Steinway Mansion Up For Sale

Lincoln Era Mansion & Queens History To Be Sold

Astoria / August 20, 2010 / Queens Buzz. On Wednesday afternoon I set to work on this story after returning from a fascinating four hour visit with Michael Halberian, owner and whose family occupied, the Steinway Mansion for the past 82 years. The mansion is located in Astoria, just north of 19th Avenue on 41st Street [map link provided at end of story].

I felt like I'd stepped through a time warp, back into the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The visit connected me to one of the legendary centerpieces of Queens history - the Steinway family and the mansion they occupied during their golden years ... but the mansion's history neither starts nor ends there.

Michael regaled me with anecdotal tales supported by the many books off his shelves, or by pointing to numerous remnants of the past, kept in pristine shape in this beautiful old Astoria mansion on the hill overlooking the East River.

Click here to read more about the Steinway Mansion For Sale In Astoria Queens.

Queens Real Estate Market

Market Analysis Of Realty In Queens

Queens NY / December 7, 2009. This is a report on the Queens real estate market.  The report covers the latter half of 2009. This analysis includes looking at apartment rental prices, as well as condo, co-op and home prices and availability.  This Queens real estate market analysis focuses on the Astoria, LIC / Long Island City, Jackson Heights, Sunnyside and Woodside neighborhoods. While we found these neighborhoods mirrored or trailed many of the national trends, we found some interesting differences, including differences from neighborhood to neighborhood. Click here for our second half 2009 market analysis of Queens Real Estate.

Astoria Real Estate

Astoria / Queens / December 2009. This is a report on Astoria real estate. The report includes a discussion of supply and demand in the Astoria real estate market, as well as for apartment rentals. Financing and demographic shifts are also included in this report and we have included links to related Queens real estate reports, home pages and real estate classifieds. 

Click here to view our report on the market for Astoria Real Estate.

Real Estate Lending & Mortgages

CAREA / Chinese American Real Estate Assn - Flushing

May 22, 2010 / Flushing / Queens Buzz. On Saturday in Flushing there was a Real Estate Expo event hosted by the Chinese American Real Estate Association [CAREA] in Flushing. This expo is an evolution of the Home Buyers Expo, which was an event they had hosted last year with a private sponsor. The Home Buyer Expo had focused on issues such as how to find a house, how to take the house into contract and how to close on the house. Last year there were ten vendors at the expo offering financial, real estate and legal services.

Real Estate Lending - Home Buying In Queens

We visited the expo in search of information about the state of mortgage lending in Queens. Given the Asians seem to be America's financiers, we thought this expo might be a good place to research this question.  The following story is focused providing some background about CAREA and its events, as well as on the current state of mortgage lending in Queens.

This year the CAREA event scope was expanded and it attracted about 40 - 50 vendors. The expo focus changed from buying a home, to buying and managing a home. Hence this year vendors included tax services, energy services, remodeling services as well as vendors offering financial, real estate and legal services.

Click here to read our full report about real estate finance and mortgage lending in Queens based on information gathered at the CAREA Real Estate Expo in Flushing.

Jackson Heights Real Estate

Jackson Heights / Queens / December 2009. This is a report about the Jackson Heights real estate market. The report includes discussion about price trends, apartment and home inventory availability and demographic changes in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. We have also included links to a Queens real estate market report as well as an Astoria real estate market report, related realtor home pages and real estate classifieds.

Click here to read our report on Jackson Heights real estate.

Bulova Corporate Center

Queens Was Once On Bulova Time

A Brief Report About The Bulova Watch Company & Building That Bears Its Name

July 12, 2010 / Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. We had occasion to visit the Bulova Corporate Center recently. The art deco Bulova Corporate Center building caught our interest because of its interesting architecture. And the history of the Bulova Watch Company, which has been a Queens mainstay since the 1950's, is as interesting as the building that was once home to an American icon.

Currently the building is occupied by the offices of a number of organizations including the Queens Chamber Of Commerce and American Airlines. The following piece is a history of the J. Bulova Watch Company and the building they once occupied: the Bulova Corporate Center. Click here to view our report on the Bulova Corporate Center in Jackson Heights. The photo at right was from one of the original murals of the Bulova Watch Company.

