From left: 48 West 37th Street, David Rosenberg, an executive vice president at Robert K. Futterman, David Levy, a principal at Adams & Company and Joe Friedman, an associate director at Adams & Company

The National Council of the Boy Scouts of America is moving its Manhattan retail store out of the Empire State Building to a multi-level space three blocks north. The Boy Scouts are relocating the New York City Scout Shop where they sell camping gear, uniforms and smaller items like patches, to the 18-story office and retail building at 48 West 37th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, data from CoStar Group shows. There, they will have 2,200 square feet on the ground floor, 2,200 square feet on the lower level, and 1,400 square feet of mezzanine space. [more]

Thomas Bow, senior vice president at Durst Organization, and 1 WTC

There’s a new plan for the 480-foot 1 World Trade Center spire that could lure more tenants at the expense of the architect’s vision for the final structure. The Wall Street Journal reported the Durst Organization has gotten the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey on board to install a radio and television broadcast antenna inside the building’s spire.

“Our expectations would be to become the premiere broadcast facility in New York City,” said Thomas Bow, senior vice president at the Durst Organization. [more]

From left: the Symphony of Lights, Hong Kong, and the Empire State Building

There is a new trend among New York City buildings: multi-colored light spectacles in the tradition of the iconic Empire State Building, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Bank of America and Conde Nast towers, the Gansevoort Hotel in the Meatpacking District and Sketchers Store in Union Square all feature bright lights that change color. The New York City Economic Development Corp. is currently accepting proposals for “placemaking through lighting initiative” to be installed in Lower Manhattan, the paper said.  [more]

Tony Malkin and the Empire State Building

Malkin Holdings, operator of the Empire State Building is planning to raise up to $1 billion in its initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing the company submitted today.

The company, which will list shares on the New York Stock Exchange, will consolidate a group of  companies to form a real estate investment trust as part of the IPO, which will be advised on by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs Group, it said in a separate filing. [more]

With two weeks left to avert a strike, 32BJ, the service employees union which represents office maintenance workers in many New York City commercial buildings, plans to march down Sixth Avenue at rush hour tomorrow, according to spokespeople for the union.

The office cleaners’ group expects between 5,000 and 6,000 people to march up Sixth Avenue from 41st Street to 48th Street in solidarity with workers, union spokesperson Matt Nerzig told The Real Deal.
– Guelda Voien [more]

Local 32BJ, the union representing more than 22,000 commercial
building workers in New York City, voted Thursday to authorize their
bargaining committee to call a strike if necessary, the union said in
a statement.

The union has been in contract talks with the Realty Advisory Board on
Labor Relations, an industry association representing most building
owners, since November 15th. The union opposes the
landlords’ proposal to establish a different wage and benefit
structure for new hires, which they claim will create a two-tier
system designed to push out workers with seniority.

If negotiations fail by 12:01 am on Jan. 1, 2012, the union could
strike at such high-profile buildings as Rockefeller Center, the Met
Life Building and the Empire State Building. Workers’ contracts expire
on Dec. 31, 2011, according to today’s announcement. – Guelda Voien [more]

An apparel company owned by billionaire Warren Buffett has inked a 50,000-square-foot, 10-year lease for offices at 200 Madison Avenue, the New York Observer reported, relocating from the Empire State Building.

Garan Incorporated will occupy the 575,000-square-foot building’s fourth floor for rents that average around the mid-$40s per square foot. The company previously squeezed into a 40,000-square-foot space at the Empire State Building and was eager to expand to a building that could accommodate all its staff on one floor.

Jim Saunders Noel Flag of Newmark Knight Frank represented Garan in the transaction. [more]

From left: Anthony Malkin and the Empire State
Building

Malkin Holdings, operator of the Empire State Building, said it “embarked on a course of action” to become a real estate investment trust, in a regulatory filing today, Bloomberg reported. Documents could be filed with the SEC to make the 2.9 million-square-foot tower a publicly traded entity as soon as February. As The Real Deal previously reported, the Malkins had been considering this move since at least April. The landmarked tower, which has undergone a $550 million capital improvements program in recent years, would present a lucrative opportunity for investors, as prices for trophy towers rise as the recession fades. 2 Comments

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From left: RXR Realty’s 1330 Sixth Avenue, 601 West 26th Street and 340 Madison Avenue all have bike storage space

Amidst many obstacles, bike storage rooms are becoming more popular in New York City offices, according to the New York Times.

Office buildings including the Empire State Building, 520 Eighth Avenue, 345 Hudson Street, 1330 Sixth Avenue and 340 Madison Avenue have several hundred square feet of space for biking. RXR Realty, which owns the latter two properties, even has 1,800 square feet in its recently acquired Starrett-Lehigh building at 601 West 26th Street dedicated to bike storage for the 150 tenants that commute to work on two wheels each day. [more]

From left: David Childs, architect of 1 WTC, and Anthony Malkin, owner of the Empire State Building

Falling debris is the biggest risk factor for glass in buildings in the event of a hurricane in New York City this weekend, according to real estate experts. While last night’s radar prediction for Hurricane Irene from the New York Times indicates that the city may not be hit full-force with a hurricane, but rather with a tropical storm, the danger from falling debris and glass is still a cause for concern.

At a press conference yesterday afternoon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned New Yorkers to avoid glass windows. “There’s always a risk of flying debris shattering windows, and that risk increases if you’re in a high-rise, on the 10th floor or higher,” he said. [more]