Dear John: You are spot on with your comments about the threats to New York City real estate investors created by the transit nightmare and the willingness of companies to allow for more telecommuting.
I would also add that an additional threat to these investors is the possibility that NYC-based companies may decide, if they conclude that the transit problems will never be resolved, to begin to move their operations to the suburbs.
Many options are now available for such moves, and most of them will provide for lower occupancy costs and happier employees.
Thanks for the great insights that you always provide for your readers. D.L.
Dear D.L.: First let me say something in the pet peeve area. I hate that British phrase “spot on.” I also don’t like the “going on holiday” phrase.
So, in honor of Donald Trump’s presidency, let’s use American phrases first. Thanks for thinking I’m correct about telecommuting.
The only problem with moving a company is that it has to be convenient for the bosses. I’d guess that no boss ever moved his company to a location that was inconvenient to him.
So, Westchester? Nah, too far for most people. Jersey City? Oh, people won’t want to go across the river. Long Island? No way. Everyone will have to have a car.
It’s easier to tell folks that they can work from home some of the time and cut back on the amount of NYC space being leased.
I stick with my theory, but appreciate your contribution, which was … spot on. (That just doesn’t sound right.)
Dear John: I have two brothers-in-law. One lives in Princeton, NJ, and the other in Pearl River, NY, and both work on Wall Street. They are so sick of the delays that they are actively looking for small apartments in NYC in which to stay Monday through Thursday. That’s good for New York City. J.F.
Dear J.F.: Well, don’t you belong to a fancy family.
For readers who aren’t up to speed — just like the railroads — I wrote the other day that commuting delays might cause a spurt of telecommuting, which would mean less office space is needed by companies, which could hurt the real estate market.
Obviously, very few people can afford to buy or rent a city apartment just because their commute is bad.
So I stick by my theory. We will know if I’m right in a couple of years.
Dear John: Last year the Census Bureau contacted me by mail, and now it is trying to see me in person.
I live in an upscale building and my doormen would not let the census representatives in. Sometimes they come late in the evening. I am a senior citizen.
I have been contacted again to participate and I am tired of being annoyed.
Any ideas how to be dropped from the survey? M.L.
Dear M.L.: People are legally mandated to take the surveys.
The American Community Survey, for instance, is one of them. But a good source of mine says nobody has ever been prosecuted for not taking a survey.
Most of the other surveys are “voluntary,” although the census workers will do their best to get you to take the survey.
Call the local census office in New York and find out which survey it is trying to get you to answer. Ask if it is mandatory.
If it’s mandatory, then ask to be taken off the list. Come up with some excuse, but a loyal doorman seems to be the best defense against survey takers.
Let me add this: As much as I think the Census Bureau is the worst-run government organization of modern times, its surveys also help Washington determine a lot of important things, including which communities should get more funding.
And the census workers are just doing their jobs. Unfortunately, that job was created by America’s Founding Fathers and hasn’t been updated much since then.
Depending on the survey, they have to go to each location a certain number of times before they can write you off.