1) Long Island City is poised to become a viable option for city visitors looking for an affordable hotel room with a view. The Ravel and Z, two new boutique hotels, are set to open in 2007. Both will feature rooms with skyline views and offer something Manhattan hotels can't, affordability, with rooms at the Z (pictured above) starting at about $200/night. Look out Bowery, LIC is coming for you. [Allison Gregor/Square Feet]
2) Sellers who are ready to list their apartments have to battle their brokers and instincts when choosing their listing prices. There are certain price thresholds buyers associate with each apartment size, and brokers know that opening strong is the key to a successful listing. Sellers would do well to let an experienced agent set the opening number, otherwise they may just have to break out the dreaded chopper. [Teri Karush Rogers/The Psychology of Pricing]
3) A college student trying to escape her cell-ish dorm room struggles to find an affordable East Side coop. After numerous coop boards reject her (they look down upon parents buying for their children), she finds a home in a fifth floor walk up on East 73rd Street for $300,000. [Joyce Cohen/The Hunt]
4) Members of the General Theological Seminary in Chelsea, stinging from their inability to get approval for their Tower of Babel, are beginning to wonder if their neighbors are opposed to more than their 9 story design. Long known for their work in the gay and lesbian community, Seminary members feel the new Chelsea may be more comfortable without them. Not so according to Community Board member Tony Simone, who says "We support the seminary’s mission. What we don’t support is the plan they have to develop this building.” [Chelsea Report/Alex Mindlin]