Over the next few weeks, we’re offering four opportunities to learn more about Google+ for your business. We kick off with a Learn with Google Hangout on Air with bestselling author +Chris Brogan on November 5th at 10am PT / 1pm ET. Chris will cover tactics for successful social marketing and discuss his new book, “Google+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything.” RSVP for the Hangout on the Google+ Event page.
Learn Chris’s recipes for how to grow and engage your Google+ community to build your brand and drive your business’s visibility and conversions. Hear about Chris’s own experiences helping companies succeed in their content marketing and social projects. Chris Brogan is a New York Times bestselling author, CEO of Human Business Works, and advises companies on marketing, business strategy, communications and more.If you have a question for Chris, leave your question as a comment on the Google+ Event.Boost your success with Google+Want to learn more about using Google+ for your business? Sign up for our Learn with Google webinars. Here are some great upcoming webinars to help you get the most out of social for your business:
- Social that Adds Up: Performance and Measurement (Thurs, Nov 8, 10am PT / 1pm ET)
- Supercharge your Social Media Initiatives with Video (Wed, Nov 14, 10am PT / 1pm ET)
- Building a Digital Brand with Google+ (Thurs, Dec 6, 10am PT / 1pm ET)
Posted by the Google Analytics team
Tag Archives: Bedford NY Horse Properties
Manhattan Vacancy Rate Drops, Rents Still Super High Elliman reports | Bedford Realtor
Royal Mail Is Pulling Off A Turnaround | Bedford NY Real Estate
Power Outages: New Jersey, New York Slowly See Lights Back On After Hurricane Sandy | Bedford NY Real Estate
NEW YORK — Even as the lights came on for many who lost power in New York and New Jersey during the superstorm and a later nor’easter, hundreds of residents protested Saturday outside a Long Island utility, frustrated by its slow response to outages.
Power restoration has been slower there than in other areas hit by Superstorm Sandy, sparking criticism of the Long Island Power Authority. Some of the 130,000 blacked out homes and businesses the utility serves may not have power restored until the end of Tuesday, according to LIPA.
In the rest of the region hardest hit by the storm, most service was expected to be restored by the end of the weekend, though that doesn’t include tens of thousands of homes too damaged to juice up.
“We are sitting in a cold house. No one comes by,” said John Mangin of Levittown, N.Y. “There should be criminal charges against the CEO and the executive board of LIPA for failure to do their jobs.”
He was among about 300 people staging a rally in front of LIPA’s office in Hicksville, N.Y. Not all were without power, but some who have power said they were there to protest LIPA’s lack of communication.
LIPA Chief Operating Officer Michael Hervey said the utility was aware that customers haven’t gotten the information they’ve needed from it, partly because of an outdated information technology system it’s in the process of updating.
“I certainly feel the frustration of customers whose power remains out. Our hearts go out to them,” Hervey said.
But he said workers are repairing unprecedented storm damage as fast as they can. About 6,400 linemen and 3,700 tree trimmers are at work, compared with 200 linemen on a normal day.
In Suffolk County, where about 28,000 customers remain without power, County Executive Steven Bellone announced he was cutting ties with LIPA and would deal directly with substation coordinators.
Hervey said he would not comment on that directly, but added that an ad hoc takeover of the system would lead to anarchy.
“The utility is the best suited to restore power and manage that,” he said. “We can’t have people step in and take over.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for an investigation of the region’s utilities, criticizing them as unprepared and badly managed. On Friday, two congressmen from Long Island called for the federal government to help LIPA restore electricity.
“It’s a totally disorganized effort, and LIPA unfortunately seems to have lost control of the situation and that’s why you see so many people becoming so angry,” Rep. Peter King said Saturday.
In New York City and neighboring suburban Westchester County, utility Con Edison said about 11,400 customers remained powerless, down from a peak of more than 1 million. The number of remaining outages doesn’t include about 30,000 Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island homes and businesses that the utility says are too damaged to receive power for now.
In New Jersey, fewer than 85,000 customers were without power Saturday, most along the coast. That was down from 2.7 million at the height of the storm. Most were expected to have power by the end of the weekend.
