Staff writers at Mort Zuckerman’s New York Daily News may no longer have to work in one of the ugliest office buildings to blight New York’s, or any city’s, streetscape. The Daily News has hired brokerage Cushman & Wakefield (CWK) to look for new office space. Rumor has it that the paper wants offices roughly comparable in size to the 120,000 square feet it now occupies at 450 West 33rd Street, at 10th Avenue, but the precise square footage could not be confirmed.
This could be good news. Not only are the Snooze’s current offices nearly two avenue blocks west of the nearest subway, but did we mention that the building, which has been compared to both the Death Star and an elephant’s foot, is ugly?
The Daily News signed the lease for 120,000 square feet in the 16-story edifice in 1994. Surely, Mr. Zuckerman had his reasons. One was probably the building’s massive, newsroom-friendly 100,000-square-foot floorplates. (The Associated Press also has offices there.)
The Cushman broker handling the hunt, Michael Burgio, declined to comment for this article, as did a spokesman for the tabloid. But it’s possible Mr. Zuckerman is just trying to frighten his landlord, Broadway Partners, into offering lower rent.
For its part, Broadway Partners, which paid a staggering $664 million for the 1.7-million-square-foot building mid-boom ’07, has every incentive to hold onto this prized tenant. Good occupants of similar size interested in moving to the far West Side are something of a rare commodity these days.
drubinstein@observer.com
