Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio said this past week that he may not be moving into Gracie Mansion because of the commute it would impose on his son, Dante.
That would make three straight mayors opting not to live at the (yellow) White House of Gotham. So, in the democratic spirit sweeping the city, why do we need Gracie Mansion? Sell it.
Auctioning off this symbol of 1-percenter decadence would pay a lot of teacher salaries and provide a fount of tax revenue going forward. That benefits all of us, not just the swells sipping cocktails at Gracie social occasions that could just as easily be held at Lincoln Center or the Met. (Or maybe Gray's Papaya, if de Blasio is serious about this People's Mayor stuff.)
Dante de Blasio, 15, attends Brooklyn Tech HS, not far from his family's Park Slope home, and isn't sure he wants to get up early for the privilege of sitting in traffic. His father says the family is debating whether to stay where they are.
Mayor Bloomberg never lived at Gracie, opting to stay at his much more posh East 79th Street townhouse, and, at some point, when his marriage was deteriorating, Rudy Giuliani moved out of G-House, instead living with a pair of friends in a Manhattan apartment.
One of the finest homes in the world is, and has been for many years, unoccupied.
So what's Gracie worth?
"So unique," says Sofia Song, head of research at the real-estate site StreetEasy. It's five bedrooms, waterfront property. "And it's single-family. Detached. Mayor Bloomberg out of his own pocket, put in $7 million worth of renovations."
Song's estimate: $125 to $150 million.
Barbara Corcoran, who founded the real-estate empire that bears her name, disagrees. "My opinion, it would sell for $200 million," she says, pricing the land alone at $100 million. But "it only has five bedrooms. And anyone who has that kind of money wants six bedrooms, maybe eight."
Nor is there a tennis court or pool, but with 11 acres, you could squeeze those in. Plus, not many homes have a ballroom, a 214-year history or an internationally recognized brand name. It's a trophy property like no other.
Then again, "Ed Koch used to wander around naked," adds Corcoran — not an image you'll soon get out of your head. Maybe knock off $10 million right there.
And "Rudy Giuliani used to sit in his La-Z-Boy in his pajamas and watch the Yankees," Corcoran says.
"I know because I walked in on him one night."
Unlike the White House, Gracie Mansion isn't much of a tourist attraction and, unlike the White House, it isn't necessary: We don't need permanent temporary lodging for a rotating cast of out-of-towners.
Anybody running for mayor of this town is already living in New York. Why uproot mayors from the streets and send them to live in Green Acres? They should have to walk around the garbage mountain at the curb just like the rest of us.
So strike a blow for the 99 percent: Sell Gracie Mansion. Pump those dollars back into the people. And let Dante de Blasio sleep another half an hour.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Gracie Mansion could remain unoccupied … sell it!
Dengan url
http://susuvirus.blogspot.com/2013/11/gracie-mansion-could-remain-unoccupied.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Gracie Mansion could remain unoccupied … sell it!
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Gracie Mansion could remain unoccupied … sell it!
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar