← The Kirsh Connection
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- [00:00]
Andrew Kirsch
This is the first episode of real.
- [00:04]
Talk in 2025, and it's the first episode post Palisades fire. As many of you know, I lost my house in the fire. I lost a house that we were building right around the corner in the fire. My kids lost their school. And it was a loss of an entire community. All of our extracurriculars, the retail, the restaurants, the sports, the park, the rec center, the library, the dance studio, the art studio, you name it. It's been a challenging time. I'm not going to beat around the bush, but we are maintaining our strength and our optimism and trying to regain our stability. And because of everyone who has reached out to us and to my family and it has meant the world. I know there are a couple of organizations that I specifically mentioned in this upcoming podcast, which I'll tell you about, but I left so many people out. Jordana and David Burke, all of Village.
- [01:02]
Giddy Cohen
School.
- [01:04]
Andrew Kirsch
Rachel and Jeff Schwarz, David M. Rooney, Adrien Berger, folks in ypo. I could go on and on and on. John Barish, Sunny Barish. I could. I literally so many people have been so generous in making sure that our.
- [01:24]
Lives.
- [01:27]
Were able to regain some semblance of stability. Whether it's clothes, whether it's sending over food, whether it's just.
- [01:38]
A how are you?
- [01:39]
Message. I just want to say thank you to all of you.
- [01:44]
And so the days right after the fire, a good client and friend of.
- [01:51]
Mine, Giddy Cohen, who's also been on this podcast as a guest, said, hey.
- [01:56]
Andrew, let me interview you on on.
- [02:00]
Real Talk so you can tell your story about the fire and the aftermath. And so this episode, we reverse roles.
- [02:12]
I am the guest. Giddy Cohen is the interviewer.
- [02:16]
And look, as I indicate at the end of the podcast, the reason why I did this particular podcast, to be honest, is for my kids, so that.
- [02:28]
They will they're 10 and 8 and.
- [02:32]
I'm sure they'll always remember this fire.
- [02:35]
But they will be able to listen.
- [02:37]
To this podcast and understand what happened and remember not just the challenging times, but the positivity that came out of it and the selflessness of so many people in the community. Yet there are also some harsh realities as well. So indulge me while I am my own guest on this podcast, and thank you for listening and thank you for all your support.
- [03:13]
Podcast Narrator
Welcome to Real Talk Real Estate discussions with Andrew Kirsch. In each episode, Andrew interviews industry leaders. We'll hear their Real Time opinions on today's market, their background and unique career highlights and guidance for newcomers into the industry. You can find this show@skalarkirsch.com and on YouTube, LinkedIn, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and more. Now here's the host of Real Talk, Andrew Kirsch.
- [03:44]
Andrew Kirsch
Welcome to another edition of Real Talk, the first one of 2025. And I'm here with my good friend Giddy Cohen. And you know, Giddy, I didn't expect that this would be the first podcast of real talk of 2025. And after the fires in the Palisades of January 7th, I was thinking.
- [04:13]
Podcast Narrator
How.
- [04:14]
Andrew Kirsch
Do I tell my story? And you and I have talked off camera a lot and you've been a dear friend during this time. And it was shortly after January 7th where you said, let's do a podcast and you'll interview me. And so today for the first, we're making podcast history for Real Talk. I'm giving up the mic to you, trusting the mic to my dear friend Giddy Cohen. So Giddy, take it away.
- [04:46]
Giddy Cohen
Thank you. Well, I gotta say, I'm a little bit nervous the first time doing it, so hopefully I'm not gonna crash a few. But before we start, tell me how you're doing. How is currently doing Maverick? Clementine? How are the kids doing?
- [05:02]
Andrew Kirsch
So the kids are doing much better than the parents, right? The kids are, they're selfish creatures, right?
- [05:11]
They are.
- [05:12]
Just as long as they're having a good day at school or for Clementine, a good day at dance or Maverick, a good day at sports, it doesn't matter where they live. House, apartment, they have. Me and Courtney, they have. Well, I'll talk about the friend issue, but you know, they, they just are resilient creatures.
- [05:33]
Giddy Cohen
And you guys lost your house in the fire. So first, where do you live now?
- [05:39]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah, so right now it's, it's crazy because we're in Santa Monica in the same apartment that Courtney and I lived in before we had kids. So I was fortunate enough many years ago, I bought a little four unit apartment building off of Montana Avenue, which is probably one of the best streets in all of LA in Santa Monica. It's a little oasis within Santa Monica. And for Courtney, you know, she wanted to replicate the Palisades. The beauty of the Palisades, the walkability of the Palisades. And one of the areas that you can get that was right next to our neighborhood and that was Santa Monica. And so we are in a wonderful location in a cozy two bedroom, two bathroom apartment.
- [06:31]
Giddy Cohen
And the kids are going to the same school. They still have schooling or what's the situation with schooling with the kids.
- [06:37]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah. So unfortunately, the kids school, Village School burnt down. And we were able to.
- [06:45]
I was.
- [06:47]
Throughout January, other than settling my family initially, I spent more time making sure that the school had a home. And I worked with the head of school and the other board members in relocating Village School to an office building called Colorado center, where we're on a sublease through Boston Properties owns it. Edmonds is the tenant. And we worked with Edmonds and Boston Properties to get village school relocated. 55,000 square feet. We have a sublease for about three years. There's a Santa Monica park that's within the envelope of the office project. So for recess and outdoors and lunch, they have a place to be outside as well.
- [07:35]
Giddy Cohen
So you and the rest of the parents actually organize a whole new school for the entire school system or just farm with some of the grades. Some of the kids came, all the kids came. How does it work?
- [07:46]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah, so it's an independent private school, TK through 6th. And I'm on the board and one of the only, I think one or two of the only real estate folks on the board and the only real estate attorney on the board. And so from helping them find it to negotiating the sublease, that's the legal aspect. But from the administration standpoint, they had to buy everything from pencils to desks to computers to sports equipment. They had to replicate the school. And we did it within, gosh, I want to say three to three and a half weeks after the fire.
- [08:31]
Giddy Cohen
So all the parents got together, everybody pulled their weight up, and then this is what. And all the kids moved.
- [08:38]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah, I mean, that's, that's the broader discussion that, that, that I'd love to share. I mean, it's with respect to the school itself. To answer your question specifically, gosh, I don't have the specific numbers. I think the school was around 290 students. I'm going to assume, you know, somewhere around 240 to 250 kids are there. So a good amount. So. So the school has done. The school has done well.
- [09:07]
Giddy Cohen
So 80 of the students moved to the newest facility.
- [09:10]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah.
