Coast Guard Selling Lighthouses

[finchaser]

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/.../us_coast_guard_looks_to_sell_2.html

[surfstix1963]

That would be a costly adventure to buy and repair them it would be cool though they should rent them out.

[plugcrazy]

^ Right on surfstix. A guy named John Scalia bought the Romer Shoals lighthouse for $90k, says he will need $80k more to fix it up. Thats some serious cheddar.



Staten Island man buys local lighthouse for $90,000




Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111005/REAL_ESTATE/111009943#ixzz1a0wc7Cgj




John Scalia had always had a sweet spot for the Romer Shoal Lighthouse off the coast of Sandy Hook, N.J., because, he says, it was the first part of the United States his immigrant grandparents saw when approaching Ellis Island.
So, two weeks ago, he purchased the 54-foot lighthouse for $90,000 at an auction from the U.S. General Services Administration with an eye towards allowing the National Lighthouse Museum in Staten Island to give tours of the still-working property. Mr. Scalia estimates he will need to spend up to $80,000 more for repairs on the lighthouse, so it could indeed prove to be a money-losing purchase. Yet he doesn't seem to mind.
“I've been very lucky in my life,” said Mr. Scalia, a life-long Staten Island resident who owns several businesses in the borough, including a florist, a funeral home and a limousine service. “This is a way for me to give back to the community, to the country.”
The Coast Guard is still using the light atop the Romer Shoal beacon and must pay to maintain it. Eventually, he hopes that the museum on Staten Island will help pay for the maintenance of the rest of lighthouse.
However, the museum seems to have been on the verge of launching for at least a decade. The debut has never materialized because of a lack of funds. But about two weeks ago, the museum gave a new business plan to the city's Economic Development Corp. It must approve the plan before it hands over the keys to a collection of former Coast Guard buildings in Staten Island where the museum wants to open.
Until the museum finally opens, the Romer Shoal Lighthouse will just be a special holding for Mr. Scalia—who says he couldn't be happier, by the way. He tried to buy a different lighthouse two years ago, only to see that deal fall through.




Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111005/REAL_ESTATE/111009943#ixzz1a0wBo9rd

[plugcrazy]

Alex Schibli Buys ‘Rat Island’ For $160,000

October 3, 2011 8:13 PM



NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — We’ve all heard of buying a house, an apartment and a car (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/10/03/alex-schibli-buys-rat-island-for-160000/#). But an island?
CBS 2′s Mark Morgan spoke with one City Island (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/09/27/you-can-own-your-own-private-island-right-here-in-new-york-city/)man, who can now see his new acquisition from his backyard.
It may be called “Rat Island,” but it’s a thing of beauty to Alex Schibli. After spending years gazing from his City Island backyard at the small island jutting out of the water, Schibli has just become the ruler of all he surveys. He bought the small island at auction for $160,000.
How long did he stare out at the island and admire it?
“Oh every day. Every day,” Schibli said. “I wanted to buy the island to protect it…that is doesn’t get into wrong hands. That I don’t lose it as my recreation place.”

Schibli and his wife often kayak out to the island 2 or 3 times a week. Chopper 2-HD roamed overhead to get a birds’ eye view of the island as Morgan spoke with Schibli and navigated the choppy waters of the Long Island Sound.
The small island, which is almost completely submerged at high tide, is mostly rocky, and is littered with thousands of mussel shells among the rocks and some small patches of grass.



As owner of the island, Schibli can make any changes he desires, but right now, he has no major alterations in mind.
“I’d like to have it as it is. That I can still go out there, take people out there. I might put a sign out there that it’s a private island and that they should respect nature,” he said.
As for the current name of the island, Schibli thinks it’s quite “stupid.” He says he’s considering renaming the Island after his 5-year-old granddaughter, Malina.
“There are definitely no rats out there, it’s a stupid name — Rat Island. I don’t know if it’s possible to re-name the island. I don’t know,” he said.

[surfstix1963]

Good reads I guess all people with money spend it in different ways while most of us get by check to check

[fishinmission78]

If I had 160k to blow on an island I would blow it on hookers in Las Vegas.

[porgy75]

On the news tonight there was a story about the robbins reef lighthouse and this lady Kate Walker. I couldn't find the news story so I checked google and found this article. Thought it was pretty cool. Kate Walker reincarnated as Erin Urban the lighthouse keeper.
http://www.silive.com/opinion/columns/index.ssf/2014/12/lighthouse.html

[ledhead36]

^ Right on surfstix. A guy named John Scalia bought the Romer Shoals lighthouse for $90k, says he will need $80k more to fix it up. Thats some serious cheddar.



Staten Island man buys local lighthouse for $90,000




Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111005/REAL_ESTATE/111009943#ixzz1a0wc7Cgj




John Scalia had always had a sweet spot for the Romer Shoal Lighthouse off the coast of Sandy Hook, N.J., because, he says, it was the first part of the United States his immigrant grandparents saw when approaching Ellis Island.
So, two weeks ago, he purchased the 54-foot lighthouse for $90,000 at an auction from the U.S. General Services Administration with an eye towards allowing the National Lighthouse Museum in Staten Island to give tours of the still-working property. Mr. Scalia estimates he will need to spend up to $80,000 more for repairs on the lighthouse, so it could indeed prove to be a money-losing purchase. Yet he doesn't seem to mind.
“I've been very lucky in my life,” said Mr. Scalia, a life-long Staten Island resident who owns several businesses in the borough, including a florist, a funeral home and a limousine service. “This is a way for me to give back to the community, to the country.”
The Coast Guard is still using the light atop the Romer Shoal beacon and must pay to maintain it. Eventually, he hopes that the museum on Staten Island will help pay for the maintenance of the rest of lighthouse.
However, the museum seems to have been on the verge of launching for at least a decade. The debut has never materialized because of a lack of funds. But about two weeks ago, the museum gave a new business plan to the city's Economic Development Corp. It must approve the plan before it hands over the keys to a collection of former Coast Guard buildings in Staten Island where the museum wants to open.
Until the museum finally opens, the Romer Shoal Lighthouse will just be a special holding for Mr. Scalia—who says he couldn't be happier, by the way. He tried to buy a different lighthouse two years ago, only to see that deal fall through.




Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111005/REAL_ESTATE/111009943#ixzz1a0wBo9rd



Wow there went over $100,000 down the drain. Don't think there is any company out there that would write an insurance policy for a lighthouse.

[bababooey]

Not necessarily true. There are insurers that will insure ANYTHING. For a price.:)