Got a crazy one for you today. I still can't get over it. I live near this, but thanks to Curieously for bringing it to my attention. I had no idea. This is Horizon House in Fort Lee, New Jersey, built in the 1960s- there are several buildings. It was always THE most prestigious place. How I always wanted to live here. My mom, who was a decorator, had several clients there. Okay, but here's where it gets weird- this is a glam penthouse for sale. 2bds, 3.5ba, yet it's only $190K. I won't reveal why until the end. You will be shocked. Curieously and I are still talking about it.
The sunken living room is very large. Walk down marble stairs.
The view is New York City across the way. That's the Hudson River dividing NJ/NY and there's also a view of the George Washington Bridge (circled) leading into NYC. (Traffic is a bitch, though, if you're commuting to the city.)
It's very open and spacious. You can even fit a baby grand piano in here and look at the cool canopy over the dining area.
Big kitchen- love that exhaust hood.
The kitchen is so large, it's an eat-in kitchen. Look at the big table that fits.
Check out this guest powder room.
This is the family room- it's a bit dated, but it was built in the 60s, so it's mid-century modern. Got a great view, though, a fireplace, and a door to the terrace.
Huge primary suite. You can see the walk-in closet, too, plus a built-in.
Check out the marble bath. (Remember - all this for only $199K)
Isn't the 2nd bedroom cute? It's got nooks.
Bath #2.
And, marble bath #3.
I wish my building had a lobby like this.
Resident's pool and patio.
Tennis courts.
Gym.
And children's playground.
Okay, so what's the deal? Well, apparently, it's only $199K to buy it, BUT, the HOA fee is a whopping $7,004.13mo! Oh, and Co-op board approval is required -income ratio 4:1. (B/c who the hell can afford that?) So let me get this straight. You pay a fee of $7Kmo. to live here and when you sell it you only get a measly $190K? How is this even possible? That's not all, though- it's an additional $98mo for parking/$106mo if you want valet parking. It's called a Stock Cooperative, which I really don't understand: A co-op is a way to own a primary residence, but where homeowners don't own their units outright; instead, each resident is a shareholder in the co-op itself.
This is a 2 bedroom, 4 bathroom, Condo home. It is located at 4 Horizon Rd PH 2, Fort Lee, NJ.
The Indie Sellers Guild is a grassroots nonprofit organization, by indie sellers, for indie sellers. We fight for a better, fairer internet
Currently available are a t-shirt, a tote bag, and a pack of stickers, all with designs by creative ISG members.
A special thank you to Worx Printing for being so helpful and patient as we set up our shop. They have been absolutely amazing to work with. Worx is a worker-owned union cooperative in the US, so you can shop knowing that everyone involved in printing our merch not only makes a decent wage but has a direct say in the company they work for.
For every item purchased, the Guild receives $5. Funds raised through our merchandise store will go directly to Guild operating costs, including:
Legal consultations and fees
Building the Marketplace Accreditation Program
Setting up a new membership site with way more features
First ISG virtual convention in April 2024 (more details coming soon!)
Buy for yourself to represent the Guild or as a gift this holiday season for family and friends who want to support creative indie sellers!
With every website in sight collapsing under the weight of its shareholders, I have to wonder.... should social media sites be co-ops? Has anyone tried to create a social media co-op? Why aren't there any social media co-ops, and if there are, why haven't I heard of them?
"I remember standing in the aisle where I work, casually chit-chatting with a co-worker, wondering aloud about what things would be like if all workplaces were run entirely democratically like our store. I figured without hierarchies (formal ones, anyways), that big changes could be realized. Workers would own and run everything. It would be the end of capitalism. And then my co-worker said, "Yeah, but if you flipped a switch and tomorrow every place was a co-op, we'd still all be competing with each other, just without bosses."
That thought knocked the wind out of my sails. It also planted a seed of discontent. The dizzying possibilities of broad social change that I imagined coming from democratic workplaces all over had been shown to have serious limitations. Even with bosses eliminated from the equation (what I would later learn to think of as "personifications of capital"), the logic of capitalism remained. Perhaps even worse is that it would be left to us, the workers, to enact the conclusions of capital on ourselves.
In unprofitable years, if things got bad, we would be forced to fire ourselves, reduce health benefits, or cut our own wages or hours. Certainly we would have more say making those tough calls than if a manager were deciding those things for us and about us. But more say in the operations of capitalism is all that workers cooperatives can offer the working-class. It reminds me of one of the old rides at the amusement park I went to growing up. The antique cars you could "drive". You could steer the wheel, honk the horn, speed up (to a point), but you could never get off the track the car was stuck on."
-Workers' Co-operatives: Crashing in the Same Car
tl;dr - cooperatives are not socialist or revolutionary. they are bad.
Anyone who thinks perfect communism can work on a society-level and people will do shit jobs voluntarily with no pressure has never experienced how this backfires on a much smaller community level... in other words, has never lived in a co-op or a commune. I live in a co-op and let me tell you, every fucking semester someone is signed up to scrub toilets or even just clean pots in the kitchen and they need to be like, threatened with being kicked out in order to actually do it and not just half-ass it lol. Sometimes multiple people.
ETA: I’m a social democrat who is no fan of capitalism, either, so libertarians and other varieties of right wing idiot fuck off.
“i ran a successful business for 25 years... thats why if you elect me as mayor, ill run this town like a business!!”
but sir, arent businesses autocratic? the employees dont get a say in what happens, only the management and board-of-directors does. voters dont want to elect a dictator!
“ohh, uhhh….. in that case? after college, i stayed in a commune for 3 months… if you elect me for mayor, ill run this town like a commune!!”
Several Winnipeg organizations are working together to help make fresh, local produce more accessible for underserved communities.
Several Winnipeg organizations are working together to help make fresh, local produce more accessible for underserved communities.
The Fireweed Food Co-op has partnered with the West Central Women’s Resource Centre, the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre and the NorWest Food Co-op to bring inner-city residents the ‘Veggie Van’—a pilot project that serves as a mobile farmers’ market to supply fresh, affordable and local produce to people in Inkster and the West End.
The markets take place every Thursday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the West Central Women’s Resource Centre; 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre; and 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the NorWest Co-op Community Food Centre.
Fireweed is looking for donations from individuals and businesses to help subsidize the cost of the produce and ensure the food remains affordable.
