NYC leads the pack in post-pandemic return to office
Visits to office buildings in April were a mere 5.5% below April 2019 levels, authoritative Placer.ai platform found, making the Big Apple the nation's clear leader in back-to-office trends.
Although office visits were also up in most other major US cities compared with the previous month, their average April attendance was 30.7% below 2019's average, according to Placer.ai.
Advertisement
3 Visits to NYC office buildings last month were just 5.5% below April 2019 levels, Placer.ai platform found, making the Big Apple the nation's clear leader in back-to-office trends.
Christopher Sadowski
Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco brought up the rear, with April office visits 42% to 44% below 2019 levels.
Placer.ai analyzes cell phone data to determine foot traffic. It covers 1,000 buildings nationwide but doesn't say how many are in each city.
The data confirm the larger trend that Realty Check has long observed. It's great news for developers and landlords still beleaugered by reduced property values and high interest rates.
Advertisement
But while Manhattan office attendance is clearly surging, is it truly back to 94.5% of pre-pandemic averages, as Placer.ai says?
It sure looks that way on Park and Sixth avenues in Midtown, at Hudson Yards and Manhattan West, and at or near the World Trade Center. Office tower lobbies and sidewalks are busy as they haven't been since before March 2019.
The large new leases and expansions we've reported since Jan. 1 — by Amazon, Aquarian Holdings, Amalgamated Bank and several law firms — testify to an appetite for space undeterred by 'hybrid' trends.
Advertisement
3 Large new leases and expansions this year, including deals by by Amazon, Aquarian Holdings, Amalgamated Bank, and several law firms testify to an appetite for space undeterred by 'hybrid' trends.
JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
We've written repeatedly that large-scale office returns were taking place even before JPMorgan Chase, Apple, Alphabet and other major companies dragged employees kicking and whining to their desks this year.
Even so, let's raise a few polite qualifiers about Placer.ai's report.
Ongoing conversions of scores of obsolete office towers to apartments removed a significant number of sparsely-populated office buildings from the inventory over the past three years — and, presumably, from Placer.ai's analysis.
Advertisement
And we wish Placer.ai would share at least some of the locations it monitors — a lack of transparency that also afflicts the notoriously opaque, widely discredited Kastle Back-to-Work Barometer.
3 JPMorgan Chase, Apple, Alphabet, and other major companies this year ordered employees back to their desks.
Christopher Sadowski
But even after nitpickings, it's obvious that Placer.ai is immeasurably more accurate than Kastle's survey, which was mainly a marketing gimmick for the company's security services. The 'barometer' counts card-swipes only in mostly Class-B buildings where Kastle provides the services.
Executives of the largest real estate companies, such as publicly-traded SL Green and privately-held Related Companies — neither of whose buildings are monitored by Kastle — have told us since mid-2024 that WFH was in the rear-view mirror and no longer a factor in decision-making by landlords or tenants.
Even so, many media accounts continued to cite Kastle's lowball claims of 55% office occupancy as recently as last summer — until the preponderance of evidence made it wiser to ignore.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New Costco hours debut today: What to know about the chain's updated perks for ‘Executive' members
Starting today, Costco is rolling out a new schedule that introduces exclusive hours for its Executive members. 'Hostile and political': Jeff Bezos should have known Trump was always going to turn against Amazon The housing market is shifting—here's where it's happening most rapidly Home Depot announces $4.3 billion deal to acquire GMS building products distributor The schedule was first announced in an email sent to members earlier this month, in which the big-box warehouse club detailed its plans to adjust its hours of operations to add some attractive new perks for its highest-paying members. The plan comes on the heels of a strong financial quarter for Costco: Per its third quarter 2025 earnings report, the company notched 8% year-over-year sales gains, from $57.39 billion last year to $61.96 billion this year. Here's what to know about the updated schedule: Previously, Costco's hours at most locations were 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Today, the company is introducing an earlier start each day that's only available to its Executive tier. Throughout the week, Costco will now open at 9 a.m. for Executive members, giving those card-holders an additional hour of shopping Sunday through Friday, as well as 30 added minutes on Saturday. In addition, Costco will offer Executive members a monthly $10 credit for orders of $150 placed through the company's 'Same-Day' service or Instacart. Outside of these Executive tier offerings, Costco also plans to expand its Saturday hours to a 7 p.m. closing time for all members starting on July 5. To shop at Costco at all, customers need to purchase one of two membership plans: either the standard Gold Star Membership, which costs $65 per year, or the Executive Membership, which costs $130 per year. In the past, Costco has primarily attracted its most loyal shoppers to the pricier Executive Membership with an annual 2% reward on qualified purchases, which can rack up a maximum of $1,250 in cash back per year. Now, though, the company is trying to sweeten the deal with an exclusive shopping experience—a strategy that's already in place at Sam's Club, the retailer's main rival. Costco's adoption of the concept makes sense, given how central Executive members have become to its overall financial health. On a May 29 earnings call, Gary Millerchip, Costco's executive vice president and CFO, shared that the company now has 37.6 million Executive members, up 9% from the same quarter in 2024. He also noted that at the end of third quarter 2025, Executive members accounted for 47.3% of paid members but a whopping 73.1% of worldwide sales. Early access to the club's inventory (and its popular food court) is one way for Costco to keep its biggest spenders coming back for more. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter:
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UN report lists companies complicit in Israel's ‘genocide': Who are they?
