THE PLAN

erhaps best known for its annual coat drive and television commercials featuring a shivering Statue of Liberty, New York Cares ranks as the citys largest volunteer organization, with approximately 53,000 volunteers assisting on projects at 1,200 nonprofits, schools and government agencies throughout the five boroughs. With such an ambitious mission, however, it was no surprise that the 25-year-old organization would one day need to relocate from its 10,000-square-foot space at 214 West 29th Street. Sure enough, New York Cares officials reached out to Carri Lyon, a Cushman & Wakefield commercial real estate broker who helped the group pinpoint 16,000 square feet of new office space at 65 Broadway in January. Two days before the organizations official move-in date last Friday, Ms. Lyon and New York Cares executive director Gary Bagley reviewed the furniture plans with The Commercial Observer and discussed what, exactly, drew them to the A.M. Properties Holding Corp.-owned 65 Broadway. 01
Inside New York Cares previous offices at 214 West 29th Street, volunteers and employees often rubbed up against a daily onslaught of incoming suppliescans of paint and brushes, for exampleintended for volunteer projects that the group was overseeing during any given week. At its expanded office space at the landmarked 65 Broadway, however, New York Cares will benefit from 2,000 square feet of ground-floor storage, attached directly to a loading dock. Every year almost a million dollars in supplies travel through our offices on the way to the many volunteer projects were running, Mr. Bagley said. The advantage of having storage space that wasnt in the middle of our office is a tremendous benefit to us. In a rare instance of goodwill, the landlord, Paul Wassermans A.M. Properties Holding Corp., offered a full package of incentives, including a free buildout, cleaning services and, perhaps most notably, glass, which the organization used throughout the space, from the private office walls to other ornamental features. When we were negotiating the work letter, they actually did throw in a good fair amount of glass, Ms. Lyon said. Ordinarily, you have to pay that as an upgrade. We didnt really want to pay for that because it can be quite expensive. The building was erected in 1916 by American Express as its headquarters, and the credit card provider occupied it right up until 1975. Unlike modern buildings, 65 Broadway was erected before air conditioning was invented, which explains the deep wells created by the H-shape design, which allowed maximum ventilation and additional natural light. The legs of the H, thats light and air coming in, said Ms. Lyon, who estimated that each of the four legs rounds out at about 1,700 square feet. You have windows around the court and it runs the full block, from Broadway to Trinity. Unlike most conventional companies, New York Cares deals not just with its own employees but hundreds of volunteers, who visit the site during working hours and in the evenings for training courses prior to their being shipped out to projects throughout the city. For this reason, the space called for an orientation room, near the reception desk, so that the influx of volunteers would not disrupt the rest of the office. That theater room will welcome about 18,000 new volunteers this year, said Mr. Bagley. And over half of them will come through our offices in the evenings or on the weekends to go to their volunteer orientations, or to go to trainings for specific programs. While New York Cares previous space was cluttered with individual cubicles, much of the space outside of what Ms. Lyon described as the buildings legs will be reserved for benching and larger workspaces. We moved to benching, first of all, to be able to fit more staff, said Mr. Bagley. And then the reality was, when we polled the staff this was their desired layout for the work they do. They actually felt like these side-to-side collaborations took place more often than other sorts of work. Unlike many contemporary offices these daysbe they tech startups, design firms or maybe even the Mayors Officesenior executives at New York Cares will not be joining their employees in an open-plan bullpen. Indeed, Mr. Bagley will operate out of a corner office near the southwest of the building, while colleague Anne Corry, a deputy executive director, will work next door. A director for corporate relations will work across the H, and the director for individual giving will sit across from that person.

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30|June 19, 2012|The Commercial Observer