Viewpoints

Gail Fattizzi

PRESIDENT'S CORNER: Realtors Must Take Active Part in Fostering Diversity

June 10, 2020

We were all shocked and appalled by the recent senseless killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. No person should die as he did, regardless of race. Unfortunately, this is a pattern we’ve seen repeated too many times where the victim is a person of color. People around the country are coming out en masse for…

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Philip Weiden

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: Another Stimulus is on the Agenda for Congress

June 8, 2020

Additional stimulus plans are being debated in Congress. Both the House and Senate are staking out where they will be on the next set of issues. Some states want more aid and others do not want to approve any aid if it goes to state and local governments. Governor Cuomo states that New York will…

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Jennifer Maher

PUTNAM POSTING: Revelations on Division Over Face Masks

June 3, 2020

What divides us? Many things: politics, opinion, race, religion, culture, education, wealth, status and even beauty. Nineteen years ago, after the devastating 9/11 attacks on our country and our state, citizens and communities rose above difference. We embraced our neighbors, once strangers, and, for a time, humanity, love of country, and fear of what we…

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Richard Haggerty

GATEWAY PERSPECTIVES: Patience is a Virtue—Who Ever Said That?

May 19, 2020

Everyone knows the old proverb that patience is a virtue. However, it’s not a virtue I’ve been able to embrace very easily. At the end of February, the real estate market was chugging along at a brisk pace. We were getting ready to launch OneKey MLS. I was repeating my mantra that change is good…

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Gail Fattizzi

PRESIDENT'S CORNER: Getting Ready for the ‘Next Normal’

May 15, 2020

I heard this term “the next normal” recently and it immediately resonated with me. Normal is what we get accustomed to, but it is not stagnant. Normal is always evolving and so we move from one version of normal to another…next! As we continue to work towards defending against and defeating COVID-19, we must be…

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Jennifer Maher

PUTNAM POSTING: Reopen Putnam Safely Task Force Gets to Work With County, Towns, Villages, Businesses, Elected Officials

May 14, 2020

On Friday, May 8th, the Putnam County Business Council launched a “Reopen Putnam County Safely” Task Force, which gathered a cohort of town, village, and business stakeholders for an initial meeting to discuss the reopening of Putnam County. Representatives from Carmel, Southeast/Brewster, Kent, Patterson, Philipstown/Cold Spring and Putnam Valley were joined by retail and service…

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Real Estate In-Depth

Working Together to Rebuild Our Workforce, Our Region

May 14, 2020

By Maureen Halahan and Marc Baez During these uncertain times, the people of New York State have benefitted from Gov. Cuomo’s leadership and that of our federal, state and local officials while, once again, showing remarkable resilience. So, much has happened so quickly, and we applaud our elected representatives for taking decisive action to ensure…

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Philip Weiden

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: May State Legislative Updates

May 12, 2020

The   will hold joint hearings on the federal response to the COVID-19 crisis. The first hearing was scheduled virtually for May 13th and was to look at whether the federal response was sufficient in view of the disproportionate impact on New York State the virus has had. The second hearing, which has not been scheduled…

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Richard Haggerty

GATEWAY PERSPECTIVES: A Time to Pause and Reflect

April 13, 2020

I am writing this column on April 12th, Easter Sunday, from my apartment in New York City. A month ago, most of us expected that the Coronavirus would impact our lives to some degree, but few of us anticipated the depth of that impact. We closed the HGAR offices and sent the staff home to…

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Philip Weiden

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: Highlights of the State Budget in the Era of COVID-19

April 10, 2020

COVID-19 notwithstanding, New York State is required to have a budget for the ensuing fiscal year in place by April 1st. The state budget has been agreed to by the governor and the State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has recently signed it into law. The budget dealt with the numbers before everything completely collapsed…

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Gail Fattizzi

PRESIDENT'S CORNER: Leadership Now!

April 10, 2020

In challenging times, leaders quickly stand out. They may not look to draw attention to themselves, but they quietly inspire, calm, inform, empathize and support others. The real estate industry is filled with entrepreneurs, many of whom are leaders of a company, a team, or of their own business. As John Quincy Adams is quoted…

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Jennifer Maher

PUTNAM POSTING: Continuing an Unprecedented Business Journey

April 10, 2020

Five weeks ago, I shut down our real estate and law offices to traffic, and we began working from home a week later. Courts have been closed, showings are not permitted on houses, but we have enough in the pipeline to survive and move forward once this is all over. We have shifted our models,…

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Philip Weiden

A Legislative Coronavirus Update

April 1, 2020

The Coronavirus has quickly brought the economy to a standstill. It became evident that emergency measures were needed including suspending mortgage payments for those affected, suspending evictions and foreclosures and getting financial relief to Realtors and other independent contractors who have been impacted due to their inability to conduct business, in part as a result…

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Irene Amato

Mortgage Forbearance Does Not Mean Mortgage Forgiveness

March 31, 2020

As I sit here trying to find words of advice for consumers to navigate through the financial portion of COVID-19, my emotions are all over the place. It’s difficult to talk about finances when we’re all going through so much more, although, I know this information is important and crucial for some to protect against…

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Jennifer Maher

PUTNAM POSTING: ‘Social Distancing’ is a Must for the Business Community

March 27, 2020

“Average performers stop when they feel fear. Iconic producers accelerate once they get frightened.” Robin Sharma Are you frightened by current events? I am. We have a large brick and mortar office and there are many people coming and going including children on a regular basis. I spent the first weekend in March thinking, meditating,…

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John Jordan

Fighting the Unseen Enemy

March 22, 2020

Gov. Andrew Cuomo at a press conference on Saturday, March 21 said that two weeks ago seemed like a lifetime. I couldn’t agree more! The governor’s executive order on Friday, March 20 shutting down most industries in New York State, including commercial and residential real estate brokerage and development, had to be done to curtail…

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Philip Weiden

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: Realtors Speak Out at Co-op Reform Legislative Hearing

March 17, 2020

On Monday, March 9th approximately a dozen Realtors spoke at a general meeting of the Westchester County Board of Legislators considering co-op reform legislation. Leah Caro, HGAR’s Legislative Council Chair, testified about the importance of transparency in the co-op process. Caro pointed out that we now have almost 300 rejections of prospective purchasers despite the…

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Richard Haggerty

GATEWAY PERSPECTIVES: When Life Throws You Lemons

March 17, 2020

At the beginning of last week, the week of March 9th, I realized that the COVID 19 virus was going to have a significant impact in our area. I did not anticipate that by Friday of that same week the HGAR leadership would make the difficult but prudent decision to cancel all in-person classes and…

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Gail Fattizzi

PRESIDENT'S CORNER: The Boulder in the Road

March 16, 2020

In June 2019, on Highway 145 near Dolores, CO, an 8.5-million-pound boulder, along with another 2.5-million-pound rock, rolled down onto the roadway, completely blocking a main artery connecting Cortez and Telluride. The Colorado Department of Transportation had a real quandary. They were able to blow up the smaller rock. Rather than spend $1.5 million to…

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