The United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) has released a new report mapping the corporations aiding Israel in the displacement of Palestinians and its genocidal war on Gaza, in breach of international law. Francesca Albanese's latest report, which is scheduled to be presented at a news conference in Geneva on Thursday, names 48 corporate actors, including United States tech giants Microsoft, Alphabet Inc. – Google's parent company – and Amazon. A database of more than 1000 corporate entities was also put together as part of the investigation. '[Israel's] forever-occupation has become the ideal testing ground for arms manufacturers and Big Tech – providing significant supply and demand, little oversight, and zero accountability – while investors and private and public institutions profit freely,' the report said. 'Companies are no longer merely implicated in occupation – they may be embedded in an economy of genocide,' it said, in a reference to Israel's ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip. In an expert opinion last year, Albanese said there were 'reasonable grounds' to believe Israel was committing genocide in the besieged Palestinian enclave. The report stated that its findings illustrate 'why Israel's genocide continues'. 'Because it is lucrative for many,' it procurement of F-35 fighter jets is part of the world's largest arms procurement programme, relying on at least 1,600 companies across eight nations. It is led by US-based Lockheed Martin, but F-35 components are constructed globally. Italian manufacturer Leonardo S.p.A is listed as a main contributor in the military sector, while Japan's FANUC Corporation provides robotic machinery for weapons production lines. The tech sector, meanwhile, has enabled the collection, storage and governmental use of biometric data on Palestinians, 'supporting Israel's discriminatory permit regime', the report said. Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon grant Israel 'virtually government-wide access to their cloud and AI technologies', enhancing its data processing and surveillance capacities. The US tech company IBM has also been responsible for training military and intelligence personnel, as well as managing the central database of Israel's Population, Immigration and Borders Authority (PIBA) that stores the biometric data of Palestinians, the report said. It found US software platform Palantir Technologies expanded its support to the Israeli military since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023. The report said there were 'reasonable grounds' to believe the company provided automatic predictive policing technology used for automated decision-making in the battlefield, to process data and generate lists of targets including through artificial intelligence systems like 'Lavender', 'Gospel' and 'Where's Daddy?' The report also lists several companies developing civilian technologies that serve as 'dual-use tools' for Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. These include Caterpillar, Leonardo-owned Rada Electronic Industries, South Korea's HD Hyundai and Sweden's Volvo Group, which provide heavy machinery for home demolitions and the development of illegal settlements in the West Bank. Rental platforms Booking and Airbnb also aid illegal settlements by listing properties and hotel rooms in Israeli-occupied territory. The report named the US's Drummond Company and Switzerland's Glencore as the primary suppliers of coal for electricity to Israel, originating primarily from Colombia. In the agriculture sector, Chinese Bright Dairy & Food is a majority owner of Tnuva, Israel's largest food conglomerate, which benefits from land seized from Palestinians in Israel's illegal outposts. Netafim, a company providing drip irrigation technology that is 80-percent owned by Mexico's Orbia Advance Corporation, provides infrastructure to exploit water resources in the occupied West Bank. Treasury bonds have also played a critical role in funding the ongoing war on Gaza, according to the report, with some of the world's largest banks, including France's BNP Paribas and the UK's Barclays, listed as having stepped in to allow Israel to contain the interest rate premium despite a credit report identified US multinational investment companies BlackRock and Vanguard as the main investors behind several listed companies. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is listed as the second largest institutional investor in Palantir (8.6 percent), Microsoft (7.8 percent), Amazon (6.6 percent), Alphabet (6.6 percent) and IBM (8.6 per cent), and the third largest in Lockheed Martin (7.2 percent) and Caterpillar (7.5 percent). Vanguard, the world's second-largest asset manager, is the largest institutional investor in Caterpillar (9.8 percent), Chevron (8.9 percent) and Palantir (9.1 percent), and the second largest in Lockheed Martin (9.2 percent) and Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems (2 percent). The report states that 'colonial endeavours and their associated genocides have historically been driven and enabled by the corporate sector.' Israel's expansion on Palestinian land is one example of 'colonial racial capitalism', where corporate entities profit from an illegal occupation. Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, 'entities that previously enabled and profited from Palestinian elimination and erasure within the economy of occupation, instead of disengaging are now involved in the economy of genocide,' the report said. For foreign arms companies, the war has been a lucrative venture. Israel's military spending from 2023 to 2024 surged 65 percent, amounting to $46.5bn – one of the highest per capita worldwide. Several entities listed on the exchange market – particularly in the arms, tech and infrastructure sectors – have seen their profits rise since October 2023. