From left: 33 Whitehall Street and 1 State Street Plaza (credits: PropertyShark)

In Manhattan’s stagnant office leasing market even a renewal and expansion comes with bad news. The New York Post reported that Fitch Ratings renewed at 33 Whitehall Street in Lower Manhattan and expanded its footprint by 41,000 square feet to a total of 180,500. But at the same time, it’s abandoning 100,000 square feet it previously used nearby at 1 State Street Plaza, marking a net loss for the Lower Manhattan market. [more]

From left: Wendy Silverstein and Michael Fascitelli, Vornado Realty Trust’s executive vice president and CEO, respectively.

The shrinking of Manhattan’s once-robust financial services footprint is dampening the mood among top real estate executives who spoke yesterday during an annual real estate investment trust conference in Midtown. While the CEOs and presidents of firms such as SL Green Realty, Vornado Realty Trust and Boston Properties, generally said the cutbacks had not hurt their own companies, they acknowledged the weak financial services industry hobbled the overall leasing market.

Those REITs were among the more than 100 real estate investment trusts that were scheduled to make public comments and take questions from the audience yesterday and today at the annual conference known as REITWeek, held this year from June 12-14 at the Hilton New York in Midtown. The event is hosted by the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. Click here to see the photos and more.