- [09:10]
Giddy Cohen
And it's also the same thing about the teachers. Yeah.
- [09:14]
Andrew Kirsch
Oh, I think all the teachers came as well.
- [09:18]
Giddy Cohen
And for what? You know, because there were other schools in Pacific palace and it were affecting by the fire. So they all came to the same solutions or where are the rest? Because I understand that we're dealing with your issue, but your issue, obviously is reflecting 6,000 other families that suffer from the same thing. So how did everybody else manage?
- [09:37]
Andrew Kirsch
So this is one example, like there are some examples where private school can outperform public school, but there's other examples where public school can outperform private school. Public school has a ton of real estate. And so Pali elementary was basically half burned. They got to Brentwood Magnet School a couple miles away. Marquez elementary School, which is a public school, totally burnt down. They, they were able to go to another public facility. The private schools, they don't have those other campuses at their disposal. So it was really a free for all where the, each school was on their own, the private schools having to make their own, making their own plans. Right. Making, making it work out of, out of an office building.
- [10:31]
Giddy Cohen
So I remember the day of the fire. I spoke to you, I think that day, or maybe a day after, you encouraged me within a state of shock, if I know, if I'm not mistaken, you drove to Palm Springs for a few days just to kind of come.
- [10:45]
Andrew Kirsch
At your suggestion, by the way, come.
- [10:47]
Giddy Cohen
Down and control the kids, making sure that everybody's in a good, healthy space. Yeah. What happened there? Just walk me through the first couple of weeks.
- [10:55]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah, just to.
- [10:55]
Giddy Cohen
So also I'm curious to see it just emotionally, mentally, what you guys went through. I mean, I mean, you guys lost homes is one thing, but you had a lot of personal stuff in it that has much more value than just money. So if you can walk us through it a little bit just to kind.
- [11:12]
Andrew Kirsch
Of get it, you have five hours. All right, let's.
- [11:15]
Giddy Cohen
It's your time.
- [11:16]
Andrew Kirsch
So, yeah, let's first talk about January 7th. Actually, let's go back because it's important to provide some context, at least as it relates to me and my family. We just got back from an amazing Europe, two week European trip. I don't call it a vacation. I specifically use the word trip because when you're traveling with a 10 and 8 year old in cold cities without skiing, by the way, it was a trip, but it was an amazing time. But as anyone knows, after two weeks of traveling, especially to Europe and the logistics, you're ready to come home. And so we come home late that January 5th. It was, it was chaos at, you know, LAX, everyone coming home from their winter vacation. We got home late January 6th, was a Monday. The kids actually did not have school that day. And Courtney did her normal walk around the Palisades. She goes from her house to the bluffs overlooking the ocean, through the downtown Palisades, back to our house about an hour to an hour and a half walk and on that walk, on that Monday, it was a crystal blue day, you know, beautiful winter day in la. She calls me and she said, I loved our trip, but my gosh, I am so happy to be home.
- [12:39]
Right?
- [12:41]
We don't need to move anywhere. I mean, it was just her recognizing of how special of a place we live in. And even thinking it's now been two months, I'm still getting emotional over that conversation. So that was Monday, Tuesday, she calls me at about 11 in the morning. She's on that walk. She says, you know, there's a fire that has started in. In the hillside. And it seems like it's getting closer. I think I'm going to get the kids out of school. I said, come on, we see fires all the time in the hillside. I think you're being paranoid. She hangs up.
- [13:27]
Giddy Cohen
Nine.
- [13:27]
Andrew Kirsch
Kurt. Yeah? Ten minutes later, she says, no, Andrew, you don't understand. This is getting closer. I'm getting the kids. We'll be in touch. I was like, oh, my God. Okay, according. You're being paranoid. Ridiculous. Do what you feel is right. That's now 11 o', clock, 11:30. She calls me. She says, I think you should come home. The kids are in an emotional state. It's a lot closer than you think.
- [13:59]
Giddy Cohen
Come home.
- [14:00]
Andrew Kirsch
And I mean, I'm. We're. I'm back in work mode. We were gone for over two weeks. I want to be in the office. I said, I've got a lunch meeting. She said, no, you don't understand. Get your ass home now. Okay, so I'm. I'm driving home from Century City to the Palisades, and I'm seeing an exodus of cars from the Palisades. Getting out of the Palisades, I'm like, oh, my God, I don't even know how I'm gonna get out of the Palisades.
- [14:27]
Giddy Cohen
It is.
- [14:28]
Andrew Kirsch
It was like Dodger Stadium, Rose Bowl, Hollywood bowl, like the worst parking exodus situation you have seen. And so I get home, the kids were emotional. I'm seeing, you know, fire and smoke in the distance. Not right where we. Where we are. They're packing up a few things. I'm helping them get together, you know, their belongings. My daughter is like, daddy, we need to go. Let's leave. Had I known what I know now, if I apply, if. If I just took a beat and just said, okay, what do I need to get out of the house? If we're truly getting evacuated and there's a risk of a fire, right? So we took our passports, we took our birth Certificates, Okay. I held Courtney's jewelry box. And she said, just put it down, we're leaving. The last thing I took was Maverick's baseball glove. It was sitting on a chair right next to the front door. And that thing took six months of me breaking it in for it, for him to be able to use it. And I said, this house is going down. I'm not buying a new glove for him. I took the glove. So here's what we had in our car. Our passports, our birth certificates, some stuffed animals for the kids, maybe a pair of clothes for a day or two. And his baseball glove. We didn't take the jewelry box. We didn't take a lot of clothes. And everybody in. In my neighborhood, they all say the same thing. We should have. What were we thinking if we were evacuating for a day? The reason why you evacuate is because there is a risk that your house may burn down. Take as much as you can. And we didn't.
- [16:19]
Giddy Cohen
Your, your head was in a different survival mode. It was not about this, about, let me get my kids out. Let me get out of here. Let me find a safe place. I want to get out of here. Let's not worry about everything in the house, which is understandable in circumstances like that.
- [16:32]
Andrew Kirsch
So the last. So we had evacuated before. A few years ago, there was a fire. We went to my in laws house, literally just down the block, like a mile away. Not even why. Why we just went there, I have no idea. But we went there. I was still working on purchase and sale agreements. I was on conference calls. One o' clock turned into two, turned into three. Courtney says, we got to start getting some hotel reservations. This isn't good. I said, come on, this is crazy. What are we talking about here? If the fire gets to the Alphabet streets, which is my neighborhood next to Caruso's village. I said, if the fire gets there, this city is screwed. The Palisades is done. That's not going to happen. I said, we live next to one of the most desirable, wealthy, expensive shopping areas in the city. In Caruso's village. We literally are one block away from a fire station. We are not in hillside. We are flat, dense area. There's no way this fire is getting to us. And that was a thought of everybody who lived in.
