Saturday, September 23, 2023
Here's a letter to the editor that I wish that I had written.
Perhaps if The Times wrote as glowing a report about the
accomplishments of President Biden as it did of Mick Jagger and the Rolling
Stones (both Mick and Joe are 80), voters wouldn’t be as concerned about Mr.
Biden’s age.
Coverage of the president is consistently ageist, questioning his ability, even
as he has addressed climate change, gun violence and income inequality, saved
us from an economic crisis and succeeded at rebuilding alliances with the
world’s democracies.
Where’s the headline, “Are the Stones Too Old to Record and Tour? Fans Worry”?
Mindy Oshrain
Durham, N.C.
. . .
Speaks for itself.
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In
Ithaca, New York, street parking wasn't a problem, way back then. In
Los Angeles, one or more parking spaces came with rental or ownership of
a residence. Parking a car became a challenging and expensive business
once we married and moved into Palazzo di Gotthelf in the vicinity of
Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
Fortunately,
a parking space was part of our real estate package and a Toyota Camry,
a Lexus ES350, a Lexus 300H, a Lexus UX250h and, now, another Toyota
Camry have been in the spot. We purchased the proprietary lease to the
parking space along with the proprietary lease to the residence itself.
In that inexact sense, we "own" the parking space and may resell it,
with certain limitations.
This is a windy introduction to "The Most Expensive and Cheapest U.S. Cities for Parking."
Given
the age of New York City and its geographical limitations, finding it
at the top of the list with no competition is no surprise. Except to
all of you anywhere else. My first
apartment in Greenwich Village cost less than 1/3 the lowest monthly
parking rate in this survey. Small apartments in outlying areas may not
rent for much more.
Returning
to our current situation, an authoritative source recently told me that
our parking space would sell for less than a new hip, but not by much.
Monday, September 25, 2023
Rabbi Moses Sofer (1762-1839), the leader of traditional Hungarian Jewry and founding father of the Haredi movement, wrote "the
new is forbidden by the Torah." I find this a particularly disturbing
thought even on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, a day full of dark
images and sad memories. My Judaism (or my Jewishness) is open to the
world, ready for challenges, looking to advance even while recognizing
just how stubborn and fearful humankind is.
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
You've probably heard that Netflix is ending its delivery of DVDs, no more red envelopes in your mailbox.
I find their endgame interesting. "These last few [distribution] hubs have been sending Netflix’s remaining DVD subscribers up to 10 extra discs during
its final weeks of service, with no obligations to send any of them
back." That probably leaves humpteen billion discs to be dealt with. "Netflix plans to donate a portion of its inventory to
organizations focused on film and media . . . ; the rest
will be recycled." What do you do with an extra copy of "Rocky III"?
. . .
"As Columbia University puts the last touches on its brand-new campus in
Harlem, it has reached a milestone: The university is now the largest
private landowner in New York City." https://hechingerreport.org/
I
am definitely an outsider. My wife, my brother, my stepson, my
daughter-in-law all have one or more degrees from Columbia University. I
only made it as close as 138th Street and Convent Avenue to 116th Street and Broadway.
Incidentally,
because of a 200-year old state law, Columbia saves more than $182
million in property taxes annually. It's up to the rest of us to make up up the difference.
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Caring
Ken Klein accompanied me to Citi Field to see one of the few remaining
Mets games in this woeful season. They actually played eight innings of
very good baseball. However, as a few of you obsessive compulsives
will hasten to remind me, a baseball game is nine innings long.
Citi
Field is a cash-free environment. A credit or debit card or an
electronic facsimile is needed for any transaction. When I ordered a
Diet Coke, I was reminded that certain cards would get me a 10%
discount, resulting in a Diet Coke that only cost me $8.
On
the other hand, our good friend Dr. David B. and his son Nathan were
also in attendance and provided good cheer and consolation.
Thursday, September 28, 2023
Wow! The
wealthiest fifth of Manhattanites earned an average household income of
$545,549, or more than 53 times as much as the bottom 20 percent, who
earned an average of $10,259, according to 2022 census data.
Of
course, if I continue to buy $8 Diet Cokes, I will move
further towards the bottom of the local socioeconomic pyramid.
Friday, September 29, 2023
Are you surprised that hotel rooms are now generally cheaper than Airbnb/VRBO apartment rentals in most major international markets?
I
might have been if I hadn’t traveled to Paris in May and wasn’t
preparing to go to London in November. In both cases, poring through
available alternatives confirmed this finding. Price was not as
important as convenience in each destination and we chose an apartment
in Paris and a hotel in London. Still, the image of Maude Frickert
welcoming you into some of her unused space with teacup in hand is gone
forever.