Tipping the staff during the holidays is a custom, not a requirement, but you’ll be in the minority if you don’t do it.
The precise amount depends on the size of your building (the larger the staff, the smaller the individual tips), quality of service, staff seniority, length of time you’ve lived there, whether you own or rent (more on that below), personal chemistry, your financial circumstances, and whether you’re frugal, generous, or somewhere in between.
Here’s a general average framework, for you to use as you see fit:
Super, …
by Riccardo Ravasini 
NYC is flooded with illegal short-term rentals that do not comply with New York City law or building board guidelines. But a new effort to block illegal short-term rentals is launching January 9th. That’s when a new law, Local Law 18, goes into effect requiring owners and renters to register their short-term rentals with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement. Hosts will get a registration number to display in listings. Sites such as Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, and others will be …
by Riccardo Ravasini
Is the residential sales market stabilizing?
Mortgage rates have been fairly flat in the last couple weeks and we might be seeing some stabilization taking place with some believing in a “soft landing” for the economy.
The monthly contract activity stood at 701 in November, down 46.7% compared to last year and down 18% from the 856 historical average for the month of November. The supply, which is the number of units available on the market, stands at 6,618, …
by Riccardo Ravasini 
The Waldorf Astoria is set to become the first ever tower in Miami taller than 1,000 feet (it will top off at 1,049 feet).
According to a representative of the developer, the Waldorf Astoria is planned to include: 205 hotel rooms and 360 residential units.
A groundbreaking ceremony took place earlier this month, and construction is now underway.
(source: thenextmiami.com picture: thenextmiami.com)
by Riccardo Ravasini
Newly signed contracts have been falling annually for nearly a year, distorted by the 2020-2021 boom, and new listings have declined annually for three of the past four months. New listings have been substantially below pre-pandemic levels for the past six months.
(source: millersamuel.com)
by Riccardo Ravasini 
A $14.5 million makeover will clean up New York City’s trashy side, Mayor Eric Adams said.
Adams unveiled “Get Stuff Clean”, a (literal) sweeping effort to clean more than 1,000 neglected areas across the city.
“America’s biggest city is going to be America’s cleanest city,” he said. “We’re investing more than $14 million this fiscal year alone to participate in the largest cleanup effort in decades.”
More than 200 new sanitation workers will be added to cleaning efforts across the city, the cleaning …
by Riccardo Ravasini