Chapter 5

When I got back to New York there were too many voicemails but Ron needed something important so I gave him a call then met him at the building on the west side. He said, “When we walked around, the foundation, walls and floors were solid. When we started all the demo work, we found out that the roof had had enough small leaks to hurt the structural integrity. I wanted to get your approval for the additional costs to decide if you wanted to rip it off and replace it or just try to patch it and fix any of the faulty pieces we could find.”

We walked up on the roof and like most roofs in New York, it was flat and had its own water tower for the building. I looked around and at ten stories this close to the river, it had a nice view. I said, “Ron, can we take off the old one and replace it with something functional? Can we put a grill, tables, chairs or something to enjoy the view?”

He thought for a couple minutes and said, “We would have to build up a railing around the edge to meet code but they walk out at the Empire State Building to enjoy the view. We could do something similar here.”

“That’s what I want. Safe and usable. I like the view and think I’ll move up here and stop paying rent at my apartment.”

He smiled, “That’s my apartment and I like you paying rent.”

As we were exiting the building, one of the workers was pointing to us and a lady walked over. I thought that she needed to speak to Ron so I was going to leave when he called me over. “Bull, this is Cathy, she’s with the University and wanted to talk to the owner.”

“Hi,” I said.

“You’re the owner? I was expecting some old dude.”

“No, Ron doesn’t own this building. He is just my builder.”

“Thanks Bull,” He took the snub gracefully.

“What can I do for you, Cathy?”

“I work for Columbia University and we all know how hard it is to find living spaces in the city. We have dorms for our students. It’s actually one of our largest income centers. One of the girls’ dorms was just found to have asbestos and we have to clean it out before we’re allowed to let them move in next year. I see that this place is about to be remodeled and was hoping to make some arrangements to buy or rent rooms before it fills up.”

“I was going to move into one of the units on the top floor but the other places are still open. Did you want the school to rent the entire building and sublet to the students or did you want to just point them my way as a place to live?”

“I don’t know. It just came up this morning as an option and I came over to investigate. Do you know what the floor plans will look like? How many people will it hold?”

“We haven’t started the build out but I prefer larger places with more bedrooms than the small studios that blanket the city. If I built it out with two or three bedroom units you could put two people in a bedroom and they could share a bath, living, dining and kitchen area. I was thinking about 1,000 to 1,400 square feet per unit.”

“So four to six girls sharing an apartment. We charge $500 a month for the dorm and another $150 for food. What were you thinking for rent?”

“I was going to wait and see what it cost to finish the buildout. Then I would set the rent to pay me back in ten years plus interest. At those rates I could recoup my investment in a few years. It sounds like we could come up with something that made money for the school and for me.”

“We’re under the don’t ask, don’t tell model right now. I have a feeling that when we finish this dorm, we’ll be doing the other six, one after the other. We could keep you filled up for the next 7-10 years.”

Looking over at Ron I said, “Can we add a unit up top for me and extend the elevator up one floor. That way, the public space can be easily accessible and there wouldn’t be any guys like me on any of the girls floors.”

“I could do that and already have a good idea on how it could be built out.”

Turning to Cathy, I said, “Ron does good work if you are looking for someone to renovate the buildings.”

“We have other people that decide that stuff but I can give them his card or make an introduction.”

“That is all we can ask for. So Ron, I’m thinking three bedroom units in each corner and two two bedroom units in between or eight units per floor with twenty bedrooms per floor.”

He replied, “I was thinking that we would do retail on the ground floor because it pays better rent and the girls probably won’t want people looking in the windows.”

Cathy replied, “There were only 300 in the dorm so if you can take 360 that would be great. We can accept a few more students this year.”

“Why don’t you talk to your people and get back to me.” I wrote down my name and number for her to call me and Ron would design the unit layouts and my place on the roof with the patio.

The next morning at 10am I got a call from Cathy and we agreed to meet for dinner at the club since I had meetings during the day to review my books with the accountant. Cathy showed up in a pretty dress and had two others with her. She liked the club and said that she’d heard about it from a friend but since it was private, she hadn’t been there. The other two people were her boss and the dean of housing.

