Hard sell in The Garden of Earthly Delights?

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“Sun-drenched kitchen”, blood-drenched basement?

Ghosts in the radishes

Serial Killer Joel Rifkin’s Former Long Island Home Where He Murdered Multiple Women Returns to the Market for $800K

The Long Island property where notorious serial killer Joel Rifkin murdered and dismembered several of his victims has returned to the market for $799,999, more than 15 years after it was last sold.

"This well-maintained home offers a spacious and versatile layout with sun-filled living areas, an updated eat-in kitchen, generous sized bedrooms, and plenty of storage throughout," the listing continues.

However, perhaps unsurprisingly, there is one key aspect of the home that is not mentioned in the listing: its gruesome ties to Rifkin and his horrific crimes, which were carried out between 1989 and 1993, during which time he was living at the home with his mother, Jeanne Granelles Rifkin, and sister, Jan Tsistinas.

….

Having been flagged by the authorities while driving a pickup truck along the Southern State Parkway on Long Island, Rifkin attempted to flee, sparking a lengthy police chase that ended only when he crashed his vehicle into a pole.

…. After being taken into custody, Rifkin confessed to murdering 17 women, all of whom had worked as prostitutes, admitting that he had killed several of his victims inside his mother's abode.

Many of his victims were dismembered, and their remains were hidden in various locations surrounding the property.

Rifkin's mother and sister were said to have been left stunned by the charges levied against the killer—with his lawyer, Robert Sale, telling the New York Times in 1993 that they had been "destroyed" after learning of his crimes. [Sure they were — ED]

Neighbor Joy Reiter, who lived next to the Rifkins for more than three decades, also told the publication that it was clear Jeanne "had no inkling" of the atrocities her son had carried out under her roof, adding that the family had been known for being particularly kind to their neighbors, regularly sharing vegetables from their garden. [Fertilized with her “special blend” of organic materials, no doubt. Ed]

…. His mother continued to reside in the Long Island home for more than a decade after her son was sentenced, remaining there until her death in 2010, after which it was put on the market for the first time since her son's crimes were revealed.

But the dwelling's history made it a very hard sell—and it would take nearly a year, and several price cuts, before it found a buyer, who ultimately paid $322,000 for the dwelling. It was originally listed for $424,500.

At the time of the sale, its listing agent, Greg Berkowitz of Laffey Fine Homes, explained to the New York Post that the buyers were undeterred by the property's sinister history, insisting that they were grateful to have secured the dwelling at such a bargain price.

"They realize they are getting a good price on the house," he said. "There was a little consideration because of the situation there, but they’re happy with it."

He did, however, concede that several other prospective buyers had walked away from the home after learning about its past.

Now, 15 years later, a new listing agent… is taking on the challenge of securing a new steward for the expanded Rifkin abode, which is currently marked as a "coming soon" property on Realtor.com®.

Spanning just over 1,600 square feet, the property—which was originally built in 1951—features an open plan kitchen and living area, with large floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the backyard.

A staircase in the center of this space leads to the second story of the home, where three of the four bedrooms are located. One of them is currently being used as an office.

There is also a finished basement space on the lower level of the dwelling, which also features a detached garage [both of which come with their own, distinct history — Ed]

These houses aren’t always hard to sell; I remember showing a house on Horseshoe Lane in Cos Cob whose late owner had recently hanged himself from a garage rafter. The couple I represented weren’t bothered: “we’re Indian, the husband explained, “we don’t believe in ghosts”. I personally found it a bit creepy to be in the garage; they didn’t. They ended up not buying the property, but that was because it offered only a huge, towering rock ledge instead of a useable backyard. The house did sell, to someone else, and is still there.

There was not such an easy sale for 10 Dairy Lane, where Andrew Kissel was bound and stabbed to death in the basement in 2006. It lingered on the market for months before a builder finally bought and razed it, and changed its address from No. 10 to No. 8; that did the trick.

Notice the dismembering table on the right: all cleaned up now.

It’s happened before: happy house hunters mortimer and elaine brewster discover an unpleasant surprise in the backyard garden

Lesbian Unitarian minister (ok, that's redundant) on Nantucket (see previous comment) cancels 4th of July celebration

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Just because we’re white doesn’t mean we can’t feel our domestics’ pain

Well of course she did. Unitarians — “One God, if Any” — don’t acknowledge Christ’s divinity, why would they honor the country they infest?

