Brokerage braves brouhaha, keeps doors open through the storm

157 Prince Street
157 Prince Street

While the lights flickered and the streets flooded in Lower Manhattan yesterday, a lone brokerage offered passersby a beacon of hope – and even a chance to view an apartment by flashlight. According to Curbed, Bapple Real Estate in Soho braved the weather, remaining open until midnight with generator-powered Christmas lights and WiFi illuminating the office.

“I just wanted everyone in the neighborhood to feel safe and welcome,” Nick Spanos, founder of Bapple, told Peter Mikkelsen, a reporter who had happened to pass the brightly lit brokerage.

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“I let officers in the area know they were welcome all night to stop in for coffee, to charge their radios, use the bathroom if they needed—and many neighbors as well have stopped in just to charge their phones,” he added.

When asked if they expected to make any deals, Spanos said that one of his agents had shown an apartment next door to the office at 157 Prince Street using a flashlight. “The guy said he needed to move by the first!” Spanos said. [Curbed]Christopher Cameron