- [17:41]
Giddy Cohen
And that was all November 7th, January. When did you find out the house is done?
- [17:47]
Andrew Kirsch
All right. So later that afternoon, Courtney's parents house got into the evacuation zone. We had to leave there. So where do we go? So we went. Ended up at the sofitel Hotel, who our mutual friend Alana Body owns. And it was like a Palisades refugee camp, right?
- [18:08]
Everyone.
- [18:09]
You couldn't even get any other hotel room. Every hotel in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, South Bay was totally booked. Courtney's pissed off at me saying I told you so. We needed to get our act together along. Was able, was nice enough, able to get a few rooms. And then that night we're having dinner and reports are coming in, you know, people's ring alarm systems were go, either going off and then going black. People getting alerts on their phones so we could tell that had approached our neighborhood. And then you turn on the local news and it was, it was Armageddon. It was just fine.
- [18:59]
I knew then.
- [18:59]
I didn't know my specific house burnt down, but I knew our neighborhood was on fire.
- [19:06]
Giddy Cohen
When did you know about the house?
- [19:08]
Andrew Kirsch
I got at visual confirmation, my father in law who's approaching 80 years old said screw it. At like 7 in the morning he drives there and says, I'm gonna take a look to see what happened. And he called and he said, my house is gone. His other daughter, my sister in law's house is gone. We lived a block away and his house had survived. They lived in. So now, so you wake up, it's now the morning of January and you.
- [19:45]
Giddy Cohen
Know that the house is gone.
- [19:46]
Andrew Kirsch
The house is gone, the neighborhood is gone. And before I get into what we did January 8th, let me just talk about the hours the, the middle of the night, January 7th, okay. Going into January 8th. So we get. So my immediate family gets two hotel rooms. I, I share a room with Maverick and Courtney shares a room with Clementine. My in laws were there, my sister in law was there, they were on their own. I'm sharing a bed with Maverick and I turn the TV off. I want him to sleep. I'm looking at my phone, text messages, WhatsApp chats, anything on Twitter. Scene reports come in 12 o', clock, 1 o', clock, 2 in the morning. And I'm just sopping, just crying. Maverick wakes up. Dad, Daddy. Why are you crying? Are you crying? No, no. Go back to sleep. It was easily the worst, the worst night of sleep. Well, I didn't even sleep, right. Overly emotional and asking myself, why am I overly emotional, right? Why am I crying? So like not even crying, just sobbing like uncontrollably. Hadn't cried like this at a, you know, grandparents funeral. Hadn't cried like this where, you know, Courtney and I had miscarriages late in, in a pregnancy and I was Crying not for the loss of personal items, but it was the loss or knowing that my kids childhood would never be the same. That the way of life that we had up until that day is not going to be replicated. That the walking to school is now gone or at least for several years.
- [22:03]
Giddy Cohen
Are you saying it knowing it now or then you knew that.
- [22:06]
Andrew Kirsch
Why you crying while I was crying? I, I just knew the walking to the park for Little League, the walking to the school, to running into everybody.
- [22:16]
Giddy Cohen
The memories and the experiences, the memories.
- [22:18]
Andrew Kirsch
And, and, and the next several years of my life of what I was expecting, expecting it to be of having elementary school kids. Right. And knowing just in my head of how long it would take for the Palisades to get back to, to what it was is going to be, is going to take long enough. It is going to take a, A, a period of time that my kids are. I don't say outgrowth what the Palisades had to offer, but all of the things that the Palisade sort of caters to at that elementary school age, kid age that they're gonna miss it.
- [23:02]
Giddy Cohen
So you, you in the middle of the night sitting there feeling everything that I build, my dream, the way of living, everything that it's like I have foundation, I have control of, it's gone. Somebody took it away from me. Yeah. And you feel kind of vulnerable and not sure how to handle it and not sure what to tell Maverick at that point.
- [23:22]
Andrew Kirsch
Exactly. I didn't know what to say. I. How do you tell.
- [23:26]
Giddy Cohen
How do.
- [23:27]
Andrew Kirsch
And for him. So the. My both my kids said two very poignant things when they woke up in the morning and we told them that our house was gone. Maverick, who's eight and a boy and not as emotionally developed as my daughter, you know, he says, daddy, I just wish that when we were driving away from our house that I took a longer look at the house knowing that's the last time I'm gonna see it.
- [23:59]
Giddy Cohen
Sounds like you're more emotionally involved than you think he is. Totally.
- [24:02]
Andrew Kirsch
I know. And that's why it was very, it would. That was gut wrenching. But even more gut wrenching was when Clementine says, daddy, what do you think it felt like for my stuffed animals for my Barbie Dream House to be burning to my, for my room to be on fire? Did they, did they feel anything? What was it like in there? How do you answer a 10 year old?
- [24:35]
Giddy Cohen
Do you think? I'm not a psychologist, but do you think she was projecting about how she would feel and connected to the Animals or she was really. So how did you tell them about when the house got burned down?
- [24:48]
Andrew Kirsch
I just said it was. Unfortunately our. Our house and many thousands of others burnt down.
- [24:54]
Giddy Cohen
And that was her first reaction about the.
- [24:56]
Andrew Kirsch
Stephanie, you know, it wasn't the first, but it was one of her first reactions. But they were sad, but they were. It was almost like they were contemplating trying to put it together. Like, what did this, what just happened? What does this mean? What do we do next? Mom, dad, what are we going to do? I haven't experienced this, and it's a trauma.
- [25:23]
Giddy Cohen
It's definitely a trauma.
- [25:25]
Andrew Kirsch
And so in talking with you.
- [25:28]
Giddy Cohen
You.
- [25:29]
Andrew Kirsch
You strongly encouraged us to. In order to get in the right headspace to get out of town. And so we just got in our cars and we drove east and we went to Prom Springs.
- [25:43]
Giddy Cohen
And you spent like a few days there?
- [25:45]
Andrew Kirsch
It was more like two and a half weeks.
- [25:47]
Giddy Cohen
You spent two and a half weeks?
- [25:48]
Andrew Kirsch
Wow. Yeah, about two weeks.
- [25:50]
Giddy Cohen
Two.
- [25:50]
Andrew Kirsch
Two to two and a half weeks.
- [25:52]
Giddy Cohen
Now, I know Courtney, she's a very emotional lady. Super strong, but very emotional. And you hear the man in the house, the leader of the house needs to control two babies, Courtney and yourself.
