The days of the Crown Vic Yellow Cab are coming to end. Last year Nissan won the Taxi of Tomorrow contest, giving it a 10-year contract worth around $1 billion to provide NYC with a new fleet of taxis. Now, New Yorkers are going to have their first opportunity to see the taxi of the future, today.
At the New York Auto Show the taxi will be on display. With its distinctive look (which some New Yorkers, including the Mayor, are already calling ‘Suburban’), new yellow color, totally redesigned interior, and glass ceiling, New Yorkers will have an entirely new taxi experience come end of 2013 when the first cars get delivered.
NYC’s taxi fleet has a history of being innovative. The first taxis began service in 1897 and before the turn-of-the-century the city had 1,000 electric taxis in service. Imagine all the gas savings had we stayed on that path!
In the years since we’ve seen the Checker Taxi, hybrids, some SUV’s and of course the ubiquitous Crown Victoria.
According to the NY Times, NYC taxis take almost as much a beating as cars on the roads of developing nations. That’s not saying much for the state of our infrastructure. But give the city credit, by overhauling the fleet, NYC is modernizing a very important mode of transportation. Now if only the same could be said for our subways and buses.
Please join Rubicon Property on the evening of March 22nd at our new store for a very special evening dedicated to solving the global clean water crisis. While our renovations are not yet done, we’ve decided to open our doors anyway.
World Water Day is too important, plus we’ve come up with ways to make the renovation part of the experience. Before entering the store our guests will walk with Jerry Cans – the same ones used by women in the developing world to carry water for miles. The very brief walk ends when our guests “Cross the Rubicon” and enter our store. Inside we’ve got a cocktail reception waiting. Since the walls aren’t done, we are asking all those who “Cross the Rubicon” to sign the sheet rock in our store! For every person who partakes in our clean water catwalk, we’ll be donating $1 to our latest charity: water campaign.
Also on display will be the three best photos taken during our “Get Dirty” for clean water campaign. You can see the current submissions here:
Our “Get Dirty” for World Water Day campaign has been up and running for 1 week. We’ve had photos sent to us from Mexico, Italy and here in the US. Thanks so much to everyone for helping to kick-off this effort. We’ve got 17 days to go until World Water Day. Plenty of time to take more “Get Dirty” photos. Please continue to spread word about this campaign. It can only be a success with your help!!!
You can see all the images collected so far on our Pinterest Board.
Download and share our official campaign poster here!
Here’s our campaign poster! Please share, download and circulate it. “Get Dirty” is off to a great start with submissions coming in from around the world. Keep submitting your images!
Today, Rubicon Property is announcing our “Get Dirty” social media campaign to kick off our involvement in World Water Day. Since 1993, the UN has established this date as a day of action and information on the global clean water crisis.
Everyday we come into contact with clean water. When the faucet turns on, it runs. When needed for purchase, it’s available. We even use it to clean our streets. No wonder we take it for granted. But what if, instead of seeing a clean bottle of water on a desk, or clean glass on a dinning room table – what if we saw something else.
What if we saw dirty water?
Our firm believes that would change perceptions on clean water. We think, if people stopped taking it for granted they would have a greater sense for the global clean water crisis.
So we’ve got a plan, but to pull this off we’re going to need your help. Here’s the deal.
Step 1: Take a Picture. We are asking everyone to take a picture of dirty water in a place you would not expect to see it. Think about locations you typically find clean water (which is everywhere), but now substitute in a dirty glass of water. The locations for photos are limitless. Just to spark some ideas: your bathroom, your doctors office, on a plane, in a museum, on a beach, in a park, at a sporting event. Be creative, as there are thousands of other examples that can work really well. Feel free to pose in the picture or have friends or pets join you. For every picture you upload (and properly tag) Rubicon Property will donate $1 to our charity: water campaign. We’ll be doing this for the first 5,000 images that are uploaded.
Step 2: Share it on social media. We have created a few tools to make this really easy. We want a global audience to experience your photograph. We’ll be using multiple platforms for you to upload images, but all images will be posted to our Pinterest “Get Dirty” board. The most popular pictures will be displayed on World Water Day (March 22nd) at the opening of our new store in NYC, at 451 Columbus Avenue! Here are the social media sharing instructions:
Twitter/Tumblr/Instagram/flickr: Upload the image using the hashtag #RubiconWWD
For those who want to do it the old fashioned way, you can email your photograph to: water@rubiconNYC.com.