Lesbian Minister Cancels July 4 Celebrations In Political Protest

A lesbian minister in Nantucket, Massachusetts, is canceling her church’s annual Fourth of July celebrations in an act of political protest apparently against the country’s — as well as her own congregation’s — “whiteness.”

Rev. Erin Splaine announced to her community Thursday that the Second Congregational Meeting House Society, Unitarian Universalist church would be canceling its customary July 4th celebrations, which include a public reading of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. (RELATED: Town Votes To Cut Police Staff, Cries When It Impacts Beloved Fourth Of July Tradition)

Slaine claimed that white people experience the “Rights and Privileges” enshrined in the founding documents in a manner “tragically, often violently, and unequally applied to fellow citizens who are not white.” 

Such injustice, Slaine argued, means celebrating America’s history “without context … perpetuates the harm, injustice, and anti-democratic process,” she wrote in part. 

Platner and the AWFLS:

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Nazi “oysterman” (A shell game, really: his boutique Oyster farm’s sole customer is his mother’s restaurant)

Is Platner toast?

A couple of decades ago Louisiana’s corrupt politician Edwin Edwards boasted, “the only way I can lose this election is if I’m caught in bed with a dead woman or a live boy”. Today, neither of those would be disqualifying so far as Democrat voters are concerned.

It’s possible that Platner will lose his primary; sordid detail after sordid detail continue to emerge, and the same women who loved his SS death head tattoo may finally find his posting semi-nude selfies on a child molestation site a bit beyond the pale, but in a sane world he would never have risen as high as he has, based solely on the positions and causes he supports. However, we don’t live in that world, and Maine Democrats and even a number of Republicans support this sort of thing, because everybody loves “free” stuff. That’s frightening.

The Maine Wire

Addressing the latest sex scandal affecting Maine senatorial candidate Graham Platner, Steve Robinson, editor-in-chief of The Maine Wire, said the newest flap over Platner’s extramarital sexting is just another average outing for his Democrat following.

“Graham Platner’s infidelity issues surfaced almost immediately after he announced,” Robinson said on X. “Maine women began posting in Facebook groups about a gruff ginger who Tinder tickled them and then ghosted.”

“Bizarrely, AWFLs (Affluent White Female Liberals) are like the ISIS diehards of the Platner campaign,” Robinson added.”The are so radicalized that Platner could get caught on video committing sexual assault with Eliot Cutler and the Lincoln Project and they’d probably still vote for him.”

Platner says he’s a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. His own stated policies are crazy enough, but the DSA’s platform is incredible. Here are some samples:

Free:

  • Universal health care for everyone

  • College, tuition and room and board

  • Universal free child care, and pre-K

But wait, there’s more!

  • 32-hour workweek

  • “Tax the Rich” including a “wealth tax” on all assets, realized gains or not

  • “Green New Deal (which has its own incredible demands)

  • Free Palestine

  • End all military and economic aid to Israel

  • “Greatly reduce” our military budget, close all overseas bases, and return all troops to the U.S.

  • End sanctions against “countries that isagree with our policies, including Cuba, Venezuelaa aand Iran

  • Open our borders who all who want to come

  • Immediate amnesty for all

As long as they're not paid and promise to do no work, I'm all for it; the latter was accomplished years ago, but the former may prove a sticking point

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 CA Union Hilariously Mocks Gavin Newsom by Weaponizing Climate Excuse to Dodge Return-to-Work Order.

The California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment (CASE) earlier this week fired off “exhaustion” letters to over 100 state agencies, claiming that forcing 90,000+ state workers to commute four days a week would contribute to the global warming crisis.

I say ‘mocked’ above, but there is a very significant chance that the union here actually believes what it is peddling. And man, did they ever go full throttle here, producing an exhaustive (pun intended) scientific study indicating that their workers heading back to the office would pump an extra 15,000 tons of carbon into the air every month.

Baseline Environmental Consulting, which conducted the study, suggests that the looming return-to-office policy “runs counter to the state’s effort to reduce transportation-sector emissions,” outlined in California’s comprehensive roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality.

Ed Driscoll: As far as circular firing squads go, this is just … *chef’s kiss* baby.

Exit quote: “What makes this interesting, though, is that Newsom has been cornered. He can’t attack the union without torching his own beloved climate law and carbon-reduction goals that he’s spent years ramming down Californians’ throats. Only in a one-party blue state clown world could government unions use the Democrats’ favorite environmental weapon to declare commuting to work an existential threat to the planet.”