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Long Island Residents, Many Still Without Power, Continue To Clean Up After Superstorm Sandy
LONG BEACH, NY – NOVEMBER 09: A man walks past a destroyed section of the boardwalk at the base of Lincoln Boulevard as Long Islanders continue their clean up efforts in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy on November 9, 2012 in Long Beach, New York. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said that the economic loss and damage to homes and business caused by Sandy could total $33 billion in New York, according to published reports. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Storm-Damaged Communities On East Coast Hit By Nor’Easter
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 08: Alex Vila, 2, carries a box of cereal after visiting an aid station for people affected by Superstorm Sandy on November 8, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Household supplies and groceries were distributed to Red Hook neighborhood residents by Catholic Charities at the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary church. Meanwhile a nor’easter storm plunged temperatures to below freezing, bringing more misery to many Red Hook residents still without power, heat nor running water in their public housing apartments. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY
Boats and docks damaged by Hurricane Sandy are seen at the Mansion Marinia on the shores of the Great Kills community November 7, 2012 on Staten Island, New York. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday announced a limited evacuation of some neighborhoods ahead of harsh weather barreling toward a city still recovering from superstorm Sandy. The national weather service forecast heavy rain and likely snow on Wednesday and Thursday, accompanied by gale force winds gusting as high as 43 mph (69 kmh). Though barely half the strength of Sandy, the autumn storm will lash already damaged buildings and bring lower temperatures for tens of thousands of people still struggling without electricity. Bloomberg told a news conference that parks and beaches would close. The worst-hit patches of waterfront neighborhoods, including Rockaways in the Queens borough, and in Staten Island, were being asked to evacuate again. AFP PHOTO/Paul J. Richards (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
Storm-Damaged Communities On East Coast Hit By Nor’Easter
LONG BRANCH, NJ – NOVEMBER 08: Debris from Superstorm Sandy is seen on a beach November 8, 2012 in Long Branch, New Jersey. Meanwhile a nor’easter storm plunged temperatures to below freezing, bringing more misery to many residents throughout New York and New Jersey still without power. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images)
Long Island Residents, Many Still Without Power, Continue To Clean Up After Superstorm Sandy
OCEANSIDE, NY – NOVEMBER 09: (L-R) James Vouloukos and William Ferris sort through donated clothes at a site maintained by the Town of Hempstead in cooperation with FEMA at Oceanside Park during in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy on November 9, 2012 in Oceanside, New York. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said that the economic loss and damage to homes and businesses caused by Sandy could total $33 billion in New York, according to published reports. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Funeral Held in Brooklyn For Two Young Brothers Killed During Superstorm Sandy
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 09: New York sanitation department workers watch as a hearse arrives with a casket carrying the bodies of two brothers killed during Superstorm Sandy for a funeral at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic church on November 9, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Brandon Moore, 2, and Connor Moore, 4, were swept away from the arms of their mother Glenda Moore as she fled Superstorm Sandy floodwaters in New York’s Staten Island borough to seek safety with family in Brooklyn. She is married to New York Sanitation worker Damian Moore, and dozens of workers and officials from the sanitation department attended the funeral ceremony. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Long Island Residents, Many Still Without Power, Continue To Clean Up After Superstorm Sandy
ISLAND PARK, NY – NOVEMBER 09: (L-R) Residents Paul and Donald Zezulinski and their dog ‘Plywood’ of Island Park show their appreciation to first responders during their clean up efforts in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy on November 9, 2012 in Island Park, New York. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said that the economic loss and damage to homes and business caused by Sandy could total $33 billion in New York, according to published reports. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
- FILE – In this Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 file photo, people stand next to a house collapsed from Superstorm Sandy in East Haven, Conn. While Connecticut was spared the destruction seen in New York and New Jersey, many communities along the shoreline, including some of the wealthiest towns in America, were struggling with one of the most severe storms in generations. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
- Meg Dolan holds her dog “Nellie” during Sunday mass at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Breezy Point, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in New York. With overnight temperatures sinking into the 30s and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses still without electricity six days after Sandy howled through, people piled on layers of clothes, and New York City officials handed out blankets and urged victims to go to overnight shelters or daytime warming centers. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
- A representative of the Salvation Army walks past homes destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in Breezy Point, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in New York. The beachfront neighborhood heavy populated by firefighters and police officers was devastated during the storm when a fire pushed by Sandy’s raging winds destroyed 100 or more homes and buildings. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