Step 3: Become part of the conversation. Check out what your fellow participants have created. All images will appear on our “Get Dirty” Pinterest Board.
Get Dirty Tips: Since we are fortunate enough live in a part of the world that has an abundance of clean water, you’ve got to dirty the water yourself. There are several ingredients you can add, including: dirt, coffee, tea, splash of soda, root beer, and sand.
The UN has declared March 22nd to be World Water Day. The theme of the day for this year is food security and water. Since 1993, the UN has been using this day to promote the importance of clean water for both developing and industrial nations.
FAO, the coordinating agency for this years World Water Day, has launched a new 30 second educational promo to help promote awareness on how much water is required to make the food we eat. It is currently available in three languages with more on the way in the near future.
Here’s the english version:
At Rubicon Property, we’ll be doing something very special on March 22nd. But more on that later.
As was reported in Crain’s two weeks ago, we are opening our first store at 451 Columbus Avenue, which is between 81st and 82nd street. This is a major milestone for our company and we are very excited to bring our brand to the Upper West Side community.
Everyone keeps asking us the same question: when will you open? In short, its a work in progress. We expect to have a soft-opening in March and then a Grand Opening in late April or early May.
The space itself is going to be unlike any other real estate office. There will be events: exhibits, lectures, art shows, fashion shows, walking tours, and other happenings based out of our store. We are already working with one local public elementary school to curate an event with their students.
And of course, the store will be a welcoming environment for our clients to come talk with us about their real estate needs.
As for the design, well at the moment we are treating that like a State secret. But as we get closer to our launch, I’m sure we’ll release some images of the space. Stay tuned.
Today we are delighted to be releasing our first ad campaign. Our marketing team has created two amazing ads called “Why” and “What.” Look for these ads to start running on popular websites shortly.
In the “Why” ad we wanted to convey a powerful recruitment message to those in the real estate community. We hope real estate agents will see this ad and will consider joining our firm as a result:
In the “What” ad we are showcasing some of our extraordinary exclusive listings. In our market research we found the brokerage firms rarely bundle listings together to form a compelling ad. So, that’s exactly what we set out to do with this ad:
Here is my recent interview on Fox Business News on my run-in with Muammar Qadaffi and how it helped us launch Rubicon Property. After the interview I wrote about the experience in full so you can learn more about my encounter and how it ultimately lead to our social entrepreneurial endeavor.
As we recently learned from the WikiLeaks documents, Qaddafi was furious when his agents were unable to find housing for him in the fall of 2009, ahead of his now famous UN speech.
In September 2009 I was a real estate agent at a large firm in NYC. As such, this meant I got paid when I did a deal – a sale or a rental. That’s the only way I get paid. 2008 and 2009 were probably the worst years on record to be in real estate sales. Prices had plummeted. Deals were hard to come by.
In the summer of 2009 I was happy to get an exclusive listing, an exquisite townhouse at 5 East 78th Street, where the new owner was giving me two apartments to rent out (and keeping the third for himself). I rented out one unit fast, but the other, the larger unit was proving to be difficult. I was very eager to find a tenant for it. Yet, after a few weeks I was nowhere.
The first email began simply enough: “looking to rent a townhouse in Manhattan 9/21-9/25 for visiting Dutch delegation-do you have anything? how much per day if furnished? how many sq. ft.? how many rooms?”
It was Labor Day weekend, but I was still delighted to respond right away. This was good news. My listing at 5 East 78th that would be perfect for a visiting delegation. In fact, for years this very apartment served as the Brazilian consulate. Nestled inside an elegant townhouse, there were only two other units in the building.
I quickly replied to this email and we engaged in a back and forth on the apartment. The person who contacted me wanted to know about the size of each room, the views, and the ceiling height. So far, so good, I thought. I was asked about the rear yard and roof deck and whether it would be suitable for a tent. A rather unusual request, but yes, I told my contact, a tent could be installed in either location. We started getting into specifics. The delegation wanted each room furnished, and they wanted the owner to pay for it. I was told someone else would be calling me with more instructions but I was given orders not to say anything and to only listen. I began to get suspicious.
