City Deals on Harlem Office Space for Clinton

NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 2001 -- -- The city of New York has cut a deal that could pave the way for former President Clinton to set up his new headquarters on the top floor of a Harlem office tower.

In a joint news conference today, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said the city and the building's landlord had agreed to switch a city claim on the space to a different floor at a less expensive price.

‘An Excellent Agreement’

The switch will allow Cogswell Realty Group, which owns the 14-story office tower at 55 West 125th St., to negotiate with the federal government on terms to place Clinton's office on the 14th floor. Sources say the Secret Service insists Clinton take an office on a top floor for security reasons.

"Earlier today we reached agreement, and I think it's an excellentagreement," Giuliani told reporters. "I thinkeveryone now will be able to be satisfied by this. … I believethat President Clinton's being in New York, particularly in Harlem,is a very good thing."

Rangel, who represents Harlem, helped broker the deal with thecity.

"The whole community is very excited by this. We have beenvery, very good to President Clinton, and I think in some ways it'shis way of saying 'thank you,'" said Rangel.

Previously, Giuliani had said the city's Administration for Child Services had an "ironclad" lease at $30 per square foot on the office space Clinton wanted. Today's deal with Cogswell moves part of the city's lease to the building's sixth floor at a new rate of $25 per square foot, Giuliani said.

The deal, which will have the city agency occupying four lower floors, is expected to save the city about $150,000, The Associated Press reported. In addition, the city has guarantees that citizens using the offices on West 125th Street will have unrestricted access.

Tough Negotiations

Clinton expressed a desire to rent the Harlem office space after a furor erupted over earlier plans to set up his taxpayer-subsidized shop in a posh, $800,000 office in midtown Manhattan. But it turned out that the lease on the 17,303-square-foot office was held by the Administration for Child Services, which handles foster care for abused children.