Guest Contributor
F.M. Ring Associates Real Estate – Fifth Avenue – Flatiron District – Estelle Saltiel
High up above the Flatiron District loom several hand painted signs advertising an obscure real estate firm with a eccentric past.
Frank Ring and his brother Michael inherited 15 office buildings – but the brothers could never agree on what to do with the properties. It’s a real-estate mystery: In a city where studios sell for millions, why are more than a dozen prime Manhattan properties going to waste?
Frank and Michael Ring inherited 15 office buildings worth $500 million after their father died. But instead of cashing in on the family fortune, they’ve left most of the valuable real estate vacant.
The empire, mainly buildings in and near the Flatiron District, was put together by Leo Ring. When he died in 1988, Frank became the portfolio’s manager. Each brother owned a 50 percent stake, but they could never agree on what to do with the properties.
Little is known about the Ring Brothers, who live in multimillion-dollar co-ops on the Upper East Side.
Frank’s management firm, F.M. Ring Associates, is headquartered at 212 Fifth Ave., a mostly vacant, 21-story tower overlooking Madison Square Park. An employee told The Post that Frank, 67, would accept questions only via fax. – Kate Briquelet/Real Deal Magazine – October 6, 2013 | 5:46am
F.W. Honerkamp Corp – Wood Veneers – Hunts Point, Bronx – Jaqui O’Shaughnessy
About F. W. Honerkamp
In May 1854, Friedrich W. Honerkamp immigrated to America, with his wife, Mary from Melle, Germany to make a new life. They settled in the New York City area and, in 1856, gave birth to Frank W. Honerkamp, the second of four children. Frank W. Honerkamp grew to work with his father in the family business. The company exported cattle to South America and imported lumber and veneer to the United States. With the rapid growth of furniture and woodworking trades in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, the company shifted its full attention to lumber and veneer.
F.W. Honerkamp Co. Inc. was officially incorporated in New York City in 1871. In the late 1930’s, the third generation joined the company with the increased demand for new plywood panel products and the rapid development of lower Manhattan, F.W. Honerkamp Co. moved to the Bronx and participated in the commercial construction boom of the 1960’s and 1970’s. It was at this time the fourth generation began with the company. Honerkamp moved to the present location in the Bronx in 1981, and remains there to the present day. – Rugby Architectural Building Products Website
Featured Fade – Fair & Square Ribbon – Joseph Loth & Company – Eric K. Washington
Fair and Square Ribbon painted sign
This painted advertisement endures on the back of the former Joseph Loth & Company “Fair and Square” ribbon mill, built in 1886, on Amsterdam Avenue between West 150th and 151st Streets. The ad reads, “Fair and Square — This Label Is On The Best Ribbon Made.”“In upper Manhattan, a block-long structure hulks like a stalwart old public building. But a faded ad painted in back reveals its delicate mission more than a century ago…”
Crème Éclipse – Wax polish – Cirage à la cire – Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, FR – Ralph Hassoun
The population of Aix numbers approximately 143,000. Its inhabitants are called Aixois or, less commonly, Aquisextains. Aix was founded in 123 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs, following the destruction of the nearby Gallic oppidum at Entremont. – We Love Provence