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). Courtesy of: Mitchell Hall, Associate Broker, The Corcoran Group
Take the A train Uptown to Washington Heights for an affordable apartment and quality of life.
Great Space! Great Deal! Great Value!
Spacious one bedroom one bath with bright, quiet garden/ courtyard views. North and western exposure. French doors separate large living room and dining foyer. This apartment has hardwood floors and four huge closets. Kitchen and bath are in good condition.
Price: $309,000 - Maintenance $611
Lafayette Gardens is a post war pet friendly co-op apartment building with part-time doorman, live-in super, garage, laundry room and storage units. Maintenance includes gas and electricity. Lovely Washington Heights location at west 181st Street. Steps to shops, restaurants, transportation, the Hudson River and Riverside Park.
Duke Ellington and his Orchestra - "Take the 'A' Train"
(Just a 20 minute ride uptown to 181st Street)
Courtesy of:
The "Tribute in Light" will return for one night as a tribute to all those who were lost on September 11th as well as those who worked so hard to get our City through its greatest trial. The lights will be on for one night on September 11, 2009, beginning at sunset and fading away at dawn on September 12th.
Tribute in Light
9/11/2009, 7:10 pm - 6:30 am
West and Morris Streets in Lower Manhattan, Manhattan
Courtesy: Mitchell Hall, Associate Broker, The Corcoran Group
Law and Order begins filming new season on the Upper West Side of Manhattan
iPhone photo courtesy of: Mitchell Hall, Associate Broker, The Corcoran Group
©Mitchell Hall 2006-2009
Though controversial on "cable news" and "talk radio" how school districts and parents in parts of the country will handle the mass-viewing of the president’s speech, it's not an issue in New York City. That’s because NYC public schools will open their doors on Wednesday, not Tuesday as a result of a deal between the city and the teachers union.
Some charter schools have opened already. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will watch President Obama's back-to-school speech from a seat in Manhattan Charter School.
NYC has been building new schools. 23 new school buildings with more than 13,000 seats will open at the start of the 2009-10 school year Sept. 9th. This new construction, along with the 18 new buildings opened last year, represents the most-ever new classroom seats to come on line in a two-year period since the School Construction Authority was created in 1988.
Between 2002 and 2012, the Department of Education is on track to construct more than 110,000 new school seats across the City, with more than 82,000 seats already completed. These seats will reduce pockets of overcrowding, and will ensure that students have the opportunity to learn in modern facilities fully equipped to prepare them for success.
The School Construction Authority’s implementation of the City’s largest-ever Capital Plan earned the agency the title of New York Construction magazine’s “Owner of the Year” for 2009, a prestigious designation awarded to the region’s best builder.
Since 2002, the City has:
Enjoy Labor Day!
http://schools.nyc.gov/default.htm
Courtesy of: Mitchell Hall, Associate Broker, The Corcoran Group
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New York City Real Estate Broker catering to today's discerning, local, national and International, tech-savvy Manhattan buyers and sellers.
Mitchell J Hall - Associate Broker - Blogger
My blogs are designed as a consumer service to help buyers and sellers make informed real estate decisions. It is often difficult to get relevant information when you are looking to buy or sell a coop or condo apartment or townhouse in the complex Manhattan real estate market.
In order to better educate and inform buyers and sellers, the information provided is a FREE Service.
Many buyers and sellers who read my blogs and visit my site are so impressed with the information and service that they will contact me in order to assist them in the purchase or sale of their home.
Manhattan Relocation Package: Neighborhood Relocation Guides and Market Reports: 
Manhattan Apartment Buildings in history/ today
To join my VIP Manhattan Buyer Profile System and receive new listings by email click here.
To find out How Much Your Home is Worth in Today's Market click here
A Manhattan born native New Yorker, Mitchell gained appreciation and knowledge of New York City's different neighborhoods, buildings, architecture, culture and diversity at an early age. His innate knowledge of each neighborhood's unique personality is what makes him adept at matching personalities and lifestyles with properties. He has lived in Manhattan neighborhoods in Brownstones, Pre War and Post War buildings. Having lived and travelled throughout the US and abroad Mitchell knows "There's No Place Like Home" both financially and emotionally.
Comfortable with all types of people, lifestyles and financials he knows how to listen, to focus, "to read between the lines" and to work hard to satisfy his client's real estate needs.
Websites and Links Where You Can Find Me Online:
Testimonials:
____________________________________________________ Mitchell Hall sold 2 of my apartments in Manhattan. One was a Chelsea co-op in 2002 and the most recent was a Battery Park City Condo in 2005. After he sold my co-op in 2002, I knew Mitchell was the only Realtor I wanted to sell my Battery Park city condo. 
The reason was very simple. Successful selling in Manhattan real estate is based on the correct pricing for the unit. If it’s priced too high, there won’t be enough interest and the unit will sit on the market.
However, if it’s priced just low enough to generate a healthy response, the potential buyers will compete for the property and bid up the price. In both instances, this was the case.
Mitchell was able to get the best price for my units based on pricing the units at the correct pricing point that led to bidding wars on the apartments. And in both instances, the units sold for well over the asking price.
In my mind, being able to price units correctly in Manhattan is not an easy task. There are so many variables that affect a unit’s value - even in the same building. Mitchell’s combination of extensive market knowledge, professional demeanor and outstanding negotiating skills always brought in the highest price for my units.
I have since moved from Manhattan, however, if I was ever to return to the city, Mitchell Hall would be the first Realtor I called.
I would highly recommend Mitchell Hall as a Realtor in Manhattan and don’t hesitate to sign my name to this letter.
