The Steeple Times

Tag: society

  • A Pointedly Pricey Plot

    A Pointedly Pricey Plot

    Seriously expensive waterfront building plot goes on sale outside San Francisco; it comes with plans for the perfect home for a tech titan

     

    14.5 acres of forested land with 2,000 feet of frontage to San Francisco Bay shoreline has gone on sale for what could be one of the highest prices ever for a single residence building plot in Northern California.

     

    2800 Paradise Drive in Tiburon, Marin County comes with planning permission for a 16,000 square foot main residence, a 2,200 square foot guest house and a 700 square foot caretaker’s cottage and is also described as ‘The Bluff Point Estate’. It is situated six miles east of the US 101 Tiburon Boulevard interchange and is described as being “within minutes of downtown Tiburon and the Golden Gate Bridge”.

     

    A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)
    A rendering of the proposed house at 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America
    A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)
    An aerial view of the entire plot
    A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)
    Real estate investor Maxwell Drever pictured at the adjoining Drever Estate, Paradise Drive, Tiburon in 2012

     

    The last remaining piece of land of this size to remain undeveloped in this area is adjoined by the palatial Drever Estate – which, according to SF Luxe’s Damion Matthews, was marketed for $37 million in 2010 (the equivalent of $41 million, £31.7 million, €37.6 million or درهم150.6 million today) by Concierge Asset Management chairman Maxwell Drever and his wife, Janice. It is described as providing an opportunity to create “a world class super low density single owner residential estate”.

     

    Offered by Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty, 2800 Paradise Drive is vacant, entirely fenced and has a dirt fire access road. It includes native oak, bay, eucalyptus and pine woodland, sandy beaches and proposed designs by Booth Hansen architects of Chicago illustrate a 6 reception room, 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom residence that will come with “an art gallery entrance, a swimming pool, a terrace garden and a photovoltaic renewable energy (solar) collection area”.

     

    2800 Paradise Drive will likely be sold to a Bay Area tech titan seeking the ultimate in “privacy and security”. They’ll need to have £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million) spare (before building costs).

     

    A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million) A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)A Pointedly Pricey Plot – 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of America – For sale through Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty for £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million)

  • Gilded Glory

    Gilded Glory

    New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion” for sale for £38.75 million; it comes with a room that cannot be wiretapped

     

    An Upper East Side “Beaux Arts palace on a small scale” described as “Manhattan’s last intact Gilded Age mansion” has gone on sale for £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman.

     

    Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”
    854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America

     

    Offering 20,000 square foot of accommodation over nine floors, 854 Fifth Avenue stands opposite Central Park and between 66th and 67th Streets. It was built in 1905 for a stockbroker named Robert Livingston Beeckman and constructed by architects Warren & Wetmore at a cost of $60,000 (the equivalent of $1.6 million, £1.2 million, €1.5 million or درهم5.9 million today). The residence was landmarked by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as a “superb example of the French classic style of Louis XV” in 1966 and to this day, the 32-room property retains original features including hand-carved balustrades of white marble, ceiling frescoes of angels and clouds, an original working stove and two of the city’s first private elevators.

     

    Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”
    Robert Livingston Beeckman (1866 – 1935), Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White (1852 – 1946) and Henry White (1850 – 1927)

     

    Sold next to George Grant in 1912 after Beeckman – later 52nd Governor of Rhode Island – abandoned New York to spend more time at his Newport estate, Lands End, for a then record sum of $725,000 (the equivalent of $18.3 million, £14.1 million, €16.8 million or درهم67.2 million today), 854 Fifth Avenue was then offloaded to Henry White and his heiress wife Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White for the much lower sum of $450,000 in 1925 (the equivalent of $6.3 million, £4.9 million, €5.8 million or درهم23.1 million today).

     

    Twice married financier of New York’s Sloane Hospital for Women Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White and her ambassador husband are said to have “added their own touches” to the mansion and after she died, 854 Fifth Avenue was sold to the then nation of Yugoslavia. It has served as a government building since and was most recently used as the Permanent Mission of Serbia and Mission of Serbia to the UN.

     

    Bombed on 11th July 1968 but thankfully subject to little damage in that attack, the mansion still to this day features a ‘Faraday Cage’ – a secret metal-padded room where officials could meet without the fear of being wiretapped – as well as bulletproof windows to its Central Park elevation.

     

    Last week, of the property, Tristan Harper of Douglas Elliman told The Real Deal:

     

    “Everything is virtually intact. Whoever buys it will own a piece of New York history. [The six individuals who have already expressed interest in purchasing 854 Fifth Avenue are] all extremely high-net-worth individuals of different backgrounds”.

     

    Once bordered by houses of a similar scale, 854 Fifth Avenue is now adjoined by two behemoth-like apartment complexes. It stands sturdy and represents a little reminder of the glorious era of Carnegies, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and Whitneys.

     

    Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion” Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”Gilded Glory – 854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America – £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) with Douglas Elliman – New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion”

  • Marked by Mice

    Marked by Mice

    Scott’s in Mayfair to reopen after closing due to a mice infestation; Montpeliano remains open in spite of receiving a Food Standards Agency rating of zero out of five

     

    Today, Scott’s restaurant in Mount Street, Mayfair reopens after having been closed for six days for what they called “a spring clean and revamp”.