- [26:06]
Andrew Kirsch
And a dog.
- [26:07]
Giddy Cohen
And a dog. How. How do you do it? Where is the strength to come in and say, hey, listen, this is my time to show up? Because that's really your time to show up. And I know you did.
- [26:18]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah, well, I don't want to be chauvinistic and. And because Courtney showed up as much, if not more than I did.
- [26:25]
Giddy Cohen
So I, I didn't mean to be chauvinistic that way.
- [26:28]
Andrew Kirsch
So I go back to, I guess just either how I am or my training as a. As a transactional lawyer. And I think as, like I say, as men, but just me, specifically as an athlete, as a Catholic, I am task oriented.
- [26:48]
Giddy Cohen
Yes. Right.
- [26:50]
Andrew Kirsch
And so I just created my checklist and knew there were a lot of things I had to accomplish dealing with insurance lenders. And primarily.
- [27:04]
Giddy Cohen
So you more enjoyed task mode.
- [27:05]
Andrew Kirsch
Task mode. And primarily it was the school. How do I get. How do I help the school? And it was Courtney who was thinking more big picture. Do we leave California? Do we stay in California but leave la? It was those. That decision of what do we do? Like, the short term decisions was what I was focusing on. And although tedious, I could put my arms around them. And I. And I had a plan to address them. The hardest question to answer was, where do we live? We are blessed with having a lot of options. There are. There are Quite a few people, whether it's Altadena or Palisadians, who don't have options. We have options. But with that, those options creates anxiety and nervousness and fear. Fear. If I leave la, what impact will that have on my law firm? Fear of. What kind of impact will that have on my kids? Will they be able to be as happy as they were?
- [28:31]
Giddy Cohen
I want to go to your law firm in a minute, but I want to still stay. Just before you went to Palm Spring, you came here to the office.
- [28:36]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah. And I ran into you.
- [28:38]
Giddy Cohen
I met you guys in the park.
- [28:39]
Andrew Kirsch
That's right.
- [28:39]
Giddy Cohen
I saw you and Courtney and the kids get in the minivan.
- [28:42]
Andrew Kirsch
Yep.
- [28:42]
Giddy Cohen
And heading to Palm Spring.
- [28:43]
Andrew Kirsch
Yep.
- [28:44]
Giddy Cohen
And when I saw you guys, I gotta say that I felt like you guys are unit. I look at you and Courtney had a new eyes. The kids were in the backseat. I feel okay. Those guys got it. I mean, yes, they're in state of crisis, but they got it today. Are you guys using any therapist, family consultant together? Are you seeing the kids? Are seeing anyone? Because it is a traumatic experience and they're going to carry it and we all going to carry to the rest of our life. Obviously kids are more resilient than us, but there is some scars that will come from it.
- [29:18]
Andrew Kirsch
I have not yet seen a therapist. We do need to see a family therapist. My daughter is seeing one. I think of. We're all still.
- [29:32]
Affected.
- [29:33]
We will always be affected. I think it has affected my daughter.
- [29:40]
More.
- [29:41]
And so we wanted her to talk with a therapist. But it needs to be done. I want it to be done in a, in a family manner, family setting.
- [29:53]
Giddy Cohen
Did you take the case to see.
- [29:54]
Andrew Kirsch
The house after burned out separately? I, I, I took, I took Maverick and Courtney took Clementine.
- [30:06]
Giddy Cohen
How was. What was the reaction or more the expression? Not so much what they said.
- [30:11]
Andrew Kirsch
Maverick's expression was, where's my baseball bat? Though he was more amazed at. Because when you drive, and I do encourage as many people to drive through the Palisades just to see the. The scope of the devastation is unbelievable. Yet there are certain houses and buildings that remain. Now some. The Caruso village he's talked publicly about it had both materials and a private firefighting unit that saved his, his building. But there are random homes and random buildings that did not have private fire and they're standing and you just wonder, how did. That's what he kept asking. How did that house survive? How did that building survive? Clementine, she was fine when she saw our house, but when she saw her School in. In just rubble. She cried, she broke down. And Courtney wishes she never went. That not. Courtney doesn't wish that Clementine never went. Courtney wishes that she never went because she would have liked the last impression that she has of our house in the Palisades of just being intact, even though she has seen all the footage. It's one thing to see it on your phone, it's another thing to experience it, to smell it.
- [31:37]
Giddy Cohen
It's a whole different memory now.
- [31:38]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah.
- [31:39]
Giddy Cohen
Yeah. Are you going to rebuild?
- [31:42]
Andrew Kirsch
So it's a great question. And the answer to that question changes daily.
- [31:50]
Giddy Cohen
That's fair. That's more than fair. First, if you rebuild, which means you're going to stay in LA.
- [31:56]
Andrew Kirsch
I'm stay. I'm 90% staying in LA.
- [31:59]
Giddy Cohen
That's good to know. We don't want to lose you.
- [32:01]
Andrew Kirsch
Courtney was talking with BRO had us literally moving to Nashville.
- [32:04]
Giddy Cohen
Nashville, out of all places. No, that's a good rain for a couple of weekends, but that's about it.
- [32:11]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah.
- [32:11]
Giddy Cohen
You know, I mean, I can see you moving to Orange county, maybe even to our county.
- [32:15]
Andrew Kirsch
She has moving there too. Yeah, but Rancho Santa Fe.
- [32:18]
Giddy Cohen
Yeah, but. So you don't know yet if you're.
- [32:21]
Andrew Kirsch
Going to be built. Here's the issue. There's a. The big debate now is how long will it take for the Palisades to get back. If you asked a hundred people, you literally will get 100 answers. Right. It's like Thanksgiving dinner and, and everyone having their own opinion.
- [32:47]
Giddy Cohen
Sounds fair about everything else in politics in la. Okay.
- [32:50]
Andrew Kirsch
Right. Some people think you'll. We'll be back by the end of 26. Other people think it's going to be five to seven years. I think it's gonna be somewhere in between.
- [32:58]
Giddy Cohen
So let's assume it's five years. How is that gonna drive you?
- [33:02]
Andrew Kirsch
Okay, so if my kids were literally babies or if they were teenagers, I would say I'm rebuilding. I don't care about the time because if they were very young and it takes three, four, five years, great. The house will be built in the prime childhood time period for them to enjoy the palaces. And if they were teenagers, you know, I, I would want a house for, you know, for them to come back to. Or. Or I have less concern about. I have less concern about the time because they've already sort of outgrown the house. But they're in this peak prime adolescent years of 10 and 8 where I want their childhood to resume today. And that is the question that every family of similar age kids are facing. There are some people who literally moved on January 8th. They had a second home gone. If they had family in a different part of the country, gone.