- Ginny Flanagan, right, and her sister go through photographs and mementos that were recovered from Flanagan’s flooded bungalow in Breezy Point, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in New York. The beachfront enclave heavy populated by firefighters and police officers was devastated during the storm when a fire pushed by Sandy’s raging winds destroyed 100 or more homes and buildings. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY-MARATHON
Runner Jonathan who would have run the ING New York City Marathon, spend the afternoon volunteering by unloading and organizing emergency supplies near Midland Beach as New York recovers from Hurricane Sandy on November 4, 2012 in Staten Island, New York. AFP PHOTO / Mehdi Taamallah (Photo credit should read MEHDI TAAMALLAH/AFP/Getty Images)
- A woman with her groceries passes a group of National Guardsmen as they march up 1st Avenue towards the 69th Regiment Armory, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, in New York. National Guardsmen remain in Manhattan as the city begins to move towards normalcy following Superstorm Sandy earlier in the week. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)
- Patrons on foot carrying gas canisters line up for gasoline at a Hess station in the New Dorp section of the Staten Island borough of New York, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. Those on foot reported waits up to 40 minutes while motorists lined up for two hours as Staten Islanders fueled up to run their generators and automobiles in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Eileen AJ Connelly)
- Girls hold hands during Sunday mass at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Breezy Point, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in New York. With overnight temperatures sinking into the 30s and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses still without electricity six days after Sandy howled through, people piled on layers of clothes, and New York City officials handed out blankets and urged victims to go to overnight shelters or daytime warming centers. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
- Many streets in the Silver Lake section of Belmar, N.J., remain underwater Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, Neighbors and volunteers clean out homes Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, in Belmar, N.J., five days after the storm surge by superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Ben Nukols)
- Water from superstorm Sandy is pumped from a flooded basement of an office building near New York’s Battery Park, Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. The massive storm that started out as Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast and morphed into a huge and problematic system, killing at least 96 people in the United States. The cost of the storm could exceed $18 billion in New York alone. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
- Cars that were uprighted and submerged by Superstorm Sandy remain at the entrance of a subterranean parking garage in New York’s Financial District, as the water is pumped out, Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. . The cost of the storm could exceed $18 billion in New York alone. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
National Guard in Lower Manhattan
The National Guard 827th Engineer Company helps hand out MREs to Lower Manhattan residents at the Alfred Smith Playground on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)
National Guard in Lower Manhattan
The National Guard 827th Engineer Company helps hand out MREs to Lower Manhattan residents at the Alfred Smith Playground on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)
Grand Central Terminal, New York City
People walk through Grand Central Terminal as the sun rises during a subdued morning rush on Nov. 1, 2012 in New York City. Some trains are back up and running into Grand Central following shutdowns in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Subway train service in the city is back in a limited capacity, but with much of lower Manhattan still with out power, trains are not running there and busses are replacing them.
Seaside Heights, N.J.
A roller coaster sits in the Atlantic Ocean after the Fun Town pier it sat on was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy on Nov. 1, 2012 in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. With the death toll continuing to rise and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Superstorm Sandy.
National Guard in Lower Manhattan
The National Guard 827th Engineer Company helps hand out MREs to Lower Manhattan residents at the Alfred Smith Playground on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)
Charging Station Provided By AT&T
Phillip Melly charges the phones of Hurricane Sandy victims at Kimlau Square in Lower Manhattan on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. The generators used were brought in by AT&T to help out the residents of Lower Manhattan in New York City who currently have no power. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)
Stocking Up On Ice
United City Ice Cube Company workers who refer to themselves as “Icemen” take in a shipment of ice into their 45th and 10th ave. store on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. The workers who asked not to be identified by name said there had been a run on ice purchases due to Hurricane Sandy and they were stocking up in anticipation of more demand in the coming days. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)
Car Crash Due To Power Outage
The power outage in Lower Manhattan due to Hurricane Sandy has created a gauntlet of dangerous street intersections as can be seen by this car accident at the Houston and Varick Street crossing on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)
Car Crash Due To Power Outage
The power outage in Lower Manhattan due to Hurricane Sandy has created a gauntlet of dangerous street intersections as can be seen by this car accident at the Houston and Varick Street crossing on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)
Clean Drinking Water
Pedestrians fill up on water at a drinking station that had been setup at the corner of Centre and Canal Streets in Chinatown on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. The stations use water from fire hydrants and have been erected due to the blackout caused by Hurricane Sandy in Lower Manhattan. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)
Trash Picking In Chinatown
A pedestrian looks through discarded food near a supermarket located at Henry and Market Streets in Chinatown New York on Friday Nov. 2, 2012.
