by Laura Matiz 

There are two infrastructure projects underway on the Upper East Side. One of them is quite obvious on Second Avenue. (See: NYC Underground: New Transit Projects.) There, the new subway line installation requires massive equipment. A high level of street-side disruption is clear. Sidewalks, crosswalks, and businesses along the thoroughfare are greatly affected.

Along Third Avenue is the second infrastructure project. It is so unobtrusive that most people are unaware that it is already active and running. Of course, I am writing about the ambitious LinkNYC Public Wi-Fi program.

The LinkNYC web site explains that in 2014, the mayor's office announced a competitive request-for-proposals to reuse the ubiquitous pay-phone infrastructure to offer New Yorkers free Wi-Fi and phone calls. The city awarded CityBridge, a consortium of technology, media, user experience and connectivity companies, a 12-year franchise.  LinkNYC offers super fast Wi-Fi — a hundred times faster than average public Wi-Fi — across New York City connecting about 7,500 kiosks. The free service will be supported with advertising.

LinkNYC has also been rolled out along Eight Avenue and will continue to expand in Manhattan before heading out to the other boroughs. A LinkNYC map provides information on kiosk locations. Connecting is quite simple and anecdotally, speeds have been impressive. See the video below explaining how to connect to LinkNYC. Happy surfing. 

Categories: Policy, Technology, Tips, Transit

by Laura Matiz

In part one of this series, I noted that real estate is now a technology-driven business. Social media, custom apps, tailored ads, websites and blogs are all part of the marketing and promotion of the business. But, for information exchange with my buyers, I make use of a few simple technologies that are more personal and customized to their apartment search. Read on.

In the first article, I noted that there are numerous apps and web sites that offer property search compilations, but I find that they all have a few drawbacks: (1) they require the creation of accounts, to which some buyers balk; (2) some apps only work on specific devices; and (3) communication with my buyer is mediated by a third party. The focus of that first article, was an overview of how I use Google Sheets to help track the apartment search. In this second part, I will explain how I use BatchGeo Mapping to visualize the information gathered in Google Sheets.

by Laura Matiz 

Anyone currently working in real estate knows that it is a technology-driven business. Pick up any trade magazine and it's clear that real estate companies differentiate themselves by their technology offerings. Social media, custom apps, tailored ads, websites and blogs are all part of the technology-driven marketing and promotion side of the business. As a broker working in the 21st century, I have to ride that technology wave, but I also like to use simpler technologies that optimize the way I exchange information with my buyers during their apartment search.

There are numerous apps and web sites that offer property search compilations, but I find that they all have a few drawbacks: (1) they require the creation of accounts; (2) some only work on specific devices; and (3) my communication with my buyer is mediated by a third party. 

For one-on-one communication, there is email and text messages, but for organizing and exchanging information I use two simple technologies: Google Sheets and BatchGeo. This article, I will explain how I use Google Sheets to help my buyers stay on top of their search. In a follow up article, we'll take a look at the mapping tool, BatchGeo. 

by Laura Matiz

The NYC REgals love exploring new technologies and the Hyperlapse app from Instagram has been fun to test. It takes timelapse movies using your iPhone. The app does an excellent job at stabilizing your movie—the samples below were taken from a bouncy vehicle. A number of RE-related blogs have already touted its potential for real estate. 

Here are a couple of neat hyperlapse movies driving into Manhattan. Of course, we can only wish that the traffic moved this smoothly. The first clip, "10 Seconds on the Gowanus Expressway," shows a drive toward threatening skies over Manhattan on the Gowanus straightaway. Second clip is crossing the Battery (Carey) Tunnel into lower Manhattan.