Allen Zimmerman
________________________________________________________
"It's been a few months since we've been in our new apartment, we love it. We are so glad we met you at your Open House. With out you we never would have found this apartment. Thanks for all your help especially getting us approved by the co-op board. GS and RW 250 West 103rd St.
__________________________________________________
" Mitchell, your pricing strategy and marketing ingenuity was nothing less than spectacular. Having so many solid offers to choose from so quickly enabled me to not only get the price I wanted but the terms as well. Having a signed contract in less than a week and Closing in less than 30 days removed all the stress regarding my relocation and the new condo I bought in South Beach. By the way thanks for getting me a great Realtor in Miami." TD 377 Rector Place #20A ____________________________________________________________________ "Bravo! Mitchell, I am so pleased with your work, I could not be any happier. When I saw my little Chelsea apartment in The New York Times recent sales section, and how much you sold it for I felt like Sarah Jessica Parker in "Sex in the City". A. Collins 210 W 19th Apt 5K IN THE NEWS: Recent Press
Sales still falling in Manhattan
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 2, 2008.
Residential sales in Manhattan continued to slide in the second quarter, according to market reports released today, falling back from last year's lofty peaks.
Mitchell Hall, an associate broker for Coldwell Banker Previews International in Manhattan, said, "I think the market has really turned to more of a buyer's market," and buyers seem to have more wiggle room these days in negotiating prices and other concessions with sellers.
"Everything's very negotiable right now," Hall said. "Where a year ago a buyer would ... insult a seller making a lowball offer, now everything is being considered."
He cited the slow-moving economy among the factors contributing to slowing sales. "They are not grabbing things right away as they were previously. They are ... taking a wait-and-see attitude."
Those buyers who purchased in the past year will likely lose money if they try to sell in the current market, he said.
While there are still first-time buyers in the market, Hall said that larger down-payment requirements are difficult for some buyers. "It's a little tougher getting mortgages right now." The co-op market, he said, typically requires a 20 percent down payment and in some cases a 25 percent down payment, and for condos most lenders are requiring at least a 15 percent down payment, he said.
There are plenty of homes for buyers to choose from, he said, citing a couple who found 80 properties that matched their criteria.
How to be the perfect candidate TIPS FOR CO-OP BUYERS - by: Scot Meyer Five tips for wanna-be co-op buyers Although a co-op board member may say that the process of meeting applicants is just a formality, the building bigwigs can reject you without explanation. So it pays to take the meeting seriously. 1. Answer questions. "You may be asked things that seem personal and sometimes even invasive," says Circle Mortgage Group president Dale Siegel. "Don't be fazed, just answer politely." 2. But maybe not all questions. Mitchell Hall, associate broker with Coldwell Banker Previews International, notes that co-ops can't discriminate based on things such as race or national origin. The board is also not supposed to ask about sexual orientation, marital status or if children will be living with you. 3. Don't elaborate. Hall says major renovation plans might turn off board members. 4. Don't ask. Even innocent questions can offend. "You might ask when they're going to renovate the lobby," Hall says, "and it turns out they just did, and someone on the board was head of the lobby-renovation committee." 5. Don't tell. Beware of revealing too much-questions about sublet or pet policies are a bad idea, and if there are patios, don't ask if you can barbecue on them. For the time being, yes. But if Wall Street continues to struggle, that could change Is Manhattan Immune from the Real Estate Bust? (page 2 of 2) Many of the strictest buildings often insist that prospective buyers have liquid assets equaling as much as three times the apartment's asking price. So, if you're talking about a $5 million apartment, you need at least $15 million in the bank. Other real estate holdings don't count. Subprime loans and foreclosures, as a result, are rare. "Here you have to put skin in the game," said Mitchell Hall, associate broker with Coldwell Bankers Previews International. "It's not easy to buy a place in New York-you have to be really qualified." Translation: rich. Nail-Biting Time The fact that Manhattan has-at least so far-escaped the downturn doesn't mean it won't get hit. With a recession looming, plenty of job losses are expected this year on Wall Street, where bonuses are also expected to shrink. The new condos being built-with ever increasing prices-could also create an oversupply of luxury real estate. Even Spinola of the Real Estate Board concedes that the market could flatten in a recession. New York real estate is by no means immune to dips. Prices dropped during the recession in the early 1990s and following the 1987 stock market crash. The biggest postwar decline came in the 1970s, when the city went bankrupt. Jonathan Miller, president of New York appraiser Miller Samuel, said even though prices are rising, sales activity is off from last year's record levels. The boroughs are doing worse. Expensive Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Park Slope have mirrored Manhattan's strength. But middle-class communities farther out have been weakened by the subprime crisis and the credit crunch. Median home prices in Queens fell 12% in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to the Real Estate Board. The median price dropped 9% in the Bronx, 2% in Staten Island, and 1% in Brooklyn. "Look we've had a very brisk real estate market for the last four or five years," Miller said. "The New York region has held up better than virtually any market across the country. But we are not immune to situations on the national scale." See the BusinessWeek.com slide show for the most expensive real estate listings in Manhattan. Gopal writes about real estate for BusinessWeek.com in New York . metro.us 1/24/2007 New York Post 12/03/2006 PAGE SIX Magazine: NY POST Sunday October 14,2007 Press Mentions:
Time Out New York / Issue 656 : Apr 23-29, 2008
Apartments '08
Is Manhattan Immune from the Real Estate Bust? 
Date
Publication
Article's Name
1/24/2007
Metro New York
On the Waterfront
9/1/2005
The Real Deal
Residential Deals
3/7/2005
New York Post
Homes of the Week
12/3/2006 New York Post Hot New Digs For Wall St. Bonus Babies 6/22/2007 New York Sun Stalled Coop Bill Gains Backers
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