At first we talked about one apartment, but now it was clear they wanted the entire townhouse. I explained it would be impossible to secure the entire townhouse – the other two apartments had tenants. They seemed to not care. The original email identified the apartment as for the Dutch delegation, but the accents on the phone clearly weren’t Dutch. Why would they pretend to be Dutch?And why do they need a tent?
On the next call I was told to email the listing information to an address they provided to me. But looking over the email address I was rather stunned. It made very clear it was not for the Dutch, but rather was for the Libyan government.
Midway through the phone call I asked, “Who specifically will be residing in the townhouse?” There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then I was told the truth. This was for Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, the leader of Libya.
I am probably somewhat unique among real estate agents in that my background is in policy and politics. When not selling apartments I can be found lecturing at John Jay College. Before getting into real estate, I obtained my masters degree from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. While I’m content discussing Manhattan apartment prices, I’m just as happy to discuss US foreign policy.
The Libyans had called the wrong person. And now they were about to find out why.
“There must be someway we could get the entire townhouse,” the caller, a female with the Libyan government, said to me. I told them there was not. Ignoring my response, she continued. I refused to yield. One more time, defiantly, they pressed me.
And then I said it.
“If you send Megrahi (the terrorist convicted of planting the bomb on Pam Am flight 103) back to Scotland, perhaps we can work something out,” I told them. They hung up the phone.
And that was the end of it. Or so I thought.
The news media picked up on the story a few weeks later, and for a few dizzying days, I found myself doing interview after interview.
But once the media requests died down, I was left thinking about my experience. Thousands of people had emailed me to thank me for what I did. I realized that I had made an impact on people’s lives. It was the first time I thought that real estate brokerage could have a larger meaning and purpose.
I started to think about ways to make a difference. A few months later, my brother Cory and I were hard at work on a new project.
We decided we would create a new kind of real estate firm. One that would not only serve the clients but also work to make the world a better place.
We started to work on Rubicon Property and decided this would be a purposeful company. Cory and I wanted to dedicate the company to an issue that met three criteria:
1. It has to have universial political appeal.
2. It had to be a fixable problem.
3. The success in curing the problem needed to be measurable.
When you scan the many issues we could have chosen, one stood out: clean water. Each year 42,000 people die from lack of access to clean water. That’s means more die from lack of access to clean water than from HIV/AIDS, Malaria and war – combined. Connecting with charity: water was the easy part. This nonprofit is doing remarkable work in the developing world. They’ve brought clean water to over 1,000,000 without access to it. They are making a difference. So we decided that from each deal we broker we would donate a portion of our proceeds to this worthy organization. You can read about our latest campaign – or make a tax free donation to it here. We also hold events on the clean water crisis. On February 15th, we brought together over 100 people who heard a presentation by charity: water. You can see images from that event here.
Since our launch 5 months ago, we found out we aren’t the only ones who care about the clean water crisis. Turns out our clients do as well. That’s why we’ve grown 32x since our launch. We’ve moved our offices 4 times to keep up with our expansion. Our clients get the satisfaction of not only getting the best in customer service but they also get to make a difference in the world, all at no cost to them. It’s a powerful message, and one that makes our firm stand out among the cacophony of NYC brokerage firms.
We’ll continue to make a difference and to help our clients to the very best of our abilities.
Oddly, we have Qadaffi to thank for getting us started. Now, if only his people could have what we have – Qadaffi in our rear view mirror.
Follow us on twitter: @rubiconNYC @jasonhaber
Follow us on Facbook: facebook.com/rubiconproperty
As part of the Wikileaks documents, it was revealed yesterday that Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi was so enraged at the treatment he received last fall in NYC, that he almost halted the shipment of spent nuclear fuel to Russia. The material, if left in his hands, could have degenerated and leaked causing radioactive damage. When hearing this news the US Ambassador wrote, “the Libyan Government has chosen a very dangerous issue on which to express its apparent pique about perceived problems in the bilateral relationship.”
Dangerous indeed. But also strange.
