The 20th Anniversary of the Creation of the Alliance for Downtown New York
On January 28th, I attended the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Alliance for Downtown New York, one of the first Building Improvements Districts (BIDs) in New York City and on whose board of directors I participate. I cannot believe that this BID is now 20 years old and looking back over these 20 years, it is amazing how many wonderful achievements have been accomplished! The evening was a great success and I was so thrilled to participate in the gala and see my good friend, Robert Douglas, be honored as he has been the Chairman of the Downtown Alliance since its founding. Congratulations to the Downtown Alliance and a special congratulations and thank you to Bob Douglas for his insights, efforts, strong leadership, and immense caring!!
Kent Swig with Robert Douglas and Charles Urstadt in the background.
The transformation of the Lower Manhattan and Financial District
The recent article in the February 2015 issue of Vogue magazine follows on the heels of the recent move of Conde Naste into One World Trade Center, all of which high lights the incredible transformation of the Lower Manhattan and FiDi, the acronym that I coined for the Financial District. I have been actively working in this area since 1998 when I first purchased 48 Wall Street and have eagerly been waiting for over a decade for an article like this to be written! It is such wonderful news for FiDi, Lower Manhattan and all of New York City!
The Role of the NYPD in the safety of New York City
We certainly live in a dangerous world and fortunately, New York City ranks among the safest large cities in the United States, if not the world. This is because of the public and political support that has been given to the NYPD combined with the dedication and diligence of the NYPD officers who put their lives on the line each and every day to protect our city and its citizens. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in the middle of a great deal of tension between Mayor de Blassio and the NYPD, which is causing significant problems for NYC and the safety and protection of our citizens. It is certainly time to put aside these tensions and for the Mayor to fully and openly recognize the heroic efforts of the NYPD and say so publically. This does not mean that mistakes have been and will be made by the NYPD, but these mistake need to be put into perspective in terms of the overall performance of the entire NYPD and of all of their good work and efforts on the whole.
So, I share with you the lined article written by former Police Commissioner Howard Safir who, once again, has a wonderful viewpoint on this subject.
http://time.com/3662529/howard-safir-the-war-on-police-hurts-the-war-on-terror-paris/
Sunset in the Hamptons
Recently I witnessed a spectacular hour long sunset in the Hamptons which literally comprised a 360 degree sunset with magnificent coloration in all directions.
Sunset 1
Sunset 2
Sunset 3
Sunset 4
Sunset 5
Sunset 6
Sunset 7
Sunset 8
Sunset 9
Halstead charity work for Movember
I am so proud that Halstead Property participated in the fundraising efforts during this “Movember” for men’s health issues including prostate and testicular cancer. Halstead ranked 83rd in raising money in the United States out of more than 1,661 teams that participated this year, and there is still over $2,500 of funds that are due in to our team! This is indeed a great achievement for a very worthy cause and I am so honored to have been a part of this noteworthy effort. And, I am so grateful to all of my friends and colleagues that donated on my personal behalf which provided me with a ranking of 49th on an individual basis within the United States out of more than 166,418 registrants; I thank you all so much!!
The Halstead group who participated in the “Movember”.
The Halstead participants of “Movember”.
Halstead Property Annual Party
On December 15th, Halstead Property hosted our annual holiday party in NYC. It was a wonderful time as usual and we celebrated a great 2014. I wish everyone within our Halstead Property family a very happy holiday season!
http://www.halstead.com/propertv?wm_video_id=fo6f2b2f673uml
From left to right: Greg Heym, Kent Swig and Andrew Fine
Halstead Holiday Party
Jim Runsdorf night
Tragically, my friend Jim Runsdorf died in a freak crewing accident on the East River 9 years ago at a young age. Each year, Jim hosted a holiday party in New York City for many of his friends from high school, college, business and from wherever he met people. Jim’s friends were numerous and extended to every part of his life….he had a loyal following of friends like no one I have ever met.
We, Jim’ Friends, decided that the Jim Runsdorf night was just too wonderful and too important to stop just because Jim is no longer physically with us, so we have continued this tradition each year since his death….a true ongoing tribute to Jim’s radiant personality and strength of character.
So, this year, we celebrated Jim Runsdorf night at Harlow on East 56th Street where a group of about 30 of us toasted Jim and spent time with each other catching up. A few of the tireless moved on to PJ Clarke’s Restaurant for a late night dinner and some more drinks. As usual, the evening was wonderful with great conversation and great story telling and wonderful reminiscing. And of course, the evening is always bitter-sweet as the guest of honor, my friend Jim Runsdorf, could not physically attend.
Friends of Jim at PJ Clarke’s after the holiday party at Harlow.