Fort Lee, N.J.
People wait in line for fuel at a Shell Oil station on Nov. 1, 2012 in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The US death toll from Hurricane Sandy rose to at least 85 as New York reported a major jump in fatalities caused by Monday’s storm. Fuel shortages led to long lines of cars at gasoline stations in many states and the country faced a storm bill of tens of billions of dollars.
New York City
Commuters ride the F train Nov. 1, 2012 in New York City. Limited public transit has returned to New York. With the death toll continuing to rise and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Superstorm Sandy.
Toms River, N.J.
A gas station displays a “No Gas” sign on November 1, 2012 in Toms River, New Jersey. With the death toll continuing to rise and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Superstorm Sandy.
Fort Lee, N.J.
Cars wait in line for fuel at a Gulf gas station on Nov.1, 2012 in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The US death toll from Hurricane Sandy rose to at least 85 as New York reported a major jump in fatalities caused by Monday’s storm. Fuel shortages led to long lines of cars at gasoline stations in many states and the country faced a storm bill of tens of billions of dollars.
Brooklyn, N.Y.
New Yorkers wait in traffic as they head into Manhattan from Brooklyn as the city continues to recover from superstorm Sandy on Nov.1, 2012, in New York, United States. Limited public transit has returned to New York and most major bridges have reopened but will require three occupants in the vehicle to pass. With the death toll currently over 70 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the US east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by superstorm Sandy.
Hoboken, N.J.
Mud and debris liiter a street on Nov.1, 2012 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Hurricane victims continue to recover from Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall along the New Jersey shore, and left parts of the state and the surrounding area flooded and without power.
Washington, D.C.
Firefighters shoot water into a building in the 1200 block of 4th St., NE, near the recently opened Union Market, after responding to a blaze that broke out around 9pm Wednesday night.
Seaside Heights, N.J.
Debris lies on the boardwalk in front of the Casino Pier, which was partially destroyed by Superstorm Sandy on Nov.1, 2012 in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. With the death toll continuing to rise and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Superstorm Sandy.
Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, N.Y.
A New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer looks over flood waters at the entrance to the Brooklyn Battery tunnel in New York, U.S., on Nov. 1, 2012. The New York region is replacing a rail network built over a century with a patchwork constructed day-by-day to move its 8 million people again as it struggles back to life after Hurricane Sandy.
New York City
Residents charge their cell phones and computers on the East River esplanade in New York, U.S., on Nov. 1, 2012. The New York region is replacing a rail network built over a century with a patchwork constructed day-by-day to move its 8 million people again as it struggles back to life after Hurricane Sandy.
Toms River, N.J.
An American flag flies in front of a home damaged by Hurricane Sandy on Nov. 1, 2012 in Toms River, New Jersey. With the death toll continuing to rise and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by superstorm Sandy.
Lower Manhattan
Water is pumped on to the street in lower Manhattan in New York, U.S., on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. The New York region is replacing a rail network built over a century with a patchwork constructed day-by-day to move its 8 million people again as it struggles back to life after Hurricane Sandy.
North Bergen, New Jersey
A woman leaves an Exxon gas station which was out of gas on Nov. 1, 2012 in North Bergen, New Jersey. The US death toll from Hurricane Sandy rose to at least 85 as New York reported a major jump in fatalities caused by Monday’s storm. Fuel shortages led to long lines of cars at gasoline stations in many states and the country faced a storm bill of tens of billions of dollars.
Manhattan from Hoboken, N.J.
People board the NY Waterways ferry with the Manhattan skyline in the background Nov.1, 2012 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall along the New Jersey shore, left parts of the state and the surrounding area without power including much of lower Manhattan south of 34th Street.
South Ferry 1 Train Station, New York City
Joseph Leader, Metropolitan Tranportation Authority Vice President and Chief Maintenance Officer, shines a flashlight on standing water inside the South Ferry 1 train station in New York, N.Y., Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the wake of superstorm Sandy. The floodwaters that poured into New York’s deepest subway tunnels may pose the biggest obstacle to the city’s recovery from the worst natural disaster in the transit system’s 108-year history.
Seaside Heights, N.J.
John Okeefe walks on the beach as a rollercoaster that once sat on the Funtown Pier in Seaside Heights, N.J., rests in the ocean on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012 after the pier was washed away by superstorm Sandy which made landfall Monday evening.
