WASHINGTON—A majority of economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics believe that the U.S. economy is in recession and do not expect the downturn to end until the latter part of 2020 or the early stages of 2021. On a darker note, NABE President Constance Hunter, CBE, chief economist, KPMG, said that 80%…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Moody’s Analytics released its new forecasts for commercial real estate rents and vacancies on Aug. 17 and predicted that office and retail rents will drop sharply due to COVID-19 in 2020 and beyond. Noting that the office property sector was already experiencing downward pressure on the usage intensity of office space even before the…
Read MoreALBANY—While noting that July labor statistics are expected to be released soon, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli issued a report today that chronicled both the devastating impacts to the state’s labor force in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and the recent inroads that have been made toward recovery since the state’s economy…
Read MoreNEW CITY—Saying the county is “being battered from all sides” from the coronavirus and faces significant revenue shortfalls ahead, Rockland County Executive Ed Day submitted three draft Resolutions to the County Legislature on Aug. 18 that include reviving a plan to sell a shuttered county-owned office building and raising the county’s sales tax. Day says…
Read MoreGOSHEN—In an attempt to take advantage of real estate and business market trends in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Orange County has decided to market more than 250 acres of land adjacent to Route 17 to New York City businesses looking to relocate out of Manhattan. Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus recently told Real…
Read MoreBLAUVELT—Commercial brokerage firm CBRE announced on Aug. 4 that it has secured a 200,775-square-foot lease across two buildings in the Hudson Crossing Industrial Park in Blauvelt. The unnamed e-commerce tenant will occupy 123,999 square feet of space at 400 Oritani Drive and 76,776 square feet of space in the neighboring building at 200 Oritani Drive.…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Vornado Realty Trust announced on Aug. 3 that Facebook has leased all of the office space at The Farley Building totaling 730,000 square feet in Vornado’s Penn District. Vornado also released its second quarter financial results and the tremendous impacts caused by the coronavirus pandemic on its operations and finances. The Farley Building is…
Read MoreNEW YORK—New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released a report on Aug. 3 on New York City’s Fiscal Year 2021 Adopted Budget that found an overreliance on one-time actions in the adopted budget to close the $8.33-billion shortfall brought about by the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With significant budget gaps looming…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Helmsley Spear, LLC, reported recently it had brokered a 20,000-square-foot sublease with Keller Williams for the 10th floor of 99 Park Ave. Gould Paper Corp., the current tenant, will continue to occupy 8,718 square feet of the space. The sublease term runs through December, 2023. The Helmsley Spear leasing agents for this sublease were…
Read MoreSince early spring, when the coronavirus hit the New York metro area hard, headlines have been screeching about the residential flight from Manhattan and other parts of New York City. Newspapers, online publications, blogs, and broadcast media are continuously touting the mass exodus from The Big Apple. High-end luxury condo owners to students and young…
Read MoreMORRISTOWN, NJ—An affiliate of Northeast Capital Group, which is based in Rockland County, has acquired the Offices at Bedminster office complex here from New York Life Real Estate Investors. Commercial brokerage firm JLL marketed the 194,000-square-foot office complex for seller New York Life Real Estate Investors. JLL did not disclose the sale price. In a…
Read MoreYORKTOWN—Joining the City of Yonkers and the Town of Cortland, which recently inaugurated efforts to attract new business, the Town of Yorktown has launched a new marketing campaign that will promote the Northern Westchester municipality as a prime investment and relocation destination. The campaign’s theme—Yorktown: Up where you belong!—is a nod to the town’s welcoming…
Read More“New York, like states all across the country, confronts the immediate effects of a paralyzing national recession, the longer-term challenge of improving our competitive position in the global economy, and the specter of a dangerous, ugly divisiveness among our people.” Those words, but with the single substitution of “pandemic” for “recession,” are as true today…
Read MoreWhile most economic news of late in this time of the coronavirus is usually described as “bleak” or “grim,” an international site selector speaking to a virtual meeting of the Orange County Partnership on July 22 indicated that the county’s prime location, available workforce and lower cost of land and housing will attract investment, particularly…
Read MoreALBANY—The New York State Department of Labor announced on Tuesday, July 22 that the Hudson Valley unemployment rate rose to 12.2% in June, up from the 11.1% jobless rate in May 2020 for the region. According to preliminary data, New York State’s area unemployment rate seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate increased from 14.5% in May to 15.7%…
Read MoreNEW YORK—American International Group, Inc. announced on July 21 that it will relocate its global headquarters in New York City to 1271 Avenue of the Americas, where it will occupy eight floors totaling 325,000 square feet. The firm also reported it will consolidate its remaining New York City area footprint into approximately 450,000 square feet…
Read MoreBy Eric Pierson, AICP Editor’s Note: The following analysis was originally published on the Business Council of Westchester’s Data Exchange (https://thebcw.org/data/)on July 9, 2020. As we get farther away from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, a clearer picture is beginning to emerge of the economic damage rendered by this disease.…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—After enduring months of setbacks brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey from the National Association of Realtors released on Thursday, July 9 shows that more than nine in 10 of its members believe they are in the process of recovering as many states start to reopen their economies. NAR's 2020 Market Recovery…
Read MoreYONKERS, CORTLANDT—The City of Yonkers and the Town of Cortlandt have unveiled new marketing plans geared to bring new business to their respective communities as they attempt to re-emerge from the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 8, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano unveiled the new marketing campaign entitled “Yonkers is Back to…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—DJ Venn, senior vice president of asset management, Onyx Equities, announced on July 7th that the company had issued an RFP to create one of the first smart office campuses in the nation. WestPark, as it is known, comprises two Gold LEED, trophy Class-A headquarters buildings on 25.6 acres, located at 1111 and 1129…
Read More