Beleagured Company Was an
Original Tenant of Metrotech Development
El Diario, HeartShare Sign New
Leases at the Downtown Complex
By Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — By now, everyone who follows the news on a regular basis knows that the huge investment bank Bear Stearns was sold to JPMorgan Chase for a mere $2 a share, in a deal brokered by the Federal Reserve Bank.
What they may not know, however, is that the company has a big presence in Downtown Brooklyn, with 1,500 employees from various “back office” departments at One MetroTech. The gray-brick highrise has the Bear Stearns logo on its lobby windows — and ironically is a stone’s throw from JPMorgan Chase’s own MetroTech buildings.
In fact, in 2003, Bear Stearns signed a 20-year deal to keep its employees at its 290,000-square-foot space at MetroTech. In a move criticized by some, the company, which was one of the original tenants at MetroTech, received $4.8 million in property tax exemptions — an amount switched over from unused sales tax breaks the company had been given for first moving to Brooklyn.
Loren Riegelhaupt, a spokesman for Forest City Ratner, which owns MetroTech, and a Bear Stearns spokeswoman both said it was “too soon to know” about the company’s continued presence at MetroTech.
However, a legal analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity, says Bear Stearns’ new parent company must assume the responsibility to finish the lease at the Brooklyn location.
Monday, several employees were standing in front of the huge lobby of MetroTech’s Bear Stearns building at lunch hour, smoking. Most refused to talk, but one, a man in his 20s who works in operations, commented on the situation.
“I’m young, so I don’t care,” he said. “But many of the older guys who have families, I expect many of them to be jumping ship during the next year or so. The mood is basically one of panic.” He also suspected whether JPMorgan would bring in its own employees.
In the meantime, Forest City Ratner Monday announced that El Diario La Presna, the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in America, has signed a lease for office space at One MetroTech.
El Diario is relocating its headquarters from SoHo to Brooklyn. The company, which also provides online news, is leasing 23,400 square feet on the 18th floor.
Bruce Ratner, chairman and CEO of Forest City Ratner said, “We are very pleased that El Diario, one of New York’s great, venerable newspapers has chosen Downtown Brooklyn and MetroTech Center for the location of its new headquarters.”
Rossana Rosado, publisher & CEO of El Diario said, “It’s very exciting in our 95th year to be moving to Brooklyn into such a beautiful Class A space. It really makes great sense for us to be closer to the vibe in our community.”
Also signing leases at MetroTech, it was announced Friday, are HeartShare Human Services and the Ms. Foundation for Women. HeartShare, a Catholic-based charity organization, has been offering programs for children, families and the developmentally disabled for 93 years. The Brooklyn-based group, headed by Bill Guarinello, is leasing 32,696 square feet, the entire 29th floor of 12 MetroTech Center. With the move, HeartShare is consolidating its operations from three locations and gaining 50 percent more space.
The Ms. Foundation, which launched “Take Our Daughters To Work Day,” is moving from Wall Street to Brooklyn, leasing 14,590 square feet on the 26th floor of 12 MetroTech Center.
William R. Guarinello, president & CEO of HeartShare Human Services of New York, said, “HeartShare has been serving Brooklyn for nearly 100 years, so there was no question that our headquarters would stay in Downtown Brooklyn. MetroTech offered exactly what we needed.”
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2008
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