by Laura Matiz

How did we search for information before the internet? I have a listing — a great studio — at the Parc Vendome Condominiums on West 56th Street, a building known for its amenities such as a private dining room with a butler's pantry, a music room, a billiards room, and to top it off, an English Garden. What is a butler's pantry you might ask? Well, that's easy. It's a transitional service room between the kitchen and dining room used for storage. The room a butler would have used in the times of butlers. Or you can select the link to butler's pantry to get a fuller definition from the internet. The English Garden at the Parc Vendome is nestled between the four pre-war buildings — two on each side — that  make up the condominium complex with over 500 dwellings. This English Garden trades in the traditional lake for a beautiful fountain. I learned about the traditional lake when I looked up English Garden on the internet. And so it goes. 

My listing  at 353 W 56th is apartment 3G. A potential buyer asked me if I knew about the comic strip, Apartment 3-G. I had not heard of this comic strip. Of course, I went home and did a little research on the internet. And sure enough, I learned that it was a soap opera comic strip created by Nicholas P. Dallis with art by Alex Kotzky that started its run on May 8, 1961. It is about a trio of career women who share the eponymous Apartment 3-G in Manhattan. The three main characters were loosely based on real actors: Tommie is based on Lucille Ball, Margo on Joan Collins and Lu Ann on Tuesday Weld.

Kotzky's artwork is carefully drawn, realistic from a more elegant time. While these characters would have appreciated the 20s and 30s pre-war elegance of the Parc Vendome, my listing is likely a tad too small for all three, even if you converted the large closet — as others have done in this line — to a small alcove. 

After the deaths of the original creators of Apartment 3-G, others have taken up the comic strip. It is still running today, but it has none of the sensibilities of the original artwork.

​If you want to revisit that elegance, I would be happy to schedule a private showing for apartment 3G at the Parc Vendome. 

(A repost from August 2015. Apartment now available with tenant. Perfect for investors.)

Categories: Selected Listings

by Laura Matiz 

The new year has taken off like a rocket. I can't believe that today is MLK day. I already miss the bustle and energy that surrounds my children and  friends who visit during the winter break. Most have returned to begin the spring semester at their respective colleges.

But, I am also glad to be back working with clients after taking a couple of weeks off at the end of the year to focus on family and holiday events. I cherish this time with family and friends, and it motivates me to do more in my professional life as well.

This past week I had the opportunity to share what I do as a real estate broker with a group of a dozen students from the Grace Institute that visited the Douglas Elliman mid-town office. The Grace Institute is a  workforce development organization that helps women-in-need find their calling. It is a wonderful organization that I have followed and supported for years.

I shared a  bit of my life story as it relates to selling real estate. I told them about my family and my schooling. I told them about my grandfather's natural food store in Queens—one of the first of its kind in New York in the early seventies. There, I absorbed many lessons on customer care. I described how I loved working the register, composing trail mixes, and helping customers even though I was only in junior high school.

After some personal anecdotes, I described what I do as a real estate agent in the greatest city in the world. I explained the difference between co-ops and condos. I shared with them that the most challenging, but rewarding task was negotiating on behalf of my customers. I also described how I help my customers compile the extremely complicated board packages that all buyers have to submit to co-op boards in order to get approval to purchase the apartment. I explained that buying a co-op was more like applying for membership to an exclusive club. 

I discussed the serendipity of apartment searches, the explorations during showings, and how I often get to know my customers really well, many becoming repeat customers. I also explained how brokers work on commissions and that it is possible to  invest many hours with clients that never purchase or sell an apartment. That was an opportunity to explain how important it is to stay positive and to be resilient.

The women asked a lot of questions and I was quite pleased and relieved with how things went. The next day, I was pleasantly surprised  when I received a handful of wonderfully worded thank-you notes from students. The notes were a nice touch and most generous. They made my day knowing I had made an impact. What a nice way to start 2016.

Happy New Year!