November 27, 2000: Fiorucci is coming back to the Big Apple with a Noho space on lower Broadway. It's brought to you by Fiorucci, local Stephen Budd, and the broker talents of Jeff Roseman and Ken Hochhauser of Newmark New Spectrum. Read today's New York Post for more info.

Chef Jean-Georges is opening a restaurant at 173-176 Perry Street and also buying an apartment there. Also waiting for the Richard Meier-designed minimalist towers to be complete so she can move into her new duplex is Martha Stewart.

BTW, I have to thank Martha for the great idea that made my day before Thanksgiving a whole lot easier. She said to make the pumpkin for the pie by simply cutting a little uncarved Jack o Lantern in half, baking it cut side down, and then scooping out everything an hour later. It sure beat the zillion hard cuts and then boil method we've been using. (Consider that a little extra mortar.)

Crain's is reporting that Chase finally signed its deal for Brookfield Properties 245 Park Avenue, ending up with around 600,000 sf. Bear Stears has decided to keep 200,000. The big Bear used Insignia/ESG for its broker.

Downtown, Brookfield has also gotten Lehman Bros. hooked for another 500,000 square feet at One World Financial. It's already got nearly a million square feet at Three World Financial, another Brookfield building. Again, Lehman turned to Insignia/ESG.

Remember that Brookfield was scouting large tenants for the stock exchange building, but it looks like it's keeping them for itself.

Tishman Speyer, meanwhile, is doing the same thing. Goldman Sachs, a natural tenant for the stock exchange, is now teaming up with Tishman Speyer to try to redevelop the little Chase occupied building at 55 Water Street. That's the 300,000 square footer next to the 52-story tall tower. Goldman Sachs needs city permission to square off the triangular building to pick up another 300,000 to 400,000 square feet and construct a new trading floor.

Then it might sign the deal with the Retirement Systems of Alabama that will include other Chase occupied space at the larger tower. Recall that Chase is moving these folks to Newport in NJ where Sam LeFrak is constructing a new building for them.

We reported this amazing development in the NY Post on Friday, November 24.

The latest word on Rock Center is that Boston Properties with David Rockefeller is still leading the charge, with Vornado panting for the win. If the current investment group doesn't get its strike price, it intends to keep the Center.

We say, get out while you can! The dominoes are falling despite all the space now getting eaten up.

November 22, 2000: Court of Appeals refuses to hear neighborhood Nimby lawsuit against Trump World Tower.