Saturday night. Roof top 40th birthday party--Chrysler Building and assorted other skyscrapers shimmering over the cityscape in the distance. The host, a hedge fund guy, thanks everyone for coming "in spite of the tough week." Champagne is passed and a lemon scented birthday cake rolled in on a cart for his wife to blow out the the spritzing sparklers. The DJ played Prince's "1999" but most of the well-heeled crowd--mostly financial types--gathered around talking about what would happen next in stead of heading out on the dance floor.

Would the new condo project at 86th and West End sell out its multi-million dollar "pre-war" apartments. The word in the neighborhood is that sales are slow and slowing. The good news is a nearby project on the drawing boards won't block one partyier's views--it's been shelved. But she looked glum-faced anyway when she thought about how her own coop might lose 20% of its inflated value. And then there was her hubby's bonus--any chance he'd not get one?

It was a bit hush-hush but parent talk at the sushi table centered around how kids were being pulled from a topprivate school--at $41,000 the tuition and extras is hard to swallowwhen you've lost your job at one of the big banks.

A hedge fund marketing chief pondered all the hand-holding she'd face this week as Euro clients called for withdrawals. "We're very low leveraged, but it doesn't matter, everyone wants to pull their money out."

Nearby another hedge funder ("he's one of the most successful in the business") sat slumped in a chair, looking anything but festive. A woman bantered with his wife about going back to serving her son macaroni and cheese. "Maybe hold the cheese," she laughed after having one too many.

Indeed, the berried Persecos and peachy Bellinis went down awfully easily. A few couples started dancing to Nancy Sinatra's--"Boots." They mouthed the words "and one of these days these boots are going to walk all over you."

Indeed, "Party like it's 1999." Unfortunately, it's 2008.

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Jonathan D. Miller

A marketing communication strategist who turned to real estate analysis, Jonathan D. Miller is a foremost interpreter of 21st citistate futures – cities and suburbs alike – seen through the lens of lifestyles and market realities. For more than 20 years (1992-2013), Miller authored Emerging Trends in Real Estate, the leading commercial real estate industry outlook report, published annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has lectures frequently on trends in real estate, including the future of America's major 24-hour urban centers and sprawling suburbs. He also has been author of ULI’s annual forecasts on infrastructure and its What’s Next? series of forecasts. On a weekly basis, he writes the Trendczar blog for GlobeStreet.com, the real estate news website. Outside his published forecasting work, Miller is a prominent communications/institutional investor-marketing strategist and partner in Miller Ryan LLC, helping corporate clients develop and execute branding and communications programs. He led the re-branding of GMAC Commercial Mortgage to Capmark Financial Group Inc. and he was part of the management team that helped build Equitable Real Estate Investment Management, Inc. (subsequently Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc.) into the leading real estate advisor to pension funds and other real institutional investors. He joined the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. in 1981, moving to Equitable Real Estate in 1984 as head of Corporate/Marketing Communications. In the 1980's he managed relations for several of the country's most prominent real estate developments including New York's Trump Tower and the Equitable Center. Earlier in his career, Miller was a reporter for Gannett Newspapers. He is a member of the Citistates Group and a board member of NYC Outward Bound Schools and the Center for Employment Opportunities.