- [34:15]
Giddy Cohen
When you, when your kids are eight, it's a different Runway because by the time. If it's five years, really it was seven years. By the time they'll go back to 13 years. So that five years you're going to lose. And. And having a real home.
- [34:25]
Andrew Kirsch
Correct.
- [34:27]
Giddy Cohen
So that's what drives the decision. So you're very pragmatic about it.
- [34:30]
Andrew Kirsch
What about the emotional part?
- [34:31]
Giddy Cohen
You're going back to a house got burned down. Entire street is going to be rebuilt. It's almost you moving to a whole different neighborhood. The field change, the energy change. You're looking at houses from their 20s to 30s. All of a sudden everything is 20, 25. I mean, you're moving to almost like new development.
- [34:51]
Andrew Kirsch
Well, that's the thing. I mean, what the Palisades was on January 7th is not what it's going to be three to five years from now or whenever it's finished.
- [35:00]
Giddy Cohen
Plus the memories, the memories of the fire, the trauma, the. Go back to it every day.
- [35:03]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah.
- [35:04]
Giddy Cohen
You know, without taking part of this decision.
- [35:05]
Andrew Kirsch
I don't know it. Not for me, but maybe my family, it could. I don't want to speak for them. Let me give you a couple of examples of why. Why it's hard to just move back. Because even if you move back and the Palisades are going to be great, I mean, come on. It is. It is irreplaceable property, location adjacent to the ocean, a set of top of the bluffs, a little oasis within this big metropolis.
- [35:33]
Giddy Cohen
Right.
- [35:33]
Andrew Kirsch
It will come back. But for us, the question is who will. Who will be? The ones who repopulate won't be.
- [35:44]
Giddy Cohen
What's a demographic? What's a new demographic?
- [35:46]
Andrew Kirsch
A lot of our friends. And the one example that I'll use is Maverick is on, or was on an all star baseball team last summer. It was a great team, great families. We all have kids of the same age. We hang out together. It was. It just. It was a special group. It went from baseball to flag football to soccer to basketball, back to baseball. It was a cycle.
- [36:10]
Giddy Cohen
Right.
- [36:11]
Andrew Kirsch
You run into them of his 12, at least for the core baseball team. Of the 12, 13 kids, nine are gone. Will they come back? Maybe, maybe not. But they're not in West LA right now. They're in Park City, Sun Valley, Dallas, San Diego, Orange County, Manhattan Beach. And what's happening is they're establishing new relationships, new connections New schools. And so even if you ask those people, are you coming back? They may say yes today, but in two to three years, if it could.
- [36:47]
Giddy Cohen
Be a total grave in different places. Yeah. The roots. New roots, new life.
- [36:51]
Andrew Kirsch
Right. And so that is. And so I go back to why was I crying so much on that night?
- [36:58]
Giddy Cohen
It.
- [36:58]
Andrew Kirsch
It's because I just knew it wouldn't be the same.
- [37:01]
Giddy Cohen
Yeah. It's devastating for you and 600,000 families. And it just. It just. I'm looking here to report 105,000 people evacuated. 105,000. 23,000 acres, 6,000 homes.
- [37:17]
Andrew Kirsch
It's insane.
- [37:19]
Giddy Cohen
It's insane. All right, let's go to your practice, if that's okay. You are definitely one of the most well known attorneys in real estate. Attorney in la. You have lots of clients. A lot of people live in Pacific Palisade. You obviously very much aware of the political environment that we are in LA right now. And I'm sure you had your personal opinion before January 7th and you have a different opinion.
- [37:49]
Andrew Kirsch
Of what specifically?
- [37:50]
Of the government.
- [37:51]
Giddy Cohen
Not the government. It's just about the LA in specific ways. LA heading.
- [37:56]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah.
- [37:57]
So before January 7th, I was as excited for 2000 as for the new year. I was. I would say I was more excited for this coming year than I have been for many years. We have been in a two to three year recession.
- [38:17]
Whatever you want, whatever the government calls it.
- [38:19]
The real estate industry has been in a recession since May of 22, spring of 22. So that was two and a half. More than two and a half years of clients having challenges. Clients going to me on loan workouts, modifications, short client having two challenges.
- [38:39]
Giddy Cohen
One of them is with the government in Los Angeles. Political government and the real estate market.
- [38:44]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah. Okay.
- [38:45]
Giddy Cohen
So because I'd like you to touch the two of them. I'm more concerned about the LA environment versus the.
- [38:51]
Andrew Kirsch
It'll. It'll. It'll combine. It'll combine.
- [38:56]
Giddy Cohen
It's my first interview.
- [38:57]
Andrew Kirsch
I know, I know, I know. Figure it out as I go.
- [39:00]
Giddy Cohen
You know what?
- [39:00]
Andrew Kirsch
You're doing a decent, decent job. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, thank you. So I'm gonna take some points. Yeah. All right, so. So look, we had the presidential election. We had in 4Q24, a lot of optimism. Regardless of your political affiliation. It doesn't matter. People were finally excited for 25 from a capital markets perspective, doing deals, doing transactions. They liked where things were fundamentally. And there was a trend of my clients previously focusing their efforts in the Sunbelt region of Vegas, Phoenix, Texas, Nashville, Florida, Carolinas. And there was a, A, a shift over the last, I don't know, six months of capital wanting to come back to coastal markets. I saw it, I saw I had done more deals in the last six months from Pacific Northwest to California than I had done in the last several years. So I was excited for all of that.
- [40:10]
Giddy Cohen
Is that new money or local money like local developers and investors?
- [40:14]
Andrew Kirsch
I would say, I would say both. I would say, I would say that capital got, has gotten, that they, that they just felt that in these oversupplied markets where you could just build forever that rents got really depressed and they, there was an effort or desire to go back to supply constrained markets. They may not want to be in the city of la, but maybe business frequency friendly communities in Southern California. So I was excited for, for the new year and after the fires and seeing, look, we knew that day we had unprecedented winds. It was hurricane type winds. We live where hillside meets dense infill areas. We knew there would be homes that were going to burn down. But 6,000 and however many other damage homes that were damaged because of smoke we're talking about, I think it's just, I don't even think it's debatable. I think it's the worst fire to affect a city in the history of the United States. It's gotta be. And probably one of the worst in the world. Government had a government failed us, 6,000 homes should not burn. And so when you start hearing about a hundred million gallon reservoir being empty because of a hundred thousand dollar repair and it has taken over a year, that's government failing us. When you hear about not enough water pressure coming out of hydrants in the second biggest city in America and probably one of the top 10 economies in the world. We look at if LA was its own country and not having enough water and water pressure, that's government failing us. And when you talk about why the hillside brush hadn't been cleared in years, that's government failing this.