I suppose I was part of the reason Qaddafi was upset. During a frantic period in early September of 2009, Qaddafi had representatives scouring NYC. They were searching for a home in which is could pitch his tent (in the Baudoin tradition), and stay during the opening session of the UN. Qaddafi had never before been to New York, and the Libyan mission was deemed insufficient for his standards. So his agents set about finding a more appropriate home for there leader.
That’s where I come into the story.
I wasn’t trying to make a political statement. I wasn’t trying to deliver a message to one of the most hated dictators on the planet. I wasn’t trying to speak on behalf of hundreds of people whose lives were shattered the day Pam Am Flight 103 exploded in mid-air. I was just trying to get off the telephone. Here’s how it began.
In September 2009 I was a real estate agent at a large firm in NYC. As such, this meant I got paid when I did a deal – a sale or a rental. That’s the only way I get paid. 2008 and 2009 were probably the worst years on record to be in real estate sales. Prices had plummeted. Deals were hard to come by.
In the summer of 2009 I was happy to get an exclusive listing, an exquisite townhouse at 5 East 78th Street, where the new owner was giving me two apartments to rent out (and keeping the third for himself). I rented out one unit fast, but the other, the larger unit was proving to be difficult. I was very eager to find a tenant for it. Yet, after a few weeks I was nowhere.
The first email began simply enough: “looking to rent a townhouse in Manhattan 9/21-9/25 for visiting Dutch delegation-do you have anything? how much per day if furnished? how many sq. ft.? how many rooms?”
It was Labor Day weekend, but I was still delighted to respond right away. This was good news. My listing at 5 East 78th that would be perfect for a visiting delegation. In fact, for years this very apartment served as the Brazilian consulate. Nestled inside an elegant townhouse, there were only two other units in the building.
I quickly replied to this email and we engaged in a back and forth on the apartment. The person who contacted me wanted to know about the size of each room, the views, and the ceiling height. So far, so good, I thought. I was asked about the rear yard and roof deck and whether it would be suitable for a tent. A rather unusual request, but yes, I told my contact, a tent could be installed in either location. We started getting into specifics. The delegation wanted each room furnished, and they wanted the owner to pay for it. I was told someone else would be calling me with more instructions but I was given orders not to say anything and to only listen. I began to get suspicious.
At first we talked about one apartment, but now it was clear they wanted the entire townhouse. I explained it would be impossible to secure the entire townhouse – the other two apartments had tenants. They seemed to not care. The original email identified the apartment as for the Dutch delegation, but the accents on the phone clearly weren’t Dutch. Why would they pretend to be Dutch?And why do they need a tent?
On the next call I was told to email the listing information to an address they provided to me. But looking over the email address I was rather stunned. It made very clear it was not for the Dutch, but rather was for the Libyan government.
Midway through the phone call I asked, “Who specifically will be residing in the townhouse?” There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then I was told the truth. This was for Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, the leader of Libya.
I am probably somewhat unique among real estate agents in that my background is in policy and politics. When not selling apartments I can be found lecturing at John Jay College. Before getting into real estate, I obtained my masters degree from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. While I’m content discussing Manhattan apartment prices, I’m just as happy to discuss US foreign policy.
The Libyans had called the wrong person. And now they were about to find out why.
“There must be someway we could get the entire townhouse,” the caller, a female with the Libyan government, said to me. I told them there was not. Ignoring my response, she continued. I refused to yield. One more time, defiantly, they pressed me.
And then I said it.
“If you send Megrahi (the terrorist convicted of planting the bomb on Pam Am flight 103) back to Scotland, perhaps we can work something out,” I told them. They hung up the phone.
And that was the end of it. Or so I thought.
The news media picked up on the story a few weeks later, and for a few dizzying days, I found myself doing interview after interview.
But once the media requests died down, I was left thinking about my experience. Thousands of people had emailed me to thank me for what I did. I realized that I had made an impact on people’s lives. It was the first time I thought that real estate brokerage could have a larger meaning and purpose.
I started to think about ways to make a difference. A few months later, my brother Cory and I were hard at work on a new project.
We decided we would create a new kind of real estate firm. One that would not only serve the clients but also work to make the world a better place.
