Virginia the Designer!

The first question I often ask a new client is why do you want to move? She told me that their were homeless people living under the sidewalk shed that surrounded her building. They often were smoking and harassing her employees and customers for money when entering and exiting the building. Her landlord was an investor who owned two buildings and was, in effect, an absentee owner.  He ignored the issue.

Homelessness is a social problem that as individuals and as a society we can’t ignore.  Unfortunately, this problem is endemic to New York City and needs to be addressed.

I told my client that while we can move your company to another location, we could not insure that the problem would not recur. The new landlord could put up a scaffold the day after she moves in to perform work on its building.

Where we can help is to identify owners that take responsibility for their buildings, manage them well and understand the social dynamics involved.  Some landlords understand their social responsibilities and work with the City and various nonprofits to help persons that are homeless.

We were able to direct her to a building whose ownership we knew and trusted that would not ignore problems, had a social consciousness and made every effort to preserve their investment as well as hers.  Yes Virginia, there are good landlords!

Give us a call when you need insight into finding the right place for your business while making New York a better place for everyone to live and work.