The New York Times - USA (2020-06-28)

SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2020

MB

OWNERS RENTERS RENOVATORS

2 ASK REAL ESTATE

Reopening buildings doesn’t

mean returning to normal.

5 IN THE GARDEN

A garlic guide to harvesting,

curing, storing and planting.

9 THE FIX

The room may be outdoors,

but it’s still part of the house.

8 RENTERS

It started as a one-bedroom

for one. Then came the family.

As New York City entered Phase 2 of re-

opening last week, thousands of real estate

agents across the city returned to work, but

the business of listing and showing proper-

ties has taken on a series of pandemic proto-

cols designed to keep brokers and their cli-

ents safe.

Many agents had already adopted some

of these practices in mid-March, when the

coronavirus arrived in New York and much

of the real estate industry went on pause.

There will be no open houses where poten-

tial buyers or renters can just drop in un-

announced, and in scheduled showings,

brokers will clean before and after each vis-

itor, as well as discourage clients from

touching any surfaces and provide access to

hand sanitizers. Virtual tours have become

the norm and will most likely continue.

As of last Monday, real estate brokerages

had been deemed essential businesses, and

as with the other industries reopening

during Phase 2, the state recommended a

series of best practices.

It’s Back to Work for Agents

As New York City reopens, so do in-person showings, with care and plenty of hand sanitizer.

Jason Haber, an associate broker at Warburg Realty, made

a preliminary tour of an apartment on Park Avenue.

STEFANO UKMAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

By SYDNEY FRANKLIN

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

The first tenant for one of Frank Wood-

worth’s underground bunkers wasn’t a hu-

man, it was a seed. “A couple of hippies

called me up and asked me to build them a

vault for their heirloom seeds,” he said.

A reserved man with Downeast stoicism,

Mr. Woodworth is the owner of Northeast

Bunkers, a company in Pittsfield, Maine,

that specializes in the design and construc-

tion of underground bunkers. It was 18

years ago that Mr. Woodworth outfitted that

first steel vault while working as a general

contractor, and he has since changed direc-

tion, pivoting his business model to focus

solely on designing, installing and updating

underground shelters.

He stresses that these are not “luxury

bunkers” for the top 1 percent, and only a

small part of the calls are coming from

doomsday preppers or Cold War-era hold-

overs. Rather, about two-thirds of his busi-

ness comes from consumers who pay ap-

proximately $25,000 for an underground

livable dwelling. Since the outbreak of the

coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Woodworth

said, he has been unable to keep up with the

demand.

Buyers of these kinds of underground

dwellings say that they simply want to pro-

tect their families from an increasingly tur-

Going

To Ground

Will doomsday

bunkers be the new

normal? For some,

they already are.

By MIRA PTACIN

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ATLAS SURVIVAL SHELTERS

Above, a modular fallout

shelter built by Atlas

Survival Shelters, based

in Sulphur Springs,

Texas. Atlas and other

shelter companies have

had a big increase in

business since the

coronavirus pandemic

began. The company says

this unit, with features

like a kitchen and dining

area, left, is designed so

that it “feels as close to

home as possible.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

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