A few days ago, the Daily News ran an <a href=”http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/341584p-291636c.html”>article</a> about some artists in Chelsea who won the right to spray-paint graffiti on a mock subway car at their block party. It’s wonderful that the First Amendment protects artists’ rights to make ridiculous statements. But why doesn’t the First Amendment protect my right to let you know which apartments are for rent?

I’ve been writing in this blog about how the New York Department of State has exceeded its authority in trying to thwart any MLX business model which lets consumers gain access to rental listings.  There is another issues at stake — that of free-speech.

New York’s Apartment Information Vendor law says that businesses which charge consumers an advance fee for “information concerning apartment location and availability” can’t advertise specific apartments. Cavalierly exempting print newspapers, the NYDOS has interpreted MLX’s business — formerly a licensed brokerage — as selling “location and availability” information. Of course, consumers desire and expect online real estate services to provide specific apartments. Why can the AIV law restrict business advertising?

I’m all for truth in advertising. I agree that fraudulent ads should be illegal. But why on earth shouldn’t MLX be able to tell you, truthfully, that a great loft in Soho just came on the market? Keep in mind that it’s okay for MLX to tell brokers about that same loft. It was even okay for the Village Voice website to tell you, the consumer, about that same loft, and charge you for the information. It’s just not okay for MLX to tell you about it, because MLX isn’t a newspaper (did that logic escape you?).

In my Constitutional Lawsuit against New York state, I said the NYDOS failed to demonstrate that curtailing my freedom of speech served any legitimate government interest. I can’t even imagine what legitimate interest the government could claim it had. In fact, I’m ready to issue a challenge: I’ll offer a free subscription to MLX.com to the first person who can make a believable, straight-faced argument that posting real estate advertisements on a website is a threat to society.

No Comments »

It just came to me why the real estate market has not made the same strides in passing on transactions savings to consumers as has the stock market or the travel industry.

Prior to the advent of the internet, both the stock market and the travel industry only involved one agent. And post-Internet, bot the stock market and travel industry make information readily available, so the consumer can make an informed choice based upon substantially all the information in one place.

But in the real estate sales market, the norm is a two agent transaction. Furthermore, since sellers have to pay the freight for window shopping buyers, the agents’ fees are even more inflated.

In Manhattan, it is common practice that agents working with Buyers steer their Buyers to properties with the higher commission. So, until real estate listings and information becomes more readily available to consumers, home seekers wil require an agent and transaction fees will remain high.

Of course, we have to acknowledge the more labor intensive role of the agent in accompanying his clients, negotiating and assembling the Coop Board package as compared to travel agents or stock brokers.

No Comments »

I loved how I could tape shows and skip through the commercials on my Replay TV.  But 15% of the time, my Replay failed to tape the corret channel and recently, when viewing recorded shows, the Replay would freeze or sputter.  Of course, this happened during off hours for Reaplay Tech Support, so I researched online and found that the likely remedy was to replace the hard drive.

Forget that.

Instead, I scheduled for Time Warner to hook up their DVR Service for $9/month.  Those cable installers are really fast, but not very smart.  My cable guy was going to use all those extra cords (with the yellow, white and red tips) and the A-B switch which my brother had instructed me to install for Replay.

When I happened to ask the cable guy if he could do away with all these extra cords, he said “sure.”  So why didn’t he do that in the first place?  Oh well.

No Comments »

n 15 June 2005, the NYDOS published the <a href=”http://www.asklala.com/pdf/AIVProposedRuleMAking050615.pdf”>Proposed Rule Making</a> regarding the Apartment Information Vendor law, writing that “It has become apparent that a majority of apartment information vendors operating in New York State are doing so without the benefit of a license…Compounding the problem of unethical practices by some apartment information vendors is the prevalence of unlicensed operation in the industry. The Department of State must take measures to safeguard consumers by encouraging apartment information vendors to become licensed.”

Unfortunately, the changes recommended by the DOS had little to do with how consumers use the internet for real estate services.

In our <a href=”http://www.asklala.com/pdf/WClarkAIVProposedRuleMaking060714final1.pdf”>Comments</a> to the DOS, we explained how this Proposed Rule Making
A. Fails to benefit consumers because 1) it does not address how consumers are using the Internet or how they want to use online apartment services, and 2) it hampers innovation that benefits consumers;
B. Will not effectively regulate Apartment Information Vendors;
C. Does not recognize that many “online apartment information� services offer better protection to consumers than ever contemplated by the AIV rules and regulations;
D.  Is inconsistent in its treatment of different kinds of providers;
E.  Validates our complaint that the DOS has selectively enforced the AIV law against MLX and its CEO, LaLa Wang.