LIC Real Estate Appraisal

Real Estate Prices & Availability Discussed LICBDC

Long Island City LIC / Queens / May 19, 2010. I attended a breakfast hosted by the Long Island City Business Development Corporation [LICBDC] which focused on real estate.  They had a panel of four knowledgeable speakers, all of whom presented differing perspectives on the current and long term prospects for real estate in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.

Click here to read our report on real estate prices and inventory in Long Island City LIC.

Long Island City Real Estate

LIC Real Estate Market Analysis

Long Island City LIC / Queens / January 25, 2010. The Long Island City real estate market has a lot of rental and sales inventory, with a lot more coming online in the next year or two. Demand for Long Island City real estate has slackened from its torrid pace of just a couple of years ago, but interest is still keen. This should be a buyers' market - sellers motivated to sell and a lot of units to choose from, but while prices have declined, they are still high relative to the rest of the Queens real estate market, while still trading at a discount to Manhattan.

Click here to read our report on LIC Long Island City real estate.

Richard Meier Model Museum

New Architectural Model Museum In LIC

August 2, 2010 / Long Island City LIC / Queens Buzz. This past week we had the opportunity to visit the Richard Meier Model Museum in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. The museum began as a storage area for the models made and used by world famous architect Richard Meier, during the architectural design process. In the museum you will see some of the great buildings he's designed over his long career, such as the billion dollar Getty Museum in Los Angeles or the Smith House in Darien Connecticut. But there's much more ...

The museum reminded me a bit of the Noguchi Museum, where the artist had a vision of his own lasting legacy. In visiting the museum, I felt I not only had the opportunity to view the architectural process as managed by one of the great modern architects, but also to become a bit more acquainted with the man himself. Laura Galvanek, the museum guide and curator, took me on this fascinating journey which will be posted sometime later this week, including photos.

Sunnyside Real Estate / Woodside Real Estate

Queens Real Estate Markets Less Soft Than Nation

Sunnyside & Woodside / Queens / January 26, 2010.  We spent the last half of 2009 collecting information with the intent of providing a guide to provide readers with a sort of feel for the current state of affairs in the western Queens real estate market.  This report focuses on the Sunnyside real estate and Woodside real estate price trends, available inventory as well as to provide some information about the neighborhoods themselves.  At the end of the report are links to other Queens real estate related reports.

Click here to read our report about Sunnyside real estate and Woodside real estate.

Astoria Maps - Overview

Click to view three maps of Astoria: 1) Map of Shopping Districts In Astoria with links to shop home pages on this site, 2) Map of Astoria Restaurants that have been reviewed on this site, and 3) Map of cultural attractions in Astoria most for which there are reports about them to be found on this site.

Click here to view Astoria Maps - Maps of Shops, Restaurants and Cultural Attractions in Astoria Queens.

Jackson Heights & Elmhurst Maps - Overview

Click to view three maps of Jackson Heights & Elmhurst: 1) Map of Shopping Districts In Jackson Heights & Elmhurst with links to shop home pages on this site, 2) Map of Jackson Heights & Elmhurst Restaurants that have been reviewed on this site, and 3) Map of Cultural Attractions in Jackson Heights & Elmhurst most for which there are reports about them to be found on this site.

Click here to view Jackson Heights & Elmhurst Maps - Maps of Shops, Restaurants and Cultural Attractions in Jackson Heights & Elmhurst Queens.

Long Island City LIC Maps - Overview

Click to view three maps of Long Island City LIC: 1) Map of Shopping Districts In Long Island City LIC with links to shop home pages on this site, 2) Map of Long Island City LIC Restaurants that have been reviewed on this site, and 3) Map of cultural attractions in Long Island City LIC most for which there are reports about them to be found on this site.

Click here to view Long Island City LIC Maps - Maps of Shops, Restaurants and Cultural Attractions in Long Island City LIC Queens.

Sunnyside & Woodside Maps - Overview

Click to view three maps of Sunnyside & Woodside: 1) Map of Shopping Districts In Sunnyside & Woodside with links to shop home pages on this site, 2) Map of Sunnyside & Woodside Restaurants that have been reviewed on this site, and 3) Map of cultural attractions in Sunnyside & Woodside most for which there are reports about them to be found on this site.

Click here to view Sunnyside & Woodside Maps - Maps of Shops, Restaurants and Cultural Attractions in Sunnyside & Woodside Queens.