AOC goes full Handmaid's Tale, and (some) people have noticed

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AOC goes to an all-boys rally and submits. “Oooh, master, whip me, beat me, teach me Now!”

Revealing Footnote to the Longer AOC Hijab Video Clip That Makes It So Much Worse

On Thursday, RedState's Brandon Morse noted in a piece he wrote on how "Islam Is the New Transgenderism" that Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) was seen in a recent video wearing a hijab while talking up the supposed greatness of Islam.

"I can't think of a more perfect representation than this video. You have AOC, a Latina Democrat from New York, wearing a hijab, in front of the communist Islamic Mayor of New York," he wrote.

For those who missed the video, watch:

Though the video is short, it tells us quite a bit. You see AOC with a slightly bashful, girlish look on her face while addressing the crowd, as the Muslim men talk behind her and ignore her. Meanwhile, Mamdani stoically looks on. But the longer clips from the event tell us a whole lot more, and make all of it - and Democrats in particular like AOC, who coddle Islam while accusing Republicans of a "war on women" - look so much worse.

Folks on X had questions after watching the following clip, which shows not a single woman in the crowd nor on the stage where AOC was speaking:

As you watch those clips, keep in mind some of the things AOC has previously declared about Republican men, like what she said during an October 2025 CNN town hall where she appeared alongside her Democrat Socialist mentor, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT):

Now, to the question earlier as well, when they talk about Republicans and their success online, they have been successful because they have also been very clear, especially digitally, about what they believe, that women are inferior that do not -- and they do not deserve equal rights, that they believe that LGBTQ Americans are subhuman, that they believe and are circulating disgusting racial and white supremacist messaging that they are able to get away with digitally and online.

And they are able to radicalize and target and exploit a generation of young boys, in particular, away from healthy masculinity and into an insecure masculinity that requires the domination of others who are poorer, browner, darker, or a different gender than them.

And yet just a few sentences later, she told on herself during that same town hall when she reverted to talking about "standing in solidarity" regarding respect for different cultures - the very ones that you, know, actually do subjugate women: 

And so, in order for us to fight back against that, we must be clear about what we believe, have strong beliefs, and also be completely unwilling to bow to that kind of division and stand in solidarity with one another, especially when it is someone whose culture is different from ours or whose background we may not entirely understand, but that we honor, love and see as our fellow Americans

Best Spencer Platt AI ad yet? I think so.

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2658 Lake View Terrace Siler Springs Historic District, owned by Nitha Raman, who hs appled for demolition permit because after all “it’s not like Maryln Monroe lived her for six months or anything”

Treat yourself to a fun 60 seconds on this grey, cold Saturday morning (and don’t miss the doctor’s quiet cough at the end — prefect)

LA Mayoral candidate Nithya Raman, member of both the Democrat and Democratic Socialist of America is oooh, so upset! over Platt’s supporters’ use of AI in political ads, not because they’re effective and killing her and Karen Bass, oh no, it’s because using AI instead of real actors “is an insult to Hollywood.” Uh huh. Her deep concern for humanity also has nothing to do with the fact that AI makes the ads affordable to produce — “they should rely on lobbyists money instead, like real candidates do.”

And she’s weeely, weeely mad about this stunt, even though it used real people, just as she’s demanding.

Brutal karma for Nithya Raman as she goes ballistic over staged homeless encampment outside her home

“I’m glad my kids didn’t have to see that,” Raman told comedian Adam Conover on his podcast released Wednesday before adding, “I thought this campaign was going to be about bike lanes and transportation.” [two issues that polling consistently shows rank far below homelessness, crime and public safety among voter concerns in Los Angeles, per the CA Post]

Raman was referring to a staged Memorial Day protest outside Raman’s Silver Lake-area home.

Footage from the stunt shows homeless people climbing out of tents, staging an open-air barbecue and one individual walking around carrying a bucket as neighbors recorded the scene.

The podcast was quickly shared on online with comment exploding because Raman has spent years defending homeless encampments near schools, parks and neighborhoods across Los Angeles while opposing tougher enforcement restrictions.

Critics immediately accused the Democratic Socialist councilmember of showing a stunning lack of self-awareness as families across Los Angeles continue dealing with encampments outside homes, playgrounds and schools.

“When it’s her own kids, Nithya Raman suddenly cares where homeless encampments are set up,” one viral comment read. “But when it’s your kids near schools and parks? She votes to keep the tents there.”

I don’t think Squarespace is configured to run Instagram videos directly (or I can’t figure out how to do it), but click this link to go to the site — it, too is a delight.