We had a table in the dining room and we all ordered drinks. I had a Jack and Ginger to start and Cathy followed me with a bourbon on the rocks. The other two ordered a glass of wine. As we waited, Cathy said, “We talked about the rent versus buying and as much as we’d love to buy it, the budget is strained with the remodels we’re forced to do. Could we lease the entire building and sublet the spaces to the girls?”

“We were talking $500 a month per girl. What do you think would be a fair split?”

“Could we pay you $108,000 a month? For all the spaces?”

After borrowing a pen from the waitress and grabbing a napkin, that came to $300 per person per month. That would leave them $200 a month. I said, “$300 seems low for what you’re charging. But if you pay all the utilities, taxes and pay for all twelve months of the year, I could do that. Don’t forget that I’ll have a place on the top floor rent free and I’ll get the rent from the retail on the first floor.”

It was her turn to do math and she pulled out a calculator to punch up some numbers. They already paid the utilities on campus and knew what percentage was used when school was out so they could figure out if the numbers made good business sense for them. I excused myself to use the men’s room while they talked. I stopped by to say, Hi, to Gary then wandered back to the table. They were all smiling and the Dean shook on the deal. They would write it up and they agreed to a ten year deal at those rates. I knew they would raise the rent by then but after the fourth year it would all be profit to me. My investment would be paid back in full.

The boss and dean said goodbye but Cathy accepted my invitation to dinner. She was younger and told me her story over dinner. She was a very thin girl about five foot six inches with black hair. She grew up in Georgia outside of Valdosta and was pure country but did well in school and got a scholarship to Columbia. After she graduated, they hired her to help out in the administration over student affairs. She had been there five years and loved New York City. She also liked to go home to the family farm to fish, hunt and sit by the fire or ride a horse but she loved the hustle and bustle of the city.

Dinner was great and I thought it was cute that this little girl drank her whiskey straight. “When I was a junior in college I had a crush on a guy and he drank whiskey. I wanted him to notice me so I drank the same thing. I ended up dumping the guy but keeping the appreciation for fine whiskey.”

“There’s plenty to choose from here.” I called over a waitress and ordered her a glass of Johnny Walker Blue. I wasn’t a big whiskey guy but had been around the bar and bartender enough to hear about how most people liked it. Cathy had a huge smile after she took a sip. Dinner was delicious. She was happy and a little tipsy. I said, “Are you free for a date Friday night?”

Her eyes got big and she took a bigger gulp than normal as the glass met her lips. “Um, I kind of have a boyfriend that I share an apartment with. I also have a second job on Friday nights to help make ends meet here in the city. I have a friend that’s a Jazz musician. We take over the basement of a restaurant in Harlem on Friday nights and It’s like an old time speakeasy. You have to know where it is and there are no signs. It’s a small place. I’m the hostess and he takes care of the music. We went to school together and we’re friends.”

“Well I wouldn’t want to mess up anything with your boyfriend but maybe I would like to get out on a Friday night if you want to tell me how to find the place.”

“You need to find Ella’s restaurant in Harlem then go down the stairs on the side and look for the blue light over the door. You can just walk in. There is no secret knock. The doors open at 10, the music starts at 10:30. The cover is $20, cash only for everything and we close at 3am.”

“Ella’s, 10pm, bring cash. Got it.”

Her smile was infectious. She thanked me for dinner and drinks and I made sure she had a cab to get home safely. I was home alone and in bed by ten.

I had to fly back to Florida to approve the restaurant plans and sign off on the lease. I set up funds to pay John for his work and actually had to push them to make it bigger and better than what they wanted. I didn’t want to scrape by, but do it right so that everyone would feel comfortable stopping by. There was a big deck with great views of the ocean and a boardwalk down through the dunes to the beach. They were both happy with the upgrades and budget when they were done and everything was signed off.

The owner of the restaurant, Mike Chase, told me what his budget was for the space and that was why he was reluctant to go bigger. I said, “Mike, I don’t have to pay a mortgage to the bank so the rent just helps me to recoup my investment. Rent will be $1500 a month or 5% of the gross whichever is more. You’ll also pay insurance, taxes and maintenance on the building.”

“I was expecting $2k a month so that seems fair. When the spring breakers come into town that 5% should do you well.”

“I try to be fair and have the deal be mutually beneficial.”