Grand Central Terminal, New York City
People exit a Metro-North train arriving in Grand Central Terminal during the morning rush on Nov. 1, 2012 in New York City. Some trains are back up and running into Grand Central following shutdowns in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Subway train service in the city is back in a limited capacity, but with much of lower Manhattan still with out power, trains are not running there and busses are replacing them.
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Pedestrians look over a fence at a pile of boats flooded inland at the Varuna Boat Club on Oct. 31, 2012, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.
Queens, N.Y.
People walk by a destroyed section of the Rockaway boardwalk in the heavily damaged Rockaway section of Queens after the historic boardwalk was washed away during Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 31, 2012 in the Queens borough of New York City. With the death toll currently at 55 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the US east coast is attempting to recover from the affects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Hurricane Sandy. JFK airport in New York and Newark airport in New Jersey expect to resume flights on Wednesday morning and the New York Stock Exchange commenced trading after being closed for two days.
Queens, N.Y.
Damage is viewed in the Rockaway neighborhood where the historic boardwalk was washed away during Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 31, 2012 in the Queens borough of New York City. With the death toll currently at 55 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the US east coast is attempting to recover from the affects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Hurricane Sandy. JFK airport in New York and Newark airport in New Jersey expect to resume flights on Wednesday morning and the New York Stock Exchange commenced trading after being closed for two days.
Atlantic City, N.J.
A damaged car is shown in the wake of superstorm Sandy, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in Atlantic City, N.J. Sandy was being blamed for at least six deaths across the state plus power outages that at their peak Monday affected 2.7 million residential and commercial customers.
Brooklyn, N.Y.
A worker picks up debris outside of the damaged Tatiana Grill on the Brighton Beach boardwalk, on Oct. 31, 2012, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.
Mauricio Umansky is most often recognized as the husband of Kyle Richards of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” | Bedford Real Estate
His full-time job is in real estate, but Mauricio Umansky is most often recognized as the husband of Kyle Richards of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” The CEO and co-founder of luxury Los Angeles brokerage The Agency, Umansky has his hands full with balancing a successful real estate business, his family and of course, his appearances on TV.
We asked Umansky a few questions before Monday’s premiere of the third season of “RHOBH.”
Zillow: How do you balance reality TV with your real estate business?
Umansky: It’s less about balancing reality TV and my work and more about balancing my family life with The Agency. Whether I’m at work or with the family, I give 110 percent and focus on what I’m doing at that given time. I’m fortunate to have an amazing wife — Kyle helps me keep it all together. My biggest challenge is finding the time to be just with the kids.
Zillow: Has the show helped your real estate business?
Umansky: Before the show ever started, I was already one of the top producers in the country. However, a major component of selling real estate is marketing. I think the show has been beneficial, since it has brought more of a spotlight to me and The Agency, which, in turn, allows us to draw more attention to our listings.
Zillow: Will there be more visibility to your business this year? I understand Kyle has a shop next door to your office.
Umansky: It’s possible. We now both have offices in Beverly Hills. Kyle recently opened KYLE by Alene Too, a retail shop on the corner of Bedford and Brighton, of which I am very proud.
Zillow: How “real” is reality TV? You’ve mentioned before that your wife is so much funnier than the show gives her credit for.
Umansky: I think reality TV is very real, especially our show. It is completely unscripted. And yes, my wife is hilarious. She makes me and the family laugh all the time. I’m not sure that is captured completely on the show, but there are a lot of things that aren’t completely revealed.
Zillow: You just sold Adrienne Maloof’s home. How was that with the timing of the show?
Umansky: The sale of Adrienne’s house was an unfortunate situation. Both Paul and Adrienne are friends of mine, and selling a home of friends getting divorced is never easy. I try and keep it professional, and I try and accomplish my job as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Zillow: How was starting your own brokerage through all this? What are the best parts — and what are the most challenging parts?
Umansky: Amazing! I must say that not only do I have great partners, but we are blessed with a team of highly-skilled, successful agents and incredibly talented people working together toward one common goal – to represent our clients with the highest degree of attention, professionalism and service.
We embarked on a mission to create a brokerage firm with a progressive, definitive culture, and I think we have succeeded in this, although this will always remain a challenge.
