Envy Apartment

Among the residential brokers who take a whack at commercial, there is a steep learning curve . The businesses, everyone will tell you, are extremely different. Success in one rarely translates to success in another, and very few manage the transition. But Sonia Stock, an associate broker at Douglas Elliman, is good at taking a whack at things—be it a tennis ball or a client from out of nowhere. Like this one time… In the summer of 2004, Stock (then focused solely on residential) had a dental appointment in Union, N.J. Coming from New York and being a runner, she figured she’d take the train from Penn Station to Rahway (the station closest to her appointment) and sprint the eight miles to her dentist. But when the train arrived late , she knew running wouldn ’t get her there in time. So the experienced world traveler hit the side of the road and stuck out her thumb and was picked up by a woman in a Mercedes. “We got along very well,” Stock said, recalling what would turn out to be one...

Balancing the needs of the residents who live here and the tourists who come to visit requires political will and leadership. After years of discussions and failed proposals, it’s time for clarity on an issue central to San Diego’s housing and tourism markets — short- term vacation rentals . Through a March 15, 2017 memo, City Attorney Mara Elliott opined that short-term rentals are illegal under the current City zoning laws . The City is now awaiting regulatory guidance from the City Council before taking any action to enforce the City Attorney ’s memo. My proposed regulatory framework respects the rights of property owners, upholds current zoning laws and creates a workable compromise. I will present a draft ordinance for community review at a public Town Hall meeting 6 -7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30, at the La Jolla Community Center . My proposal protects the rights of homeowners who wish to participate in home sharing by renting out a room in their home to help make ends me...

Photo Helen Uffner at her costume rental warehouse and showroom in Long Island City , Queens. On weekends, she hunts for additional clothing and accessories to stock. Credit Will Glaser/The New York Times Helen Uffner has been a go-to period clothing source for television, movies and the stage since she began her career 39 years ago . From her 5,000-square-foot warehouse and showroom in Long Island City , Queens, she rents out vintage clothing , with her oldest pieces dating back to 1860. Her first film job was outfitting Meryl Streep for “Out of Africa,” and more recently, she supplied Amy Schumer ’s dress for a Mary Todd Lincoln skit on “ Saturday Night Live ” (a regular client) and Kate Winslet’s shoes — 1930s wedges, new in the box — for Ms. Winslet’s portrayal of Mildred Pierce in the recent HBO remake . Sundays find Ms . Uffner, 68, who lives on East 70th Street , visiting flea markets and tag or estate sales with friends. She’s always on the lookout for new inventory and ...

One day in August, 2016, the financier Carl Icahn made an urgent phone call to the Environmental Protection Agency . Icahn is one of the richest men on Wall Street, and he has thrived, in no small measure, because of a capacity to intimidate. A Texas- based oil refiner in which he had a major stake was losing money because of an obscure environmental rule that Icahn regarded as unduly onerous. Icahn is a voluble critic of any government regulation that constrains his companies. So he wanted to speak with the person in charge of enforcing the policy: a senior official at the E.P.A. named Janet McCabe . Icahn works from a suite of offices, atop the General Motors Building , in midtown, that are decorated in the oak-and-leather fashion of a tycoon’s lair in a nineteen-eighties film. During that decade, Icahn made his reputation as one of the original corporate raiders , pioneering the art of the hostile takeover and establishing himself as a human juggernaut—a pugnacious deal machine ...