     

    The restaurant, which is owned by bouffant haired Richard Caring, in fact, actually received a food hygiene rating of 1/5 – which indicates a “major improvement [is] necessary” – on 13th February and was especially criticized for standards of cleanliness and management of food safety. In particular, according to the Mail Online’s Shari Miller, the report highlighted: “During the inspection it was noted that there was a significant issue with mice activity throughout the premises”.

     

    Of this development at a restaurant loved by many, a spokesman for Scott’s told the Mail Online:

     

    “We are shocked that the council found a reason to reduce our rating despite 10 years with a spotless record”.

     

    “The issues identified were dealt with immediately and we pushed for Westminster Council to return and regrade us before we closed for a long-term planned refurbishment of the restaurant”.

     

    “We are more than happy for them to come back when we open as we are totally confident of retaining our five-star rating”.

     

    “[This was a] wake-up call… And a reminder that for us to maintain our exacting standards, we must put in our own intense checks on top of outside agencies”.

     

    Elsewhere, Knightsbridge’s Montpeliano retains a rating of zero on the Food Standards Agency website. Awarded the truly dreadful score on the 21st September 2016, this “garden style restaurant” opened in 1974 and describes itself as “the place to go for dressy, classic Italian cooking”.

     

    Marked by Mice – Scott’s restaurant at 20 Mount Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 2HE to reopen after mice infestation – Montpeliano at 13 Montpelier Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW7 1HQ still open after receiving a Food Standards Agency rating of 0/5.Marked by Mice – Scott’s restaurant at 20 Mount Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 2HE to reopen after mice infestation – Montpeliano at 13 Montpelier Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW7 1HQ still open after receiving a Food Standards Agency rating of 0/5.

  • Alfie Best – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Alfie Best – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    A 20-question interview with self-made businessman and star of ‘My Fat Gypsy Fortune’ Alfie Best

     

    The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?

    For a man to know where he is going, he must remember where he is from.

     

    “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

    Life is a light, it is your job to make it shine brighter.

     

    Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2017?

    Internet trolls who are brave behind keyboards.

     

    Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?

    Time.

     

    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    More time.

     

    Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the state of the financial system?

    If you treat the bank as a bank, they will treat you as a customer but if you treat the banks as a partner within your business and build your relationship with the management of the bank, they will consider you as a partner and offer much more insight and help which it is own way, is free to you as a business.

     

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

    “We have a problem”; one man’s problem is another man’s opportunity.

     

    In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?

    I do believe charity begins at home but I also believe giving is not as good as teaching. If you give a man a fish, he will feed his family for a night, show the man how to fish and he will feed his family for a lifetime.

     

    We’re actually setting up own charity – Wyldecrest Parks Charity – which hopefully we’ll be able to help vulnerable people in need.

     

    The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?

    Connection is unbelievable and the forward bounds it has given us a society is unprecedented but we have to remember not to become disconnected from society.

     

    If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?

    I would fill the carriage with my family and friends and invite Tracy Chapman and the musical artist Rodriguez; I would look for them to enjoy the ride and party whilst it lasted.

     

    If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?

    Pie, mash and liquor at the White House with the President to try and get a reprieve whilst eating my last meal.

     

    What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?

    6:30am with a nice cup of lemon tea.

     

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    A cup of tea.

     

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    I enjoy my son’s parties because the charisma he brings to the room is like a ray of sunshine on the beach.

     

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    Me.

     

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    Chocolate.

     

    If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?

    If I were to have a tattoo, it would state ‘BEST’ across my back because it would mean the best is behind me and there is even better to come.

     

    If you were a car, what marque would you be?

    A black Lamborghini.

     

    Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.

    After becoming a millionaire at 20, I nearly went bust and slept in my car for 3 months.

     

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    A backward clock – it confuses everyone!

     

    Alfie Best is a successful entrepreneur driven by tenacity. With humble origins, born and raised in a Romany Gypsy family, this self-made man started his professional path totally from scratch. Alongside Wyldecrest Parks, Alfie Best also owns other very successful businesses within the hospitality and leisure, events, trading and finance industries including Vinyl Bar, Kyoto Furniture, Axiom Uno and Wylde Event Management.

     

    Follow him on Twitter at @alfiebest33.

     

  • The Cross Word Couple (AKA ‘The Crossword Couple’)

    The Cross Word Couple (AKA ‘The Crossword Couple’)

    Though never a cross word was uttered between this duo during their visits to the sadly now defunct Chelsea restaurant La Brasserie, their dislike of what they perceived as “loud music” (and other forms of noise) made them retreat to a quiet corner. Known to occasionally ‘share’ a cocktail – though firm believers in “one between two will do” – ‘The Cross Word (or Crossword) Couple’ enjoy puzzles but intensely dislike pointless chit-chat. Cross them at your peril.

  • Remembering Michael Bienes

    Remembering Michael Bienes

    Witty Fort Lauderdale based philanthropist Michael Bienes passes away

     

    Philanthropist Michael Bienes sadly died of cancer on 5th April according to the Sun Sentinel.

