In the News: Another Report Says Retail Rents Are Dropping

••• “Sculptor Alex Gardega—seething over the ‘Fearless Girl’ statue being placed across from Wall Street’s ‘Charging Bull’—has decided to retaliate with a work of his own. Gardega created a statue of a small dog, titled ‘Pissing Pug,’ and his sloppily crafted pooch takes direct aim at ‘Fearless Girl’—or, at least, at her left leg.” My pug rarely peed where he thought he was peing…. —New York Post

••• Another commercial real estate firm says retail rents are dropping: “A struggling retail market means tenants are going to rent space this year for nearly a third less than they did during the retail peak in 2014, according to a new report from CBRE. Average asking rents have dipped 2.7 percent across Manhattan retail corridors year-over-year. But the brokerage predicts that net effective rents—which factor in free months of rent and tenant improvements—will be substantially lower. Retail rents hit record highs in 2014, and today’s tenants will be able to sign leases at net effective rents that are 20 to 30 percent less than they did three years ago, CBRE’s report indicates. Landlords would rather negotiate concessions (which decrease net effective rents) than lower asking rents in large part because they finance their buildings on the condition that they’ll secure certain rents.” —Commercial Observer

••• “Assembly member Deborah Glick is sponsoring a bill in her house of the State legislature that would, if enacted, make voting compulsory, with failure to show up at the polls subject to a $10 fine.” Maybe they should throw in a spanking, too. —Broadsheet

••• “The Oculus is still leaking. The rain this past week caused puddles and slick floors near the balconies and elevators on both sides of Ground Zero’s $4 billion transit hub, and, at this point, the problem is considered chronic. Earlier this month, Port Authority officials put the blame for the leak on a nearby construction project and promised to fix it. On Friday, the agency issued an astonishing statement denying that the Oculus is still leaking.” —New York Post

 

9 Comments

  1. Can Deborah Glick first address the clusterduck that is every polling station on Election Day? Whole Foods’ check out lines are better organized than the PS 264 gymnasium’s mosh pit.

  2. And since there aren’t any voter ID requirements, if you want to avoid the fine, just send someone to vote on your behalf.

    • Show me that you can forge my signature and then we’ll talk.

      • Forgery is not necessary. Two years ago I showed up to vote as I have done so for decades. Someone had signed my name and voted. The signature looked nothing like mine even though they had my real signature right there to compare. I pulled out my IDs and they refused to look at them. I made a scene. Long story short I was allowed to vote that day but then spent months straightening things out at the Board of Elections. Yeah, let’s talk alright.

  3. My only question….why is anyone surprised the Oculus leaks?

  4. Regarding Retail rents dropping – Good news for most of us. Hopefully the huge tracts of empty commercial space will soon fill up and bring more vibrancy back to downtown neighborhoods.

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