The New York Observer » Rockefeller Center

Why You Weren’t Able to Get Anywhere Last Night

The Rockefeller tree lighting ceremony. President Barack Obama's visit to town. Read More

Sotheby’s Headquarters to Open Gallery Space

Sotheby’s York Avenue headquarters in New York will open a two-floor gallery space called S2 next week with a private selling show of the artist Sam Francis. The show, on display from September 17 through October 14, will inaugurate the new space, which was designed by architect Richard Gluckman. The Francis exhibit is pegged Read More

Madoff Victims’ Counsel Renews in Rockefeller Center

Baker Hostetler has renewed 120,000 square feet at 45 Rockefeller Plaza.

As The Observer reported in March, the world's 85th-largest law firm, which represented Bernie Madoff's victims in their search for lost treasure, was negotiating to lock down a deal back then. The firm initially subleased 100,000 square feet on the ninth, 10th and 11th Read More

Lazard Takes More of 30 Rock

Already among Manhattan's top tenants, in terms of space, Lazard, the financial advisory and asset management firm, has renewed its lease at Rockefeller Center, taking an additional 60,000 square feet. The 21-year renewal lease with Tishman Speyer for office space at 30 Rockefeller Plaza will bring the firm's total square footage to a whopping 430,000 Read More

Madoff Treasure Hunters Scavenging

Tishman Speyer and a major law firm are sharpening their skates for yet another high-stakes renewal duet at Rockefeller Center.

Baker Hostetler, the world's 85th-largest law firm, which represented Bernie Madoff's victims in their search for lost treasure, now occupies 100,000 square feet at 45 Rockefeller Plaza. But with its leases expiring in 2012, Read More

Suite Jesus! Church Sells Rock Center Rights for $165 M.

From the religious heart of the city to a center of commerce hung with Christmas bulbs, Rockefeller Center's transformation is nearly complete.

An entity affiliated with a long-extinct church, St. Nicholas Collegiate Church, has sold the land rights to its former Rock Center site at 600 Fifth Avenue to Tishman Speyer for $165 million, according to public Read More

NYers Can Now Build Their Own 30 Rock

Obsessed with architecture? Odds are that obsession began, as it did for certain members of The Real Estate Desk, with some LEGO blocks as a child. That is part of the excitement of the LEGO Architecture series--it's LEGOs for grown-ups, eschewing the pirates and spacemen the toys typically traffic in. (Not that there's anything Read More

Law Firm Incentivized to Take 10 More Years at One Rock

Nautadutilh, a law firm founded in 1724, has signed a 10-year renewal for 7,360 square feet on the 15th floor of One Rockefeller Plaza. The asking rent was $69 per square foot, according to Crain's, but landlord incentives likely drove down the taking rent.

"Nautadutilh, which has been a tenant at One Rockefeller Read More

Next Stop, Tishman Speyer’s Rock Center! Neil Young to Bless Lionel Pop-Up

In a universe a lot like this one, the subway clatters to a stop, the doors slide open and a disembodied voice intones, “Stand clear of the closing doors.” Except the universe is one-eighty-seventh the size of ours, and no sprinting figure attempts to defy the resolve of rapidly narrowing doors.

The world of model trains Read More

Did Rock Center Wreck Ya? Call Recchia!

Domenic Recchia—the colorful councilman who speaks pure South Brooklynese—is headed to court this week to take on Jerry Speyer and his Tishman Speyer, titanic landlord of such trophies as Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building.

Sort of.

In addition to his day job representing the people of Gravesend and Bensonhurst, the aptly named Mr. Recchia, chairman of Read More

Tishman Speyer Cuts Back on Decadence Before Annual Lobster Bake

This week, office and retail brokers across Manhattan received thick red envelopes in the mail containing invitations to Tishman Speyer’s Annual Lobster Bake at Rockefeller Center.

“Tishman Speyer cordially invites you to the 9th Annual Lobster Bake at Rockefeller Center, Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 6 p.m., the Rink Bar.”

It’s a lovely invitation, shaped Read More

Tishman Speyer Taps Barry Wine for Rainbow Room Restoration

Dale DeGroff earned the nickname "King of Cocktails" mixing fancy drinks at the illustrious Rainbow Room during its heyday back in the 1980s. "It was an amazing place,” Mr. DeGroff said. "We had a great, great bar. We also had a wonderful cabaret—Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett."

He's excited to see that history restored: "I Read More

Jeff Zucker’s Challenge: Fire Them Before Cute Caroling Promo Spot

On Friday, Dec. 5, a crowd of anchors, reporters, producers and executives from New York’s WNBC-4 was gathering in the long early-morning shadow of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree for its annual taping of a holiday singalong that has served for years now as the station’s local promotional holiday-season piece.

Historically, the singalongs have Read More

Can Ciprianis Convince City To Landmark Rainbow Room?

A postscript to our story in this week’s print edition on how the Ciprianis, who run the art deco-themed Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, are trying to give the Tishman Speyer-owned space a restrictive landmark status, rounding up public and political support for the move.

Ultimately, the decision rests entirely with the city’s Read More

NBC Universal Takes Another Chunk of 75 Rock

NBC Universal has subleased roughly 100,000 square feet at Tishman Speyer's 75 Rockefeller Plaza from AOL, according to Crain's. (The Observer's Dana Rubinstein noted the likelihood of more space at 75 Rock in October.)

The move is part of NBC Universal's grand maneuvering to find 600,000 square feet of office space to consolidate its Read More