be another team. That’s simply because the Cowboys are one of the most successful and storied outfits in all of football history, and it’s memories of this kind that are evoked by all the varied forms of Dallas Cowboys merchandise obtainable on the market, from clocks and towels to clocks and even license plates!

Perhaps the most popular form of Dallas Cowboys merchandise to be found on fans and collectors are team jerseys, particularly those bearing the specific roster number of their favorite player. After that, however, must surely be those products bearing pictures, photographs or illustrations, of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders! No other team in American sports fields a cheerleading squad that’s a veritable franchise in itself.

It was purposely created to capitalize on female sexuality and boost in-game attendance, and its genius was to offer an “All-American” look and feel that played well not only nationally but around the world as well. For many foreigners, a real American girl was somebody like a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, fun and fit. In the United States, their popularity lead to two made-for-TV movies about the squad along with other media like annual swimsuit calendars.

Oh, yes, and as for the team itself – it was the first modern-era expansion team, and can boast of many notable achievements as a business entity. But obviously, no one buys team merchandise on the basis of business innovations, and even the venerable cheerleaders would be just another squad were it not for the club’s stellar performances on the field.

Founded in 1960, just ten years later the team became a serious national contender, and by the end of that decade was the undisputed “glamor team” of the entire sport, with a cheerleading squad that epitomized what an American girl should be like and winning players and coaches who embodied American can-do.

Dallas Cowboys merchandise are among the best-selling in any sport, but especially preferred among football fans, even those whose first-choice favorite may be another team. That’s because the Cowboys are one of the most successful and storied outfits in all of football history, and it is memories of this kind that are evoked by all the numerous forms of Dallas Cowboys merchandise available on the market, from clocks and towels to clocks and even license plates!

Perhaps the most popular form of Dallas Cowboys merchandise to be found on fans and collectors are team jerseys, especially those bearing the specific roster number of their favorite player. After that, however, must surely be those products bearing pictures, photographs or illustrations, of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders! No other team in American sports fields a cheerleading squad that is a veritable franchise in itself. It was intentionally created to capitalize on female sexuality and boost in-game attendance, and its genius was to offer an “All-American” look and feel that played well not only nationally but around the world as well. For many foreigners, a real American girl was someone like a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, fun and fit. In the United States, their popularity lead to two made-for-TV movies about the squad along with other media like annual swimsuit calendars.

Oh, yes, and as for the team itself – it was the first modern-era expansion team, and can boast of many remarkable achievements as a business entity. But of course, no one buys team merchandise on the basis of business innovations, and even the venerable cheerleaders would be just another squad were it not for the club’s standout performances on the field. Founded in 1960, just a decade later the team developed into a serious national contender, and by the end of that decade was the undisputed “glamor team” of the entire sport, with a cheerleading squad that epitomized what an American girl should be like and winning players and coaches who embodied American can-do.

When getting into anything, it helps to do a little reconnoitering of the facts. And for the proper socioeconomic context in which to put such data, it helps to consult governmental authorities such as census reports. Besides the axiom of location location location, the other thing to consider in real estate is Isaac Newton’s law about gravity – as processed through a bit of Adam Smith: What goes down, must come up. Supply and demand and business cycles of boom and bust are often overlooked to the demise of buyers and sellers alike. And when it comes to gathering local information, resources abound, such as thatOussie Centre so highly recommended despite being tucked away in a hard-to-find corner along the Brooklyn-Queens divide.

Just a casual perusal one common afternoon yielded this bounty of data-rich results concerning residential real estate in Montauk, New York. Despite being a faraway community on the easternmost tip of Long Island, the village can command some surprising prices. Well over a hundred miles to the city limits of New York and almost another ten to the Island of Manhattan, the hamlet of Montauk lies within the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County. Strategically located on the tip of the South Fork of Long Island, Montauk has been host to, variously, an Army post and Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force bases. Its main industry would seem to be tourism, but the community is actually home to the largest commercial and recreational fishing fleet in all of the Empire State. Indeed, its fishing grounds are quite famous for having produced more saltwater fishing records than anywhere else in the world.

The Borough of Staten Island is coextensive with Richmond County, though until 1975 the place was also referred to as the Borough of Richmond. Staten Island is the name given by Henry Hudson in honor of the Dutch parliament, the States-General of the Netherlands, under whose flag his explorations were being financed. The inhabitants themselves often refer to it as The Forgotten Borough, after the belief that the city government neglects them. For example, controversy has long surrounded the Fresh Kills landfill, which was opened in 1947 as a temporary depository for city trash. Borough residents have often complained over the smell emanating from the landfill throughout the decades. It remained in use all the way until 2001, only to reopen later that year to receive Ground Zero debris from the September 11th attack. However, in the 21st Century this former landfill will become a city park even larger than Central Park.