- [42:47]
Giddy Cohen
So do you believe that this is a wake up call and do you believe it's really going to make a difference?
- [42:53]
Andrew Kirsch
When you say make a difference, can you, can you be more specific?
- [42:56]
Giddy Cohen
Yes. I mean government failures. There is negligence in almost all the departments, police, fire departments, emergencies negligence across the boards. There are policies that definitely not pro investors and pro developers. They are cluster within the building and safety and all the permits. So that's where the difference is. Do you think that because of the fire government will come, the mayor, the governor will wake up and say okay. This is a time to fix it all. And if they. If. If they see it and if they're capable.
- [43:33]
Andrew Kirsch
All right, so a couple things. One, I think government's primary job is to keep us safe.
- [43:41]
Giddy Cohen
That's it.
- [43:42]
Andrew Kirsch
Right. Everything else is sort of gravy.
- [43:45]
Giddy Cohen
But we haven't been safe in the lay between crime and homelessness. That's six, seven years.
- [43:49]
Andrew Kirsch
That's my point. So government has failed us. If you're.
- [43:52]
Giddy Cohen
That's before the fire.
- [43:53]
Andrew Kirsch
I agree. And so if you are misallocating funds where it should be going, if you aren't fully funding your fire department and fully funding your police department to fund other programs, our priorities are not aligned.
- [44:10]
Giddy Cohen
But funding is not an issue. There was $20 billion if went to homeless. Nobody can count for.
- [44:15]
Andrew Kirsch
It's not about funding.
- [44:16]
Giddy Cohen
It's the allocation, and it's the supervision of the allocation.
- [44:18]
Andrew Kirsch
100%.
- [44:19]
Giddy Cohen
Okay.
- [44:19]
Andrew Kirsch
So I'm with you. I 100% agree. I am. I am pissed off. I am angry that we didn't have enough water, that we didn't have enough firefighting personnel, that it took Mayor Bass until. I understand, 7pm to call state of emergency, which had. She called it earlier.
- [44:41]
Giddy Cohen
She was out of the country.
- [44:42]
Andrew Kirsch
She was in Ghana. Which did not help my pay.
- [44:45]
Giddy Cohen
Yeah.
- [44:46]
Andrew Kirsch
Did not help my home. You ask if, though.
- [44:49]
Giddy Cohen
But back to the question. Is that changing your view or. Your view was there before.
- [44:54]
Andrew Kirsch
Oh, I see.
- [44:54]
Giddy Cohen
And now this is just like the. Nail it.
- [44:58]
Andrew Kirsch
So somebody once told me, when something happens to your neighbor, you're. You're a Democrat. When something happens to you, you become a Republican.
- [45:09]
Giddy Cohen
Something happened to your neighbor. You're a socialist.
- [45:11]
Andrew Kirsch
Okay.
- [45:12]
Giddy Cohen
Somebody happened to you, you become a Republican.
- [45:16]
Andrew Kirsch
So I do see a changing tide. I see people who. And I'm a moderate.
- [45:22]
Giddy Cohen
Right.
- [45:23]
Andrew Kirsch
I voted for Democrats.
- [45:24]
I've.
- [45:25]
I actually haven't voted for many Republicans, but I'm going to start voting. I think more that way. There just needs to be a more common sense, practical approach. You know, you look at Rick Caruso, he's a very practical person. I. I wonder what things would have been like had he been in charge.
- [45:45]
Giddy Cohen
But here's the thing. You have a big practice here. Yeah. And you in the intersection right now making a decision about where am I going to live, which Courtney said, you can move to Nashville and where do I want to practice law. Yep.
- [46:00]
Andrew Kirsch
And.
- [46:00]
Giddy Cohen
And even if I stay here and I live here, is my practice in my life and my family A, as safe and B, am I going to be able to provide under this environment?
- [46:09]
Andrew Kirsch
That's what everyone is, is grappling with.
- [46:12]
Giddy Cohen
But not everybody's here. You're here. So where is your head?
- [46:19]
Andrew Kirsch
I think if I had the, the balls, I would. I'm a risk taker, but for some reason there's something holding me back here. I would like to go on adventure. I am jealous of the people, of my friends who have moved, whether it's temporarily or permanently, to experience life outside of la. Now, I did go to college in law school.
- [46:44]
Giddy Cohen
Yeah. People here don't know that you and I know each other for years and we have a lot of those conversations.
- [46:50]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah.
- [46:50]
Giddy Cohen
If you remember at one point of your life, you wanted, you want to move to San Francisco. What was that?
- [46:57]
Andrew Kirsch
Golden State Warriors.
- [47:00]
Giddy Cohen
And if that offer went through, you would be gone. There was a time when you and Courtney was talking again about where to.
- [47:05]
Andrew Kirsch
Live, what to move, and a lot.
- [47:07]
Giddy Cohen
Of personal stuff that we want to know. And you said to yourself, if I had the balls. Now I know you had the ball. It's not about that. But why not? And I'm not that I'm not trying to get you out. I'm just trying to figure out here and to share why not knowing Courtney, I know you and her will be good in the way, the way you go and you'll be able to provide to your family. Why staying? I mean, you and your late 40s.
- [47:30]
Andrew Kirsch
I'm gonna be 50 in four months.
- [47:32]
Giddy Cohen
That's late 40s.
- [47:33]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah.
- [47:34]
Giddy Cohen
So you're in your late 40s, you have two young kids, you basically in the place in your life that if not now, it's pretty much gonna make ever. Never. So why not? It's not balls.
- [47:50]
Andrew Kirsch
I think it's. It's a couple things. One, as co founder of my firm, leader of my real estate group, wanting people to be back in the office, moving to another office in a couple months. Even associates of mine, colleagues of mine said when I was gone for a month, said it wasn't the same without me here. I feel as the, as the captain of the ship, I need to be in la. Not just for the law firm itself, but having my pulse, finger on the pulse of what's going on. Even though my practice is national, I want to know what's going on locally. But of the 20 to 30 calls I do in a day, I don't know, maybe only half of them are with people in la. And even those that are I, that are in la, you know how tough it is to navigate around the city. I may only see those people a couple Times in la.
- [48:56]
Giddy Cohen
But I want to share something because when that happened, you know, I moved to Malibu right now. Yeah.
- [49:01]
Andrew Kirsch
Point Doom.
