Community News

Community News

Bonnie Meadow Rd, AKA Dick Van Dyke Show Way

If you’re my age or older, you probably recall the the old Dick Van Dyke show. Dick Van Dyke Played Rob Petrie and his TV wife Laura was played by the great Mary Tyler Moore. You may not recall the exact address, but the Petrie family lived at fictitious 148 Bonnie Meadow Road, New Rochelle. […]
Community News

My Visit to the Sunshine Children’s Home

In 1962, my older brother Paul, then just 4 years old, got gravely ill and was rushed to the hospital. He would not come home until a year later. His life would be an odyssey of living with diabetes, kidney failure and dialysis, a urostomy most of his life, and all that comes with those […]
Community News, Company News

On Appointment to the Ossining Historic Preservation Commission

As a kid growing up in Ossining in the 1970s and the long shadow of Urban renewal, I had a first row seat to the decline of Downtown Ossining. The stately old buildings that punctuated centuries of progress, commerce and history were reduced to a crumbling, blighted row of vacant shells. Sadly, in the clearing […]
Community News, Company News, Industry News

State of J. Philip Real Estate 2015 Edition

A year ago at this time I was happy to share how 2014 had been, by far, the best year in the history of the firm. We had opened 3 new branch offices, expanded our team to almost 70 agents, and set records for sales production. It would be a tough act to follow. 2015 […]

Community News Bonnie Meadow Rd, AKA Dick Van Dyke Show Way If you’re my age or older, you probably recall the the old Dick Van Dyke show. Dick Van Dyke Played Rob Petrie and his TV wife Laura was played by the great Mary Tyler Moore. You may not recall the exact address, but the Petrie family lived at fictitious 148 Bonnie Meadow Road, New Rochelle. […]

Community News My Visit to the Sunshine Children’s Home In 1962, my older brother Paul, then just 4 years old, got gravely ill and was rushed to the hospital. He would not come home until a year later. His life would be an odyssey of living with diabetes, kidney failure and dialysis, a urostomy most of his life, and all that comes with those […]

Community News On Appointment to the Ossining Historic Preservation Commission As a kid growing up in Ossining in the 1970s and the long shadow of Urban renewal, I had a first row seat to the decline of Downtown Ossining. The stately old buildings that punctuated centuries of progress, commerce and history were reduced to a crumbling, blighted row of vacant shells. Sadly, in the clearing […]

Community News State of J. Philip Real Estate 2015 Edition A year ago at this time I was happy to share how 2014 had been, by far, the best year in the history of the firm. We had opened 3 new branch offices, expanded our team to almost 70 agents, and set records for sales production. It would be a tough act to follow. 2015 […]

Community News State of J Philip Real Estate 2014 Edition If you’ve noticed the conspicuous absence of updates here let me assure you that the reasons are all good. I am fine, the company is fine, and we have been busy. I have lots of good news to report. First, after our best year in 2013, I wrote a year ago that I could foresee […]

Community News On the Proposed Reinvention of Playland Rye Playland has been a Westchester institution since 1927. We take our children there every year, and few places have a softer place in my heart. Unfortunately, 85-year old amusement parks (even when great pains have been taken to keep current, as they do in Rye) don’t attract the crowds they once did, and the […]

Commentary Let’s Just Close Sing Sing Prison Already The Powers That Be must have had a different attitude about prime waterfront land in centuries past, at least in Westchester County. Just in our northern River Towns alone, we have had a nuclear power plant, a landfill, a maximum security prison, and an automobile factory on the banks of the Hudson. Those aren’t very […]

Community News Honoring George Groves I wrote last year on the sad passing of fellow broker George Groves, who was a well respected figure for decades in Westchester real estate. Yesterday, George was honored with the dedication of park benches in his memory at the Eastchester Public Library. Several dozen people attended, including a number of public officials and industry colleagues, both […]

Community News An Artist’s Legacy I’d like to take a moment from real estate and discuss art, beauty, and things that endure. After a terrible accident Sunday, our community lost a very good man when Noel DeGaetano very tragically died this past weekend. I knew Noel from our BNI group, and got an opportunity to visit his studio in Tuckahoe earlier this year. […]

Commentary Tappan Zee Greenway: Great in Theory, Bad in Practical Application This past week I had the privilege of attending a Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors Luncheon with Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino. Among the topics often discussed when Mr Astorino is in the room is the proposed Tappan Zee Bridge Greenway project. The idea is to convert the existing structure from a carrying I-287 over the Hudson […]

Community News Ossining Chosen as Best Place for Architecture by Westchester Magazine I may be biased; I was raised in the Indian Village in Ossining and I love pre war buildings, so I totally agree with Westchester Magazine’s selection of Ossining as the best place in the county for architecture admirers. Ossining has some absolutely beautiful structures, both buildings downtown and homes around the town. I have […]

Community News Hmart has Arrived in Westchester -at Long Last! You may have never heard of Hmart. So I’ll tell you why Ann and I are excited. Hmart is an awesome Korean supermarket chain that we occasionally drive to Queens or New Jersey to patronize because their food (and prices) are so good. There aren’t many options for Korean food in Westchester, so if Ann […]