What types of emergencies justify landlord entry? | Bedford NY Realtor
Q: Last week the city was working on replacing gas lines in our neighborhood, which required turning off the gas. When they were done, they went house to house, turning the gas on and then going inside to relight pilot lights. They explained that this was a necessary safety precaution. We gave them permission to enter, but our tenants were upset when they found out. Were we in the wrong? –Donna and Mike
A: Many states regulate the reasons for which landlords may enter unannounced and without permission from the tenants. Shared by all of them is entry in order to deal with an emergency, such as to address a suspected gas or water leak, to respond to sounds of distress inside, and so on. The common thread is that landlords may enter to stop serious property damage or personal injury.
Your situation is an interesting wrinkle on the “emergency” nature of your entry. As I understand it, once the gas was shut off at the street, any remaining gas in the house lines was quickly used up by the pilots. Relighting pilots can be tricky, especially when you’re dealing with empty gas lines that have just been reopened. In addition, many pilots are in hard-to-reach places, such as under stoves and in furnaces located in attics.
I suspect that the plumbers come inside to relight the pilots to avert the possibility of any nasty surprises. In other words, they’re coming in so that they can avoid an emergency.
I can’t recall seeing “in order to avoid an emergency” on any state’s list of approved reasons for unannounced entries. But here is where we must get real: If there’s solid engineering or scientific reasons for having a professional relight the pilots, few judges are going to say that you should have kept the pro out of the house, especially when there’s no allegation of misconduct on the part of the plumber.
True, you could have asked them to come back later, after you had either posted appropriate notice (one or two days, in most states) or obtained permission from the tenants. But in the meantime, the gas appliances would have been nonfunctional, and you’d run the risk that the tenants, frustrated with no hot water, heat or stove, would have taken matters into their own hands. That would have been dangerous.
Q: My sister has a physically abusive relationship with her husband. He has threatened to harm their young children if she does not comply with his demands. Can she get out of the lease and move? –Lucy G.
A: Your sister’s best hope is that she lives in one of the 20 or so states that have laws enabling victims of domestic violence to terminate their leases before the terms expire. In addition, several states are considering legislation that would do the same.
States provide tenants with rights when they experience “domestic violence,” “intrafamily violence,” and so on. In a couple of states, termination rights exist when there has been sexual assault or stalking. But who must be the target of these actions?
In a few states, termination rights apply only when the tenant is the victim or intended victim. If your sister lives in one of these states, she may not be able to take advantage of the law. But isn’t the child a tenant too, you ask? A judge may say no, in the sense that a child doesn’t sign the lease and isn’t responsible for paying rent. But, on the other hand, the child is entitled to the benefit of many tenant-protection laws, such as the ban on illegal discrimination, and in the broader sense, could qualify as a tenant.
Perhaps in order to avoid this rather technical problem, many states have taken a common sense approach and have extended protection to the tenant and the tenant’s child or another member of the tenant’s household. Such laws would cover your sister’s situation.
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Bounce Rates High? Why? | Bedford NY Real Estate
Most bloggers I know want to reduce their bounce rates. Sometimes it can seem as if it doesn’t matter what the bounce rate for a page actually is, we want it to be lower!
While it’s a stretch to expect we’ll hit a zero bounce rate, for most bloggers, it is worth looking at your bounce rates regularly, and trying to find ways to reduce them where appropriate.
While blogging’s about people—not just numbers—bounce rates can give you hints about the ways individuals are using your blog, and where you can help them out. In this post, I’d like to explain that in a bit more detail.
What is a bounce?
You undoubtedly know what a bounce is—a user who lands on our page from an external source, then leaves our blog without looking at any other pages. It’s a “single pageview” usage of our site.
But what does a bounce mean?
- Did the reader get what they came for, and leave?
- Were they disappointed by what they saw on your blog page?
- Did they arrive at the page expecting to see something else?
- Is the content current and compelling—and clearly so?
- Is it clear from a single glance at the page what your blog is, does, and delivers?
- Are there clear paths from that page to other actions or information that are likely to meet the needs of target users?
- Are the bouncers regular readers who check out all your posts, so each time they just come to the latest one, read it, and go again>
Understanding the possible reasons for the bounce is an important step in doing something to reduce the bounce rate itself. Let’s look at a case study from ProBlogger to see exactly how the diagnosis of reasons for a high bounce rate can go.
The bounces, and the page
On a usual trawl through the site’s stats one month, I spotted this:
These stats were for a single month. As you can see, this page attracted some good views, and almost 95% of them were from new visitors! But the bounce rate was really high, the time on site low, and the average visit duration? Terrible!