     

    New York born Mr Bienes, a multi-millionaire many times over until falling prey to Bernard Madoff’s crooked Ponzi scheme, was known for hosting lavish parties and supported everything from the Holy Cross Hospital in Broward County to the Royal Opera House in London. He was generous to a tee and known for his dry sense of humour and wit.

     

    The 80-year old, whose accountancy firm, Avellino & Bienes was an early feeder fund of Bernard L. Madoff Securities, leaves a widow, Dianne. She told the Sun Sentinel:

     

    “Michael was never a man who would take advantage of anyone simply because he was always afraid of doing anything wrong. He loved people and valued the relationships he cultivated”.

     

    Michael Bienes will be missed by many in both America and Britain. We offer our condolences to his wife and family.

     

  • Gone is the Garage

    Gone is the Garage

    Purpose-built Upper East Side, NYC Beaux Arts garage reduced in price by 41%; it will still cost around £40 million to buy and turn into a vast single family residence

     

    Purpose built in 1906 to house the cars of wealthy (but not quite so wealthy enough to have their own carriage houses) Upper Eastsiders, 177 – 179 East 73rd Street in New York is a five-storey Beaux Arts structure that is described as “unusually sophisticated”.

     

    Reduced from a completely unrealistic £39.8 million ($50 million, €47 million or درهم183.6 million) when first marketed in 2015 to £23.5 million ($29.5 million, €27.7 million or درهم108.4 million) today, estimates put the cost of converting the building to a single townhouse at upto £15.9 million ($20 million, €18.8 million or درهم73.5 million).

     

    Featuring a granite and limestone façade, 177 – 179 East 73rd Street has ceiling heights that range from 12’7” to 17’, is 40’ wide and provides 17,232 square foot of internal space. Though plans have been drawn up to turn it into a vast 8-beroom residence complete with a 8-car garage, basketball court and home cinema, rival agent Jed Garfield of Leslie J. Garfield, told The Real Deal: “I think it’s still overpriced. The only surprising thing is that they’re now willing to sell it at [closer to] market price” late last week.

     

    The building – which remains in use as a UES garage – is listed by Carrie Chiang of Corcoran and is described as “just waiting to undergo a metamorphosis in the hands of a discerning buyer”.

     

    Image shows 177 – 179 East 73rd Street in 1906, 2017 and a rendering as a single family residence (left to right).

     

  • Bernie Madoff – The Wizard of Lies

    Bernie Madoff – The Wizard of Lies

    TV drama film examining largest financial fraud ever by an individual set to air in May in America; ‘The Wizard of Lies’ examines the crimes of Bernard L. Madoff

     

    On 20th May, Americans will finally be able to watch director Barry Levinson’s take on the crimes of the Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff when The Wizard of Lies airs on HBO.

     

    Sentenced to 150 years for his £51.9 billion ($65 billion, €61.2 billion or درهم238.7 billion) crime, Madoff is played in the television drama film by Robert De Niro whilst Michelle Pfeiffer takes on the role of his wife, Ruth.

     

    Two trailers have recently been released to international audiences and we share the most recent below. A date for the drama’s release in the UK is still to be announced.

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=146&v=4G2carVhVJk

  • K&C Doesn’t Care

    K&C Doesn’t Care

    As 50% of care homes in Kensington & Chelsea are rated “inadequate”, we suggest this reflects what the area has become: A money park for the selfish rich

     

    A society that does not care for its elderly is, as the Pope pointed out in 2015, a “perverse society” and bizarrely, it has just been revealed, Britain’s richest borough, Kensington and Chelsea, has some of the worst care homes in the country.

     

    A study by the charity Independent Age found that Kensington and Chelsea falls within the five worst areas in the United Kingdom for its percentage of care homes rated “inadequate”. It found that one was even infested with mice and another “put residents at risk from poor management of medicines”. Out of ten care homes in the borough, five were rated poor.

     

    On Tuesday, Andrew Kaye, head of policy and campaigns at Independent Age, told the MailOnline:

     

    “It definitely surprised us to find affluent areas among those with poor rates, but this shows older people who pay to enter care homes, as well as those who are funded, are losing out”.

     

    “This might be because of staff vacancies, difficulty recruiting, or a lack of support. It is unacceptable that some older people are forced to choose a care home that is unsatisfactory”.

     

    In an area where basement flats sell for upto £5 million and houses and flats go for upto £250 million, it is shocking that so little effort is being put into taking care of the old and infirm. It is a reflection on the priorities of our society and yet another sad indication of what the money park that is the Royal Borough has become.

     

  • Alfie Best II

    Alfie Best II

    A tenacious Romany Gypsy turned multi-millionaire businessman, Mayfair and Hertfordshire based Alfie Best overcame “many obstacles and prejudices” to make his fortune in cars, mobile phone stores and mobile home parks. The owner of Wyldecrest Parks also produces his own gin and claims his life philosophy is “90% perspiration and 10% inspiration”. His equally entrepreneurial son, Alfie Best III, appeared with him on Channel 4’s My Big Fat Gypsy Fortune.