We shook on the deal and used Sandy for the night. before heading back to New York. I went to see my family while I was in town for the two days. The cabs weren’t as accessible in Fort Lauderdale and it reminded me that I should get a driver’s license. Mom and Dad were out of town but the rest of the family was around when I stopped by. Eddie wanted me to go fishing with him but I passed due to the short visit. Kari came over and said, “Bull, I’m coming to see you for thanksgiving. Our dance team and band are going to be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade.”

“That’s great. I’ll be sure to watch. Do you need a place to stay?”

“No, we’ll all be stacked 4 deep in hotel rooms but I’d love to see you. I think they give us some free time to explore. Are you far from the parade?”

“The parade is in more than one place but the place on TV is less than a mile walk from my apartment. I’ll make sure to leave plenty of time to show you whatever you want to see. If you want to see any plays or concerts, let me know as soon as you can before they sell out.”

“I think Mom is coming up but Dad has to stay here since Eddie and your folks are all booked up.”

“I could come down and watch the marina if both your parents wanted to watch you in the parade.”

“I don’t think dad likes big cities and would rather be elbows deep in rebuilding a motor than sitting in the snow watching the band play and us dance.”

“Well you and your parents are always welcome.”

She smiled really big and said that she was looking forward to it and would have her mom talk to the teacher about spending time with her favorite cousin. I was her only cousin but I liked her a lot.

Cynthia was out of town again the following weekend and I walked over to the club for dinner. I was alone and had planned to just eat at the bar when I saw a hand waving and saw it was attached to E.J. Patterson. I walked over to say hello and they had just sat down and wanted me to join them.

We started to talk about business and my new building but saw Jamie getting bored so I focused on her and asked about her week and what she was working on. She was working on a piece of music for her cello and would be performing it for her next exam. When her dad would ask about business I would turn the attention back to Jamie. She was as pretty as her mom without the effects of an extra 24 years. She didn’t sag anywhere and her skin was flawless.

When dinner was winding down, Lucy asked what my plans were for the night. I said, “I don’t have a date but I was planning to go up to a place in Harlem and listen to some Jazz later.”

That did grab Jamie’s attention. “What’s the name of the club? I love Jazz.”

“I don’t know the name. It’s by invitation only and I just have the address.”

It was easy to see that she wanted to be invited but didn’t want to ask. Lucy stepped in, “I don’t think that Jamie has any plans tonight if you are looking for someone to share a cab with.”

Turning to Jamie I asked, “Would you like to go out and listen to some music with me?”

She was nodding before she could say, “Yes.”

The place didn’t open until ten so we stayed at the club and had a few drinks. We shared a cab up to Harlem and when we got out in front of Ella’s, I had to look at both sides of the building looking for the blue light. We walked down some stairs and I was holding her hand so she didn’t slip. We walked into a small room with some couches and tables. It held about 60 people.

Cathy saw me and her face lit up and then she saw Jamie enter behind me and her smile dimmed briefly before ramping back up to say hello. She collected the $40 cover for me and Jamie and we found a place on a couch off to the side of the stage. It was a very quaint place and Cathy came over to introduce us to her friend Marc and a couple of people from the band. We ordered a couple martinis since we were in a speakeasy and wanted to be authentic. The band started playing around 10:30 and then a woman showed up at 11 and joined them and started to sing.

Jamie was enjoying herself. During the break, Cathy came over to introduce the woman that came in late and was now the singer. Jamie had to step away to use the lady’s room. The singer, Crystal, stayed and let me buy her a drink. Cathy was being a hostess and getting drink orders and making sure people were doing well. Crystal told me that she actually lived down by me and had been singing in a restaurant in the area and then raced up to join her friends.

I didn’t have any plans for a date that night but I think Cathy was jealous of Jamie and Jamie was not happy about Crystal using her break to get to know me. When Crystal went back on stage, Jamie clung to my arm and had a couple more drinks as the night got late. At 3am, they closed the last song and the lights came up. It seemed like most of the people knew each other and this was their little party scene. I thanked Cathy for the invite and waved to the band members that I’d been introduced to as we emerged on the street in Harlem looking for a cab home. We had to walk a block or two over to one of the main Avenues. I didn’t know where she lived but when I asked so that I could tell the cabbie she said, “Just take me to your place.”