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NEWS > U.S.A. > GADDAFI STUCK IN NEW YORK WITHOUT A PLACE TO STAY
GADDAFI STUCK IN NEW YORK WITHOUT A PLACE TO STAY
September 20 2009
New York, NY - There have been few fields as hard hit by the recession as the housing industry. With foreclosed homes decaying across the country and rental properties going uninhabited or for significantly lower amounts than they are worth 
the real estate field is likely to continue to struggle for a while to come. Though the economy has started to show signs of improvement with housing sales starting to increase some people throughout the field are becoming warily cautious that shortly they will start to get back on their feet, though that is far from a certainty.
Despite the rough times many real estate people are, surprisingly, not jumping on every opportunity that presents itself. Such is the case with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who has been visiting New York for the U.N. General Assembly. After a rejection in New Jersey the Libyan leader has now found himself on the outs in Manhattan after a rejected rental application from an Upper East Side real estate agent. Having to live 
out of a suitcase, the controversial leader is finding the money and influence he enjoys in his home country has limited appeal in the Big Apple, Sparking fears that New York City real estate agents are not making a concerted effort to dig themselves from the deep hole they’ve been in for over a year.
“They kept asking, 'What would be the price? What would be the price?' I thought about it and said, 'Why don't you send Megrahi back to Scotland, and then maybe we can work something out.' They hung up on me immediately,” said Jason Haber to the New York Post. “This isn’t Jersey. We have a certain reputation to maintain in Manhattan and we are going to just let anybody rent. Sure the bombing thing plays a part in our decision but this area is home to all kinds of wealthy people who don’t go around bombing planes. We’ll find someone to take the space.”
The controversial release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi has helped to fuel the renewed dislike for Gaddafi who for nearly a decade enjoyed a status as one of the most hated and feared men in the world. In the post 9/11 environment Libya has more or less normalized relations with the rest of the world.
“In any business you need to make ethical and moral decisions that sometimes have little or even nothing to do with money. There are lots of people with money but some of them are less than savoury characters and that makes it tough to deal. In this environment though I would have expected that real estate people would take virtually any opportunity they have,” said Scrape TV Business analyst Ken Green. “After all those townhouses are just sitting empty. Not renting them to Gaddafi isn’t going to suddenly solve the Lockerbie issue. Businesses need to make decisions but they need to make smart ones not knee jerk ones if they want to show the American people that they are making a serious attempt at recovery.”
Gaddafi and his people will reportedly live in a series of hotels throughout the city. The hotel industry traditionally doesn’t have the kind of moral certitude that real estate agents possess.
“In some ways it may be a sign that things have truly changed. Dollars still need to come through the door but there’s a certain humility in not renting to Gaddafi that simply wasn’t present a year ago. Back then he wouldn’t have had any trouble getting a place because they would lease and rent to anyone even if they didn’t have money. Now though things appear to have changed,” continued Green. “That’s means it’s going to be a lot more difficult in the new American economy for a lot of people. If you have bad credit, a low paying job, or a history of fomenting international terrorism you are going to have a lot more difficulty finding a place to stay, at least in New York.”
Representatives from Myanmar, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe have had no trouble finding places to stay in the city.
Mike Michaels, American Correspondent
NEWS > U.S.A. > GADDAFI STUCK IN NEW YORK WITHOUT A PLACE TO STAY
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