- [49:02]
Giddy Cohen
And I have to give the house back because I can't commute now. It's like two hours commute. Plus the drive to Malibu right now in PCH is just not the same. You feel like you're driving in the war zone. It's a demonstrating. They took a beautiful scenery, putting, you know, that street on the road, and all of a sudden you're looking out there and it's not the same. And I was thinking to myself, and I was talking to Noga and the kids about, should we move? And what helped me back here is you and the community.
- [49:31]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah.
- [49:32]
Giddy Cohen
I just can think of me in this age going out there somewhere else and build a new community.
- [49:38]
Andrew Kirsch
That's what I. I've always said that. Yeah, that is what's d. It's Duke.
- [49:41]
Giddy Cohen
I rather do business somewhere else, but leave here. I just, I have friends here for over 30 years. I mean, even then, we don't see each other much. I mean, the day of the fight, you and I spoke and I saw you.
- [49:52]
Andrew Kirsch
The day after, I run into people, whether it's Beverly Hills, Century City, Santa Monica, Brentwood, all the time. If I were to move, even maybe not Manhattan beach, there's a lot of our, you know, real estate community down there. But if I just moved to Orange county or city, San Diego or somewhere.
- [50:09]
Giddy Cohen
Else different, Palm Spring, I mean, whatever.
- [50:12]
Andrew Kirsch
You don't have those organic runnings. And although I. Although I am confident that I would be able to rebuild my network, it's daunting and it, I, I've now been a lawyer for 25 years now. I can't believe that quarter of a century. I don't want to have to rebuild my network.
- [50:35]
Giddy Cohen
And it's not just about network. It's a personal relationship. It's not just a business relationship. It's the personal relationship. In our age, making new friends, you know, you and I don't see each other, but I know at any given time we're calling each other and it's there.
- [50:46]
Andrew Kirsch
And if I needed to see you, you need to see me, we would drop everything.
- [50:50]
Giddy Cohen
So going out there and start fresh, it's. It's. I don't know, it's devastating. It's not easy. It is.
- [50:55]
Andrew Kirsch
But now, let's just talk about a new family here, Cordy's family. And they, they are an unbelievable. I mean, it's unbelievable to have them so close from, From, From. From an Assistance. But let's talk about reality for a second. And although you know, you, you do, you do mostly multif family, but you've done single family homes here and you know, most of my business is, is still commercial or multifamily. The single family market right now, I mean it's insane. You have 6,000 displaced Palestinians now.
- [51:36]
Giddy Cohen
Some have moved, 30% already moved from some of the stats.
- [51:40]
Andrew Kirsch
Okay, I believe it. Maybe they have moved for six to 12 months, to 24 months. We don't know. But if you want to replicate your life from the Palisades, people are moving to Santa Monica, Brentwood, Manhattan beach, maybe Beverly Hills. Maybe they're moving north to Montecito to buy a house. That market. In those markets, prices have gone up, I'm going to say 25 to 30% overnight just because of supply and demand.
- [52:15]
Giddy Cohen
And it's going to be a pretty challenging place to live because I'm just thinking about the route to construction to Pacific palace at, to sunset and the 10 freeway of BCH. I mean you're going to have trucks there at 4 o' clock in the morning queuing to Pacific palace to build those 6,000 homes. So how do you live in Santa Monica when you have all this traffic back and forth?
- [52:37]
Andrew Kirsch
It's possible. Look, I.
- [52:38]
Giddy Cohen
Anything from east, I mean west of the 4 or 5, it's going to be a nightmare of traffic for whatever amount of years. According to speculation, it could be two years, can be 10 years.
- [52:48]
Andrew Kirsch
So I can't help myself but ask you a question as moderator real talk the discussion of how long it will take to rebuild the Palisades. There may be some people who are able to rebuild their individual home faster than anyone rebuilding for me. Exactly. I don't want to live through one of the greatest reconstruction projects in our city's history. So when do you think it will take someone like me to rest my head on a pillow in the Palisades and not have construction trucks going up and down my street? Having schools, having retail, having the parks, having my community back.
- [53:34]
Giddy Cohen
Don't have a question board, but we go. It's just in a. I put my developer hand for a second. Infrastructure contamination, city planning, all this at best a year, probably up to two years. That's just to get you to a path that you'll be able to build now. You'll be able to build some homes, but it's actually going there and not dealing with construction and everything else. To build a 5,000 6,000 square female, the minimum is eight months. Let's call it up to a year and a half and then so you doesn't matter how you see it is three to four years right there. That's assuming everything goes smooth. So in my opinion, to go back to a place that you drive in Pacific Palisade and you gonna say to yourself what happened here five years ago? Like this is pretty much like a new. A new neighborhood in my opinion. At least five years. That's right. And they can take up to seven. At best is three and a half to four. But I don't see you driving on a PCH or all brand new homes, all infrastructure there. People are back going to a restaurant and back to normal. I don't see it in anything less.
- [54:45]
Andrew Kirsch
Than three to four years. So what would you do? Well, I think I know you're in a different place in your life.
- [54:55]
Giddy Cohen
That's the thing. I think it has a lot to do with work.
- [54:58]
Andrew Kirsch
You are in your life in if.
- [55:00]
Giddy Cohen
You'Re in your 20s and 30s and you had always this dream place to live in Pacific palace because it's one of the place most beautiful places in the world. You have an entry level of you going to a beautiful neighborhood and you can build a life. If you're a retired person and you say, you know what, I want to retire in Pacific Palace. It's always also a great place. But I most likely if I had kids your age, I would probably would not rebuild or at least just this way I would find to find myself a new home.
- [55:29]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah.
- [55:30]
Giddy Cohen
For two reasons. First, I don't want to take those memories with me and bring it back on the future that was in the past. It's time to move. I want to create a new experiences, new memories, new life in somewhere else. I don't know where, but somewhere probably within. I mean, I don't know if you remember I moved to Ohio.
- [55:48]
Andrew Kirsch
I was going to bring that up.
- [55:51]
Giddy Cohen
Noga lives in Brentwood and she's moving to Ojai. She's moving back to Ohio because she does not want to deal with west side traffic. She doesn't want to deal with the stress. She feels there is a certain level of anxiety in the air and she.
- [56:03]
Andrew Kirsch
Feels like, you know, not to mention all the pollutants in the air still from the fire.
- [56:06]
Giddy Cohen
You know what I don't want to be. I went from Malibu back to either ballet or West Hollywood now. And I'm actually thinking where should I move now?
- [56:14]
Andrew Kirsch
But you did move to Ohio.
- [56:16]
Giddy Cohen
Yes.
- [56:17]
Andrew Kirsch
How did that affect your business?
- [56:21]
Okay.
