Pictures at an evacuation center

MS 118 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan

From my kitchen window, I can readily see the front door of an storm shelter in the schools complex on W. 93rd Street between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues.

I decided to pop in and snap a few photos before someone said doing so wasn’t allowed.  Since it is such a joyless place, I was happy not to tarry, but I wanted to share with readers how miserable the experience must be for those who have had to abandon their homes.

Spending nights and much of the days in a school gym (where voting is to take place on Tuesday) now serving as dormitory, commissary and clothing-supply facility has to be better than making do in a cold and powerless apartment.  But it ain’t great.

There is much need of volunteer help and clothing.

One woman I questioned said that Sandy had forced her to leave her home in the Lower East Side. The photos below will give you some idea of where she has to live now.

State to tighten advertising rules for real estate

Few buyers and sellers of residential real estate believe everything in advertisements placed by brokers and agents.

Neither does New York’s Department of State (DOS), which is proposing to implement new rules as a consumer protection to replace its informal advertising guidelines.  In a notice about the change published on Oct. 24, it said:

After consulting with the New York State Board of Real Estate, however, it was determined that enforceable regulations were required in order to adequate protect the public from dishonest and misleading advertising practices.

Covered by the rule is