My first thought was to visit the page itself. It didn’t take me long to find a few issues—let’s step through some of the main ones I found (note that I’ve updated the post since, so these items have been addressed on the live page):
- The opening dated the article. This piece has a publication date of 2008, but even if the new visitors didn’t see that, the opening, which would have been fine at that time, was written when I was a Twitter newbie—not ideal these days!
- This problem was amplified by the outdated Twitter follower number I’d quoted. I mentioned in the post that I had 5500 followers; now that number’s over 160,000.
- I’d included a link to Twitip in the opening. This immediately pulled readers through to one of my other sites, which doesn’t generate any income. While the content had been valuable, that site’s a bit dated now, due to a lack of regular updates. It certainly seemed smarter to try to keep these new visitors on problogger.com a bit longer, rather than syphon them off to Twitip.
- Much of the content in the article itself was dated.
- The post didn’t provide many links to other great articles we have on topics like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and other social networks, and social network engagement strategies, here at ProBlogger—simply because that information wasn’t available back in 2008 when I’d written the post.
Yep, this page was pretty outdated! But I bet most sites that have been around for a while will probably have a page or two that are in a similar state.
Sources of bouncing traffic
Okay, so I knew I had a problem with the content of the page—and there were plenty of opportunities to improve it. But in order to make the right improvements—improvements that would give me the best chance of reducing that bounce rate by actually meeting individuals’ expectations—I wanted to know what the users were expecting to see when they came to the page. What needs did they have?
So I took a look at the traffic sources for the page:
This was interesting. For any blog that gets a lot of its new traffic from search engines, you might expect the main traffic source to be Google. And when I first looked at the page in question, I’d imagined that most of the traffic to this page was coming from search and being pulled to Twitip. In fact, the traffic was coming from Twitip.
Understanding how the page is being used
Now I was getting a pretty clear idea of how this page was being used, and why the bounce rate was so high.
Twitip users were following a link from that site to this article. The second paragraph of the post was directing them right back to Twitip. In that case, would they feel that ProBlogger was more of an authority on Twitter than Twitip? Not likely. No wonder the bounce rate was so high!
But, as expected, Google was also among the top three referrers, and that traffic had a bounce rate of more than 90%.
Beyond content
Knowing that this page was being visited mainly by new users, it was worth looking beyond the content itself, to the page’s layout, branding, and design.
This page is laid out in the same way as the others on my blog, many of which—even if they mainly attract new users—don’t have such high bounce rates. This suggests that the layout probably isn’t the problem.
Now, the major call to action—the main point of engagement and interaction—on my blog’s content pages is to comment. Comments had long since closed on this post, so users may have struggled to find their way to other relevant content on the site at the post’s end. I’d included a Further Reading list there, but the articles were no longer current.
Yet, given how outdated the post was, and the tiny average visit duration, I guessed the visitors I was getting probably weren’t making it that far through the post anyway.
Understanding your bounces
As you can see, a little sleuthing can go a long way in helping you to understand the reasons for high bounce rates.
I try not to be thrown into a panic by the numbers alone. When I look a little deeper, I usually hit on more information that can help you take action on the bounces—if indeed that’s what you want.
In the case of this page, we made some tweaks to bring the content up to date an try to draw search traffic more deeply into the site.
But the reality for the high bounce rate from Twitip users is this: Twitip targets a different audience from ProBlogger. While it’s not unlikely that bloggers will read Twitip, that site is at once far more focused (Twitter tips only!) than this one, and more broad (it targets anyone who wants to use Twitter better—which could include casual, social users of the network, right through to online marketers in corporate environments).
So while ProBlogger contains Twitter tips, to try to convert traffic from Twitip into readers of this blog is probably a bit of a challenge. The two audiences want different things. While it was definitely worthwhile updating the ProBlogger post, the Twitip audience, on the whole, probably isn’t going to be interested in what we’re doing over here.
And that’s an important thing to realise: not all bounces are bad, and not all need addressing. Many do and will, and they’re the ones you’re better to spend your time trying to fix. But you won’t be able to work out which ones they are unless you take a few minutes to dig into the facts behind the bounces in the first place—to think about the individual users behind the numbers.
What do you do about your blog’s bounce rates? Have you been able to lower bounce rates through any specific tactics? I’d love to hear your tips in the comments.









