FDIC excludes Lower Manhattan in office search

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. excluded the Financial District
from its new office space search for when its lease ends at 20 Exchange
Place in 2010. The FDIC looked at offices in Midtown and Midtown South. David Barr, a
spokesperson for the FDIC, said it wants to move its office closer to
Penn Station and Grand Central to give employees an easier commute.
Barr said that rents in Midtown have dropped during the downturn, but real estate firms say Midtown rents are about $25 more a foot compared to Lower Manhattan. State Senator Daniel Squadron, Rep. Jerrold Nadler and
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver sent a letter to the FDIC urging it to
reopen its search to include Lower Manhattan. “The idea that we would
let a government agency turn its back on Lower
Manhattan in this way is terrible,” Squadron said.