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Aug 30, 2018 7:00:00 AM / by Michael L Adler

Two years ago, Virginia (not her real name) contacted me to help her find a new location for her business currently located in the Garment District.  She had an issue which we can all understand.

The first question I often ask a new client is why do you want to move? She told me that their were homeless people living under the sidewalk shed that surrounded her building. They often were smoking and harassing her employees and customers for money when entering and exiting the building. Her landlord was an investor who owned two buildings and was, in effect, an absentee owner.  He ignored the issue.

Homelessness is a social problem that as individuals and as a society we can’t ignore.  Unfortunately, this problem is endemic to New York City and needs to be addressed.

I told my client that while we can move your company to another location, we could not insure that the problem would not recur. The new landlord could put up a scaffold the day after she moves in to perform work on its building.

Where we can help is to identify owners that take responsibility for their buildings, manage them well and understand the social dynamics involved.  Some landlords understand their social responsibilities and work with the City and various nonprofits to help persons that are homeless.

We were able to direct her to a building whose ownership we knew and trusted that would not ignore problems, had a social consciousness and made every effort to preserve their investment as well as hers.  Yes Virginia, there are good landlords!

Give us a call when you need insight into finding the right place for your business while making New York a better place for everyone to live and work.

 

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Topics: Tenant Build-OutsTenant Representative BrokersTenantsNew York CityOfficeOffice LeaseOffice SpaceOffice Space RentalOffice TenantReal Estate ProfessionalSigning of a LeaseTenant Rep BrokerTenant RepresentativeNew York office space

Michael L Adler

Written by Michael L Adler

With over 25 years of helping New York businesses create solutions for their business challenges; Michael is now helping tenants create leverage with their landlords in their office lease negotiations.