Leaving, on a Jet Plane

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Greenwich resident Cathy Smith has a new (to me) newsletter, Greenwich Wise : lots of local news, but also articles on broader Connecticut issues that affect Greenwich and the state. Here are some recent ones;

Dairy Shutters Its CT Operations, Cutting 205 Jobs

  • 5 days ago

The Guida-Seibert Dairy Co. plant in New Britain is permanently closing. Driven by industry-wide financial strains and a corporate restructuring by its parent cooperative, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), the phased shutdown this summer will eliminate 205 jobs. The New Britain plant, known as Guida's Milk, was founded in 1932 by Frank and Alexander Guida Jr.

Industry Under Pressure

The closure highlights the severe economic squeeze facing Connecticut’s agricultural sector:

  • Rising Costs: High fuel, utility, and fertilizer expenses have driven up production costs.

  • Falling Revenue: Declining wholesale milk prices have eroded profit margins.

The downturn prompted Gov. Ned Lamont to announce $22.5 million in emergency stabilization aid last week to support the state's remaining dairy farms.

Corporate Consolidation

DFA is shuttering the New Britain location to consolidate its fluid milk operations into larger regional facilities in its cooperative network including Franklin, MA, and Rensselaer, NY.

The move follows a gradual transition by DFA, which recently began replacing Guida's branding on local grocery shelves with its sister brand, Garelick Farms.

Between the Lines: With Stanley Black & Decker closing its CT plant this month (affecting 300 jobs)*, the loss of this century-old local operation is already fueling political debate over Connecticut's business climate.

*Nearly 300 Stanley Black & Decker employees will lose their jobs by mid-May

The company will lay off 287 of its 300 employees by May 18.

[FWIW]: There are certainly a variety of forces at work that are hurting businesses here, and the Guida Milk closure cites a number of them specific to the dairy industry, but there’s also this to consider:

Greenwich Wise:

“The Tax Foundation just released its 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index, a tool that enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare across the country.

“The Index evaluates each state on more than 150 variables across five major areas of taxation: corporate, individual income, sales and excise, property and wealth, and unemployment insurance. These metrics are then combined to yield a final, overall ranking.”

“Overall, Connecticut ranks 47th. As the Tax Foundation summarized, Connecticut's tax code makes it less attractive for large corporations, homeowners, and high-net-worth individuals.

“The only states ranking lower in the overall score than Connecticut are California (48th), New Jersey (49th), and New York (50th). Meanwhile, the most tax-competitive states are Wyoming (#1), South Dakota (#2), New Hampshire (#3), Alaska (#4), and Florida (#5).

The Breakdown: Where Connecticut Stands

  • Sales Taxes: 18th (Our best showing—though New Hampshire takes the top spot)

  • Corporate Taxes: 30th (The worst is Delaware)

  • Unemployment Insurance Taxes: 39th (The worst is Alaska)

  • Individual Income Taxes: 46th (The worst are NY, CA, and NJ)

  • Property Taxes: 49th (The worst is Vermont)

No Progress in Six Years

“Connecticut's overall ranking has remained stagnant for six years. Meanwhile, neighbors like New Hampshire (which has no income tax) managed to jump from 6th place in 2025 to 3rd place in 2026 by eliminating its interest and dividends tax.

Full story here

{FWIW]: So what are the Hartford Yahoos doing about this? What they always do: raise taxes on “the rich”; increase corporate and capital gains taxes; enact new laws restricting operations at distribution warehouses; raise the minimum wage; increase and expand the paid “family” leave leave program ((“family” defined as anyone who even knows a sick person, essentially); expand existing social program giveaways and create more; ignore the fraud permeating all those programs and sue to block any attempt by the federal government to investigate them on its own.

All that’s just a sampling; there’s plenty more in the pipeline. And Connecticut voters’ response? Reelect them all.

Gooder and harder.


Well, it might still be a tad high, but better than where it started

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2 potter drive

2 Potter Drive nee 137 Sound Beach Avenue has dropped to $4.398 million, down from its March 11th opening price of $5.2. Its builder pad $1.9 for it exactly one year before, March 11, 2025, and either built new, as claimed, or close enough to it — hard to tell from its pictures, and agents are notoriously generous when it comes to the definition of “new”.

Personally, I thought its predecessor, 137 Sound Beach Avenue, was perfectly nice, but apparently no end-user wanted it, because it was priced at $1.950 and this builder bought it for less.