
So I'm writing home- to NYC, that is. I've been down south for a little over 3 weeks and lets just say I'm officially (extremely) homesick for New York. I miss rooftops such as this one in Williamsburg and I miss abandoned buildings and graffiti. I miss the ways real estate is all fucked up in New York City and the way it somehow becomes worked into the subject of every conversation. Don't get me wrong- from my point of view, real estate can be a pretty f**ked up situation to discuss in many parts of the country right now (Charleston, SC certainly has its share of whoas), but never in the same way as the city that never sleeps. People in other places I've been just don't seem to have as much fun knocking on the ridiculous bullshit that happens in respect to the real estate market. I miss that for some reason. In New York, you almost have to have a real estate sense of humor. I suppose that could be the main reason Curbed has so many readers. Much like the real estate market itself, people don't know whether to laugh or cry

When it comes to real estate in NYC, the fun of talking about it is that there's always someone out there who knows more. Particular situations are in flux and numbering in the katrillions every second...and theres always someone out there with the scoop (even if they ain't yappin). Take for example this article i ran across today on Curbed about the Roebling Oil Field, near McCarren Park. This situation really kinda pisses me off because there are Darthvelopers (LoftNinja's Arch enemy) out there who do stupid shit such as beginning to build foundations of condo buildings on top of a contaminated site, all because they are too damn cheap to do the job the right way first. Cleaning up an oil spill in NYC (or anywhere else with mounds of human inhabitants) is a very necessary and extremely important thing to do.

Interesting tidbits that I know about said Roebling Oil Field:
-The oil in the ground on this site is Heating Oil, not gasoline (which only makes it a different kind of harmful, not less harmful).
-The current attempts to clean up the site have been largely unproductive, as the method used (pump and treat/removal) is the cheap way of going about it. This method take waaaay too long and when you have a development scenario (hinging on deadlines), someone is bound to prematurely say, "Ok- we've done enough. Start building." In the end, all it could have ever been was cheaper.
-There is another available method for cleaning up sites such as this which only takes a matter of days- its called S.T.I. Sure, it is a bit more expensive, but so is human life. It is a substance that can be injected into the contaminated ground and its chemical reaction to the oil makes it virtually disappear! Sounds like magic huh. Well it is. I don't sell it or anything of course- not now anyway. However, if anyone out there is interested in obtaining more information about it, i can arrange this for you. I happen to be close friends with a gentleman who works for an environmental decontamination group, who specializes in this sort of treatment. Write me if you are interested- it will give me a chance to read up on the specifics. Greenpoint needs this!!!
In any case, oil or not, I miss NYC and will be returning at the end of the week. I can't wait to roam and capture my city again.
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