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Sept 2007 NORTH SHORE TOWERS; Luxury Hotel in a Co-op What could be better than living all-year-long in the world’s most exclusive luxury hotel? When my husband Larry and I went searching for a new apartment we joked with friends that for us the ideal place to move would be an all-inclusive resort, spa or cruise ship with the works: gym, pool, shops, salon, tennis court and restaurant – maybe even golf? But then we thought: Nothing like that could possibly exist. Until we came to North Shore Towers. New York’s Royal Residence With Its Own Zip Code Snug against the Grand Central Parkway (and just minutes from the LIE), North Shore Towers (or as people refer to it: “The Towers” or “NST”) is a co-op right on the Queen-Nassau border, 45 minutes from Manhattan and 20 minutes from either LaGuardia or Kennedy Airports. Area hospitals are literally around the corner. Roosevelt Field and the Miracle Mile are 10 minutes by car. Here are some interesting facts about the Towers: For Larry and me, most importantly, NST’s location is perfect: just minutes from our closest friends living on Long Island and New York City. Express Bus Service Direct to Manhattan The drive into NST is just like entering a luxury hotel, starting with the guarded front gate and beautiful landscaped gardens flanked by the tennis courts on one side and the 18th green of the golf course on the other. Cross two speed bumps (one that has the sign “Caution: Golf Cart Crossing”) and I’m in paradise. The grounds are sprawling. The three elegant 34-story skyscrapers tower over the visitors parking area and the golf course that wraps around and enfolds NST. The complex has 24-hour security, doormen and concierges, with a maintenance staff available to change a light bulb or replace a toilet. Apartments are what you’d expect: giant-sized and high-ceilinged; most have either terraces or balconies – and there are nearly 2,000 of them in every size from studios to penthouses. They all have their own independently controlled air conditioning and heat. There are 3,000 indoor parking spaces on three levels. The grounds are spotless, the air is clean, and the place is quiet – like living in the country. There is even a section set-off with actual farm plots for those residents who want to grow their own fruits and vegetables. The 15-hour-a-day Express Bus service stops right in front of the buildings (one hour to mid-Manhattan or Wall Street). Both Long Island Rail Road stations are just down the road (30 minutes to Penn Station). NST has its own jitneys that are free to area shopping centers and supermarkets and run all day long. A Private Shopping Mall and Spa What sold us, however, were the three crown jewels of NST: the shopping arcade, the country club, and the remarkable residents. Start with the first jewel: the enclosed and airy shopping arcade. This amazed me (and still amazes my friends). It is more like a private shopping mall. NST boasts two fully stocked supermarkets (think Whole Foods and Waldbaum’s), a full-service pharmacy (like having a Walgreen’s on the premises), a hair and body salon, spa (massages!), dental office, clothing store, movie theater (4 new first run movies each week!), dry cleaners, travel agency, library, home remodeling center, photography studio, catering hall and a branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank. NST even has an on-site real estate office. And what about dining? NST has its own restaurant. Proprietors Gus and Harry offer delicious food and the best homemade desserts in the tri-state area. It’s a great place to catch up with friends and when I’m feeling lazy, nothings better than calling down for fresh-squeezed lemonade, turkey on rye, and babka – up to 10 p.m. If I need a change of pace, there are dozens of area restaurants that deliver to NST in just minutes – that’s if I am not going out to dinner with the many friends I’ve met at the Towers. This small-town flavor encourages a sense of community, where you can run into neighbors shopping or enjoy chatting with NST’s very friendly merchants. There are clubs too: photography, garden, debate, knitting, art (they even have annual art show!), reading, Weight watchers – you name it. Golf, Tennis, Swimming & Gym, A Private Country Club The second jewel in the NST crown is the Golf and Country Club. And there are bus trips to baseball games outlet centers, Atlantic City. Start with swimming, NST had three pools; a large year-round indoor pool with a separate hot tub that seats 20 and an outdoor Olympic-size pool and a kiddie pool that’s open four months out of the year. There’s also a snack bar. There’s a 4,000 square-foot fully-equipped health club. The gym, with its array of treadmills, bikes, exercise machines, and free weights, is flanked by locker rooms and an exercise studio. There’s not much better for Larry after a hard day than heading down for a workout, sauna, steam and shower. For myself, there are small exercise classes seven days a week: striptease (yes!), aerobics, yoga, kick boxing, and Pilates. As my Russian grandmother used to say “What’s not to like?” Tennis goes all day and night and there’s never a wait – the five American clay (“Har-Tru”) courts can be illuminated at night for those of us who work late but still want to get in an hour of racquet time. And of course, there’s the golf – one of the best courses on Long Island just right outside your door. Just fall out of bed and tee-off – never a wait. Oh, and be sure to visit the pro-shop, the snack center, the shoe-shine man, and the friendly bar. In the VIP lounge there are dances, shows, lectures and parties (New Years Eve has the Towers Orchestra – 25 pieces under the leadership of the Towers’ own Marty Fladell) End your day with a game of basketball, billiards, or ping-pong. Small Town Flavor, Big-Hearted Residents The country club became for us the place that we discovered many of the people in NST who were to become our very close friends – in particular the gym and outdoor pool. And those people are the third and most important jewel in the North Shore Towers Crown – every one of them is a gem. The first time we came to the Towers, we met people who literally invited us into their homes – complete strangers, mind you. Those are the people who come here – and stay. In fact, at NST it is not unusual to find parents in one apartment and their kids and even grandkids in another. Larry and I moved his father into the Towers. It’s the way communities used to be. Affordable Luxury Resort-Style Living North Shore Towers is the gold-standard for luxury-living and literally towers over every place we ever visited. We’ve become so spoiled, it’s difficult now to go away because NST has it all. We may zip into Manhattan, shoot out to the Hamptons, fly down to Florida and jet off to Europe – but we always come home to North Shore Towers. Convenience, luxury, athletics, security, a safe investment – and at incredibly affordable prices; we have young doctors, lawyers, bankers, teachers. One last point: Early in our search, I went through the Blackout of 2003. And while total power failure made me nostalgic for Mother Russia, it also reminded me why I couldn’t wait to move in. Now I’m not saying that NST having its own on-site power plant to generate electricity was the deciding factor, but as they say in Moscow: It didn’t hurt.
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