- [56:22]
Giddy Cohen
As again a priority of where your Life is. When I moved to Ohio, I had four young kids. My priority was the kids. And that was the best move ever. We raised the kids in Ojai between Ojai, Montecito and for us, I don't know what hit us back then, but that was a great move. We're very fortunate to raise the kids there, so I highly recommend it. The second thing is it did a tremendous work for me. It was a huge growth, personal growth, because I was in Ohio, I was in nature, I was being able to feel healthy and then get clarity.
- [56:57]
Andrew Kirsch
So.
- [56:57]
Giddy Cohen
And then it was. Back then, it was 2008, so we had a whole different cycle then. But I gotta tell you, it. It helped my business. It was a little bit of a dip. And then. Right. I got back into a swing. It was fantastic. Because when for me, when I have a home, when I have what is solid, when I can go back to my family, the family happy, everything that comes with my work, I can deal with it in a whole different headspace. So it was a blessing for me. I'm not telling you move to Hawaii, but if you need to move. Oh, I. Fantastic place.
- [57:30]
Andrew Kirsch
Do you work for the Ojai Chamber of Commerce?
- [57:32]
Giddy Cohen
No.
- [57:33]
Andrew Kirsch
So, Kitty, that when people say, how are you doing? It is that decision of where to live that is taking up too much headspace. Right. Everything else will work itself out, from the insurance to the lenders to. If I do, even if I aren't, even if I'm not living in the Palisades, dealing with the cleanup, baby rebuilding. Maybe I move in, maybe I sell it. But for the next several years of where to live, I just. I don't know, I just can't answer that question.
- [58:08]
Giddy Cohen
First, be kind to yourself. Give yourself a break. Because it's a tough decision. So. So it's understandable that it's sway on you and the family occurred me and. And it's a big decision and. And just give yourself a little bit more time because, I mean, we only a couple of months. So it's been a couple of months to January 7th. So give yourself a little bit of time and maybe the answer would come or, you know, you. You make a decision. But I can tell you that the drive to Ojai, I mean, I used to helicopter, if you remember. It's. It's not a bad thing. But between LA to Ohio, there is Camarillo, there is other places. But I want to finish on a good note. Yeah, no, it was a bad note.
- [58:56]
Andrew Kirsch
But I want to finish.
- [58:56]
Giddy Cohen
And usually when crisis like that appear in our life. There is some positive comes out. Yep, there is a silver line, There is a growth. There is. I don't know, there is usually from those crisis something positive comes. What's the positive thing that came to.
- [59:12]
Andrew Kirsch
You and your family? Okay, I have a great story. You know I'm Jewish. I know you're Jewish. I say this in jest, but I tell people there was a moment in time where I pray to God I was contemplating converted to Christianity. But here, let me explain why. So we are all going through a process of clearing out the debris of our homes, whether it's through army Corps of engineers or private. And before you clear out the debris, there's an organization called. Oh my God, I can't believe Samaritan's Purse. Samaritan's Purse, it's a church based organization that I not hear. I, I had no idea who they were. And so people said call, call this group, make an appointment before you clear out the debris and they will come to your house and find or try to find personal belongings. Come on, seriously. So I made an appointment. I'm at my house site and a truck pulls up. It's a Samaritan's purse. Eight people come out of this truck. These people, churchgoing people from all over the country. They took vacation time from their work to fly out to LA on their own dime. They are sleeping on the floor of a church where they have to either bring their own sleeping bag or buy their own cotton. They go from house to house, spend about three to four hours on their hands and knees, you know, working on toxic, hazardous, compromised soil, trying to find personal belongings that care to me that right, God works. God works, right. They asked me if I was religious. I said, not particularly, I'm Jewish. They asked me if they could provide me with a Bible. And I said of course. They wrote in it handwritten messages and I spent the morning with them. And the dedication that these people had to me of trying to find jewelry and anything and so what did they find? They found our sterling silver from our wedding. 12 piece, you know, spoons, forks, knives, whatever. Now it was the color of like this table. It wasn't silver, it was, it was dark brown. We'll take it to a company to maybe restore it. China, plates, saucers, bowls. Some of it intact, some of it in large enough pieces where we could put it together. One earring. But it wasn't what they found. It was that these people.
- [62:48]
Giddy Cohen
Commitment, the.
- [62:49]
Andrew Kirsch
Commitment to their fellow man, their fellow human was nothing like I've ever seen before. And I got to say, you know, look, as. As Jews, we are very generous people.
- [63:04]
Giddy Cohen
But nobody showed up and send it.
- [63:07]
Andrew Kirsch
I mean, they. We have.
- [63:09]
Giddy Cohen
The rabbi asked for the mezuzah.
- [63:12]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah. But we're not getting on our hands at ease. Right. We would donate. And, and, and so just this selflessness restored my faith in humanity's humanity. It really did. And so I've got this New Testament Bible in my apartment. And no, I'm not converting to Christianity, but it was, it was. I'd never seen that type of selflessness before, ever. And it is. It is odd and uncomfortable for me to accept charity.
- [63:47]
Giddy Cohen
So allow you to actually look in deep, even deeper than all the experiences you went through, to be able to experience something completely different by human.
- [63:57]
Andrew Kirsch
It really did. It really did. And it also.
- [63:59]
Giddy Cohen
How is that affecting your life going forward for you and your family? What do you take with that?
- [64:04]
Andrew Kirsch
Well, first, politically there, I would say, growing up here in LA and being in la, there's a lot of negative.
- [64:15]
Talk about.
- [64:18]
The religious right. Yeah. These people are the religious right. They just wanted to help. And so I feel like we cannot just throw a blanket over everybody and say, this is how these people act and this is how these other people act.
- [64:36]
Giddy Cohen
Did you share that with the kids?
- [64:38]
Andrew Kirsch
I did.
- [64:39]
Giddy Cohen
I did.
- [64:39]
Andrew Kirsch
And we got. We've got what they found. And. And it was more the story that I shared with them that I hope resonates and so giddy. I wanted to do this podcast and share my story for. For a couple reasons. One, I hadn't done a podcast in 2025, so people are probably, probably wondering, like, where the hell is Kirsch? Second, I wanted to share my story so my kids can hear this.
- [65:21]
Giddy Cohen
I'm glad we touched a lot about the kids. Andrew, it's a pleasure and honor that you allow me to do it with you. You're a good friend. You guys have an amazing family. I'm sorry for. Let's see you going. Yeah. Super emotional about it now. So thank you for sharing with us.
- [65:41]
Andrew Kirsch
Yeah.
- [65:42]
Giddy Cohen
And I really hope that you will stay in la.