No Comments »

As related to our licensing case, the issue of “trustworthinessâ€? is a problem of the fiber of state officials — including the many DOS attorneys who have condoned the selective enforcement of the AIV law against MLX and myself.

Though a pawn in the scheme of Worldcom’s massive fraud, Betty Vinson was sentenced with 5 months of prison time for her role in simply carrying out orders from above.  Judge Barbara Jone said of Vinson, “Had Ms. Vinson refused to do what she was asked, it’s possible this conspiracy might have been nipped in the bud.”

There is no difference between Vinson’s conduct and that of the many DOS players who have caused the demise of MLX’s business and deprived  consumers of millions of dollars of savings. Let’s hope that each New York state official — and in particular licensed attorneys — who has participated in this decade long charade will suffer the consequences to their own professional licenses and reputations as they have wrought upon me.  Only when state officials set the gold standard of conduct will we eradicate corporate misconduct.

No Comments »

Today, we have sent a letter to the DOS Counsel asking him to drop the DOS’ opposition to the granting of an AIV license to me and cancel the 31 August 2005 a re-Hearing for me to “prove” that I am “trustworthy” to obtain the (sham) AIV license.

The situation is highly ironical given that 10 years ago, the DOS was all over me to OBTAIN the AIV license.  We refused because obtaining the AIV license meant we would have to ELIMINATE certain MLX services or provide those services in violation of the AIV law.  For instance, the AIV law disallowed the advertising of SPECIFIC properties.  The AIV law forbade dispersing listings without the WRITTEN verification by the landlord.

In other words, the AIV law NULLIFIED the real time, on-demand VALUE to consumers.

In 1995, MLX tried to educate the Department of State and we succeeded with SOS Treadwell who  declared the AIV law “onerous” and “should be amended.”

But, three years later, SOS Treadwell sent the DOS after us to obtain an AIV license or else…

On principle, MLX, a licensed brokerage, refused to obtain the AIV license.  So, since the Adminsistrative LAw Judge could not punish us under the AIV law (We didn’t have an AIV license), he statute jumped and suspended my real estate broker’s license.  <Fast Company recognized me as a Fast Company Fast 50 in 2004 for our innovation and tenacity to ethics.>

What’s important to understand about my/MLX’s case is that when they say “You can’t fight City Hall,” it means that you cannot fight the abuse of power within government.  Follow the details of my case, then be scared for yourselves if you are innovate or disruptive to industries with close government contacts.

No Comments »

Please don’t support Secretary of State Randy Daniels for a Gubernatorial candidate.

In my opinion, Daniels is an unscrupulous “yes” many catering to special interest groups.  As a small business owner of internet based real estate services, I have been hamstrung for years by Daniels’s selective enforcement practices at the behest of real estate forces.

In his New York Times article, <a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/06/nyregion/metrocampaigns/06daniels.html” target=”_blank”>”A Bid for Governor Gets a Lukewarm Reaction From G.O.P. Chiefs,”</a> Jonathan Hick’s quote from SOS Daniels about Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is more aptly applied to Daniels himself.

“There is a record there that he is going to have to answer for,” Mr. Daniels said of the attorney general. “He has demonstrated blind spots, gaps in judgment where he has not protected New Yorkers the way I think he should. And there are questions about whether he has shown appropriate judgment in several cases he has taken on.”

If you want a Governor who has integrity , a pro-consumer orientation, and respects innovation, don’t vote Daniels.

No Comments »

For more than three and half years, my mother has been battling pancreatic cancer.  Where the survival rate for this cancer is usuallly a short six months, my father’s experience as a cardiologist together with his unbounded nurturing has given mom these last precious years.

It is a startling contrast on the one hand, to be part of a family whose siblings are rotating to visit and care for mom in a home hospice situation and see the amazing “goodness” of my father and on the other hand to be part of a ten year battle with the petty tyrants of the New York Department of State.

I wonder how these unconscionable DOS officials, lacking in ethics and principles, deal with their family members.

No Comments »