December 12th - December 16th, 2011

Law Firm Now to Remain at Chase Plaza

December 13 -- After much speculation law firm Milbank Tweed, Hadley &  McCloy LLp  would move to Brookfield Properties' World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan, the law firm appears to be remaining at 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, the New York Observer reported. The firm occupies 375,000 square feet over several floors at the property owned by JP Morgan Chase.

The projected vacancy of commercial space in Lower Manhattan will fall particularly hard on Brookfield, which recently lost large tenants -- Nomura, a Japanese financial services company, and Deloitte who have decided to move in the last year.

Holiday Lights Adorn 90 Floor 1 WTC Tower

December 13 – 1 WTC says Happy Holidays with the lighting of One World Trade Center, reported Curbed. The building will be lit up to celebrate the holidays. Construction workers from Five Star Electric volunteered to decorate the building by placing colored cellophane wrapping around the existing lights.

City Seeks Bright Lights for Lower Manhattan

December 14 – The Gothamist reports, in an effort to lure more tourists downtown after nightfall the NYC Economic Development Corporation has put out a; Illuminate Lower Manhattan: Placemaking Through Lighting Initiative RFP. The request for proposals seeks, “development and implementation of a placemaking through lighting initiative that will transform the experience of Lower Manhattan at night.”  The winning bid will get up to a $1 million in funds from the city, but will also probably have to raise additional money and sponsorships, the NYCEDC says. Details are available at www.nycdec.com, the RFP is open until February  13, 4:00 PM.

Dispute Slows 9/11 Museum Construction

December 15 --  DNAinfo reports, construction on the Sept. 11 Memorial Museum has slowed because of a dispute over $300 million in cost overruns. The Port Authority believes  the National September 11 Memorial & Museum Foundation owes the amount for cost overruns at the site. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who serves as chair of the foundation, had already acknowledged the spat threatened to delay the museum's opening beyond its Sept. 2012 target date. While the mayor said that he is “optimistic” that the Foundation will be able to “work out something with the Port Authority,” he acknowledged that legal action was a possibility.