About Joan Goldberg of Brown Harris Stevens

ugh- I'm sorry you had to go through that. She sounds like a nasty nasty person.

sakina, I can't speak to your story here, but I completely disagree with your take given my experiences with her. She was one of the most honest and professional brokers I have worked with in this city and certainly never exhibited any of the traits you mention. I don't know why you felt you had to post this, but I suspect most people have had quite positive experiences as well.

Obviously, her experience is quite different as yours, bjw2103. Hey, maybe it's frustration. You probably saw her during the good times. :)

cleanslate, maybe so, but I worked with Joan for several months (ie: I spent the better part of most Sundays with her).

File a complaint.

sakina, which property was this?

bjw2103: I'm guessing you're white? If someone of color reports her as being racist and rude to minorities, a white person coming along saying she's "honest and professional" doesn't mean much. Saying "most people have had quite positive experiences" also doesn't mean much - most people aren't minorities :-)

sakina: report her. Have friends of color (and means) visit her properties. If they get the same treatment, they can report her also. Fair housing laws are good, and people who violate them should be held accountable for their actions.

tech_guy, I am a minority and have seen her interact with people who are definitely not white, and never saw any of this. All I'm saying is I'm willing to go to bat for someone I know and respect rather than for some anonymous (first time?) poster who spouts vitriol here.

""Despite my complaint and my witness she is still fraudulently at large here pumping up exorbitant prices in neighborhoods, insulting qualified people of color. This is the systemic gentrification of racial real estate practice on the street. Joan Goldberg is a perfect example.""

It sounds as though you had a terrible experience with this person. That said, I don't see any evidence of 'fraud' from your account, nor do I understand how a broker could single-handedly 'pump up exorbitant prices in neighborhoods'. It's the market that drives prices, not brokers.

> tech_guy, I am a minority and have seen her interact with people who are definitely not white,

Are we talking non-white as in Asian/Indian?

Or black/hispanic?

Big difference in terms of treatment by brokers...

North African

nyc10022, I've seen her interact with people who are black. She works pretty much exclusively in Brooklyn, which is quite diverse, and she knows traditionally "less white" neighborhoods like Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Bed-Stuy quite well. Her career before RE was in hospitals, so it just strikes me as extremely odd that she would act as sakina says she did. And as bramstar pointed out, the accusations of fraud and pumping up prices don't add up. Strange there's been no response from the OP either.

am i the only one reading the original post and thinking its either completely fake or at least recognizing that its a little off? tech guy, you're quick to jump to conclusions about bjw but you swallow the bizarre language of the op without question?

I don't swallow anything I read here without question :) For the record, I don't know the broker in question - nothing I'm saying should in any way be viewed as a judgement on her. I just don't think accusations of racism when it comes to housing should be discounted so quickly. If the OP is the only person to ever file a report against the broker in question, nothing will happen.

Given 2 anonymous names, one claiming racism and the other against it, my gut instinct is to side with the first person.

I don't agree with your instinct given the bizarre nature of the original post.

tech_guy, it's not as clear cut as that. sakina has yet to follow up here, but it sounds like we're talking about a one-time "incident" versus someone who's had a prolonged relationship with this broker. I'm also a bit less "anonymous" on this board than the OP. I completely agree that racism should not be taken lightly at all, especially in a professional situation, but I also think that slandering a person BY NAME on this board shouldn't be taken lightly either. Especially when it rings a bit bizarre and over-the-top, as ccdevi says above.

My interpretation of the OP was, if things occurred exactly as they were posted, she was rude. Racist? I don't see it from the posting. Just because a caucasion person is rude to a non-caucasion person doesn't mean they are racists.

I'm just saying....

> nyc10022, I've seen her interact with people who are black

I infer from this that you are not... meaning that if you are observing, I don't think thats a fair measure. If someone is anti-black, they probably hold back when non-blacks are around.

So, I'm not sure your anecdotes would show much.

If the OP is being honest, then I think he/she should file a complaint.

"I infer from this that you are not... meaning that if you are observing, I don't think thats a fair measure. If someone is anti-black, they probably hold back when non-blacks are around.

So, I'm not sure your anecdotes would show much."

A lot of assumptions there. I'll make one of my own: sakina is not black either. It's a muslim name. I do agree that if the OP is honest, then file a complaint. I just have my doubts (founded on actually knowing the person being slandered) about the conditional clause there.

"SRO" = Single Room Occupancy is not a legal term, so I don't understand how she did not diclose the 'legality' of the house. Also, who uses the term 'brokerage their homes'? This post sounds more like an email from the King of Uganda looking to share his $10 billion of oil riches if only he could get it out of the country and just needs my help and $100k deposit to do it!!!!

I don't understand how you sell an SRO. Does she mean the place was formerly an SRO and had been converted to condos or coops?

that is a horrible story but very believable. I have met brokers capable of such behavior. thank you for posting

Yeah, thanks. Is she any relationship to Jonas Goldberg? He's a real jerk too. His mother was Linda Tripp's buddy. My inclination would be to stay away from anyone with a similarly sounding name.

I think anyone that posts anonymously citing that someone (that is not anonymous) is a racist should at least answer questions based on their post. The OP, in my opinion, cannot make this type of claim and disappear. I would be very careful before I jumped to conclusions.

I've dealt with brokers like this: a Massey Knackel broker failed to mention a multi-family bld had toilets in the hall, not inside the apts. That's how some (not all) brokers are: sell you down the river as long as they get a commission.

Why raise racism? Some brokers (white, black or indifferent) simply suck. caveat emptor

""SRO" = Single Room Occupancy is not a legal term,"

Yeah, it is & if one doesn't know the ramifications of buying an SRO, one will get screwed.

SRO is a material & very important fact to reveal to buyer, although, a title report would reveal it. Broker not mentioning this is sleazy

Let's not pick on poor Joan. 90% of real estate brokers are lazy, stupid, unethical and incompetent. Why are we acting like it's only Joan?? She's probably a stellar example of a putrid group.

Just curious - what does it mean to buy an SRO?

JuiceMan, absolutely. I think the OP needs to follow up before any of this can be taken seriously. If you take the time to make such a post, you need to be ready to respond as well. FWIW, here are her listings. I'm no expert on SROs, but none of these look like one.

http://www.brownharrisstevens.com/agent.aspx?id=JXG

Very low thing to do, destroy someone's reputation anonymously over the internet. You're a person of very high character sakina, I wonder if it was your attitude that prompted a reaction from the broker. Many brokers are rude, but to translate that automatically into racism without giving a person the chance to defend themselves or hear their story is low, very low.

A black man is about to become President, so stop crying race everything your feelings are hurt.

typo- everything=everytime

What we have here is a classic thread in the making - a tale of a paranoid scheming Jew locking horns with an aspirational dark skinned Muslim apartment buyer. With that said, could we please dispense with the pleasantries and get down to the actual race baiting?

An SRO is a single room occupancy bld.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Room_Occupancy

http://www.tenant.net/Tengroup/Metcounc/Oct98/sro.html

In NYC, an SRO may be subject to Rent Stabilization.

Buyer must really understand ramifications of buying an SRO.

What was the OP saying when she allegedly was told to "shut up"? OP sounds like a baiter with an agenda.