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Mitchell Hall - Manhattan Real Estate

Washington Heights: Manhattan Neighborhood Report

Fort Tyron

Washington Heights is Manhattan's highest natural point (265 feet, in Bennett Park)

Washington Heights, which runs from 155th Street to Dyckman Street from river to river, is a bustling urban area with a busy commercial center.

Washington Heights is known for it's five and six-story prewar and post war apartment buildings including Lafayette Gardens at 330-40 Haven Avenue. Washington Heights has Art-Deco and Tudor-style coops, row houses, and post war brick buildings.

Cabrini Boulevard, Washington Heights

Great shopping and dining - there's everything from bodegas to bakeries to bars available along Broadway, St. Nicholas Avenue and 181st Street.

The area's easy access to transport - it's just 20 minutes to Penn Station on the 'A' train - are advantages as well.

In Colonial times, this was the country: the place where wealthy New Yorkers came to build private escapes. Manhattan's oldest house the Morris-Jumel mansion, which served as General Washington’s headquarters in the fall of 1776 still stands at 160th Street.

Today Washington Heights is a value neighborhood. It is a great neighborhood for folks who have been priced out of downtown yet it is still on the island. Current prices range from $275,000 to $375,000 for 1 bedroom coops and condos. Two bedroom coops and condos range from $400,000 to $725,00. Some 3 and 4 bedroom apartments are in $1 million plus range.

Beautiful Fort Tryon Park includes the Cloisters, a museum of medieval buildings imported stone-by-stone by collectors and breathtaking views of the George Washington Bridge and the Hudson River.


Washinggton Heights, Manhattan

Take the A train up to 181st street in Washington Heights to enjoy a great neighborhood and an affordable apartment.

From The Hit Broadway Musical "In The Heights"


Photos courtesy of: Adina Greenberg, The Corcoran Group

Mitchell Hall, The Corcoran Group

©Mitchell Hall 2009

Manhattan 3rd Quarter 2009 Market Report


"Buyers have realized meaningful price reductions since last year".

The 3rd quarter Corcoran Report analysis of the Manhattan housing market is now available. The Corcoran Report, in collaboration with Property Shark, is the industry standard for measuring the pulse of the real estate market. Click links or picture for full report.

Median price came in at $799,000, down 18%, with price per square foot falling 14% to $1,012.




Speechless Sunday: Yom Kippur

B'nai Jeshurun



Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)
begins this evening the night before Yom Kippur
with a service called Kol Nidre (All Vows).

The words of the beautiful haunting song ask G-d to forgive any vows people have made to G-d and not kept.

Good Yontif!


iPhone photo courtesy of:

Mitchell Hall, The Corcoran Group

©Mitchell Hall 2009

New York City Health Insurance Link: A New Web-Based Health Plan Tool

NYC Health Insurance Link

Instead of Waiting for Washington to Act on Health Care, New York City Becomes First Local Government in the Nation to Offer Online Help to Individuals and Small Business Owners.

Mayor Bloomberg today unveiled the New York City Health Insurance Link, a new web-based tool to help New Yorkers find a health insurance plan that best fits their healthcare needs and budgets. The tool is available at www.NYC.gov and is targeted to small business owners, freelancers and other independent or unemployed workers who do not currently have health insurance coverage or are shopping for more affordable coverage.

With NYC Health Insurance Link, uninsured small businesses, individuals, and freelancers can search for and compare all different kinds of health plans, including those with low- and high deductibles; those with and without particular benefits like prescription drugs; and those with open and closed provider networks. The tool provides users with a full range of comprehensive health plans available in the City from every carrier-including plans available through specialized purchasing alliances and Healthy New York products. Healthy New York is a state-subsidized program designed to assist small businesses, sole proprietors and uninsured individuals gain access to more affordable private health insurance coverage. All HMOs in New York are required to offer a Healthy New York product.

Unlike other web-based health insurance search engines, NYC Health Insurance Link is unbiased, not favoring any one plan over another, and is designed to educate consumers and respond to the questions they may ask as they look for the right plan. NYC Health Insurance Link also has the flexibility to adapt to future federal and state health care reforms.

When basic business information, such as the number of employees to be covered, preferred benefits and other information is entered, NYC Health Insurance Link generates a list of possible health plans and provides a direct comparison of the costs and benefits of each. Users can also use a premium calculator on the website to vary their contribution amounts, and to determine the best premium contribution they can afford to offer their employees. For individuals, sole proprietors and their families, NYC Health Insurance Link asks basic information about household size, income, and work status to help them determine whether public health insurance may be an option as well as show them private health insurance plans.

Some New York State Consumer Protections

  • Unlike many other parts of the country, in New York health insurance options do not depend on your health status, age, or any other factor that might predict the use of health services by you or your employees. Instead, your ability to get health insurance is dependent on your being an individual residing or a business operating in New York State and your ability to pay the premium. This protection is called guaranteed issue.

  • In addition, your health plan cannot be cancelled because you get sick or submit a lot of claims. This is called guaranteed renewability.

  • The premium your health insurance carrier charges cannot depend on your or your employees’ health status, age, gender, occupation or pre-existing conditions. Instead, premiums are based on the average cost of offering coverage to all individuals seeking the same plan from the same insurer in the same geographic area. This is called community rating.

New York Consumer Guide to Health Insurers (www.ins.state.ny.us/hgintro.htm).

arrowVisit Health Insurance Link

Courtesy of: Mitchell Hall, Associate Broker, The Corcoran Group