Citi Habitats shutters Financial District office
January 07, 2009 05:00PM By Candace Taylor
100 John Street
Citi Habitats has shuttered at least one of its numerous Manhattan offices.
The rental brokerage has closed its storefront Financial District branch at 100 John Street between Pearl and William streets, said Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group, which shares a parent company, NRT, with Citi Habitats.
"The lease was up and we didn't need the space," Liebman said, adding that the company may open another office in the area in the future. "If it picks up again in the Financial District, we'll be happy to open another office down there."
She added that the branch was a "tiny" office, with only about six agents. The office, in a 221-unit luxury rental building, closed several weeks ago, according to the leasing manager for the building, who asked to remain anonymous.
Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats, did not respond to requests for comment.
Citi Habitats has 14 other offices in the city, according to its Web site.
As the New York City real estate market limps along under pressure from the economic downturn and untold job losses, many brokerages are looking to save money by eliminating or consolidating offices. The Real Deal reported Tuesday that Bellmarc Realty has closed its corporate headquarters at 352 Park Avenue South, moving workers stationed there to the company's Flatiron office.
As for Corcoran, Liebman said the company currently has no plans to close any of its offices, but may look at doing so as a way to cut costs in the current economy. Corcoran has 30 offices in the New York City area, including 14 on the East End of Long Island, according to the company Web site.
"We're not closing any offices, but that may change," Liebman said. "We're continuing to monitor the market. If there are opportunities where we see that closing an office or a consolidation would suit our brokers well, we would take advantage of it."
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Comments
Anonymous
wow. i cant believe this.
Comment #1 Posted By: Anonymous 01/07/09
Anonymous
Betty Davis: "Fasten Your Seat Belts It's Going To Be A Bumpy Ride".
Comment #2 Posted By: Anonymous 01/07/09
Anonymous
Andrew would look like a Einstein if he had'nt gone into development after the sale.
Comment #3 Posted By: Anonymous 01/07/09
Anonymous
Domain Properties closed on Broadway and 25th street,what's going on?
Comment #4 Posted By: Anonymous 01/07/09
Anonymous
Prudential Douglas Elliman will emerge the #1 brokerage company by a mile.
Comment #5 Posted By: Anonymous 01/07/09
Anonymous
In every downturn there are about 20% of brokers if not more living the profession, so I would say expect about 20% of the existing Real Estate Offices to close down...and I'm not kidding...
Comment #6 Posted By: Anonymous 01/07/09
Anonymous
or if his first major project was in a hotter, more stable area than Fi-Di.
Comment #7 Posted By: Anonymous 01/08/09
Anonymous
Funny how she's trying to play this down by saying it was a "tiny" office of about 6 agents. This office hasn't been a major player in the financial district in years, so this was long overdue. Another Citi office that's closing ,West 57th Street at the Park Vendome, is not a "tiny" office. What's their excuse for closing? Who's running this sinking ship? Now all of a sudden Pam's doing the talking and Gary has a muzzle on?
Comment #8 Posted By: Anonymous 01/09/09