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange also rose an unprecedented 179 percent, adding $157.9bn in market value. Global insurance companies, including Allianz and AXA, invested large sums in shares and bonds linked to Israel's occupation, the report said, partly as capital reserves but primarily to generate returns. Booking and Airbnb also continue to profit from rentals in Israeli-occupied land. Airbnb briefly delisted properties on illegal settlements in 2018 but later reverted to donating profits from such listings to humanitarian causes, a practice the report referred to as 'humanitarian-washing'. According to Albanese's report, yes. Corporate entities are under an obligation to avoid violating human rights through direct action or in their business partnerships. States have the primary responsibility to ensure that corporate entities respect human rights and must prevent, investigate and punish abuses by private actors. However, corporations must respect human rights even if the state where they operate does not. A company must therefore assess whether activities or relationships throughout its supply chain risk causing human rights violations or contributing to them, according to the report. The failure to act in line with international law may result in criminal liability. Individual executives can be held criminally liable, including before international courts. The report called on companies to divest from all activities linked to Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, which is illegal under international law. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion ruling that Israel's continued presence in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem should come to an end 'as rapidly as possible'. In light of this advisory opinion, the UN General Assembly demanded that Israel bring to an end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory by September 2025. Albanese's report said the ICJ's ruling 'effectively qualifies the occupation as an act of aggression … Consequently, any dealings that support or sustain the occupation and its associated apparatus may amount to complicity in an international crime under the Rome Statute. 'States must not provide aid or assistance or enter into economic or trade dealings, and must take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that would assist in maintaining the illegal situation created by Israel in the oPt.'
Indianapolis Star
an hour ago
- Indianapolis Star
Countdown to Prime Day 2025: What to know and what to buy before it starts
If you haven't heard the huge news yet, Amazon Prime Day 2025 is coming! This year, Amazon has decided to run the epic annual sales event for four deal-packed days (beginning on Tuesday, July 8 and running through Friday, July 11), instead of the usual two days. If you're familiar with Prime Day, you'll know that this is the perfect time to grab many items with deep discounts. Like many savvy shoppers, I save up most of my big purchases for events like this so get the most bang for my buck. To help you navigate this year's Prime Week and grab all the hottest deals happening, the editors here at USA TODAY Shopping have put together a handy Amazon Prime Day shopping guide with answers to all your frequently asked questions and the best shopping tips you can find. Plus, you'll find all the details about all the early deals happening now and leading up to the big event. Prime Day is Amazon's annual members-only shopping event. It offers limited-time deals, lightning deals, and exclusive discounts on products across nearly every category. Amazon Prime Day 2025 begins on Tuesday, July 8, and will end on Friday, July 11. Unlike past Prime Day sales, this is the first year the event has been extended from two days to four days. USA TODAY Shopping will be monitoring all the savings throughout Prime Day 2025, so be sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Instagram to stay updated! Yes, in order to get access to the best Prime Day deals, you'll want to sign up for an Amazon Prime membership. New members can try one week of Amazon Prime benefits for just $1.99. After that, Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year. Amazon Prime for Young Adults is back! Do you qualify for the discount? Find out here Beyond lasting twice as long as previous years, this Prime Day is also introducing Today's Big Deals. These will be daily themed drops, featuring top offers exclusively for Prime members. And the savings start now, with three weeks of early deals across various categories! NEW: Starting Tuesday, July 1, Prime members can score up to 30% off Amazon brands, including school supplies and household essentials from Amazon Basics (starting at $3) and summer fashion from Amazon Essentials (starting at $12). NEW: Fuel up for less this 4th of July weekend (July 3 to 6) with $1 off per gallon at over 7,500 bp, Amoco and participating ampm stations. NEW: More perks include $10 off Grubhub+ orders over $20 with code PRIME10 through Monday, July 7, up to 30% off Avis car rentals plus 10% back in Amazon gift cards, Carnival cruises from $80 per day and hotel deals via Visit Myrtle Beach. NEW: Amazon Prime for Young Adults membership is back! People between the ages of 18 and 24 can sign up for the relaunched discounted Prime membership with a six-month $0 trial and then just $7.49 per month. Join Prime for Young Adults As Prime Day is fast approaching, we've already started spotting many amazing deals across various categories, and these savings are happening right now! We've put together some of the best early deals you can grab below, along with links to various savings guides to help you make the most of this extended sales event. These deals offer up to 62% off popular Amazon devices like Fire TVs, Ring Cameras and more: More: Score up to 62% off Amazon devices ahead of Prime Day Below, we've wrangled up the top products under $25 on sale right now: More: These viral K-beauty toner pads are 39% off ahead of Amazon Prime Day Early Amazon Prime Day Deals: Shop these top 20 products under $25 Below, find the top products under $50 on sale right now: Early Amazon Prime Day Deals: Shop these top 20 products under $50 Below, grab the top products under $100 on sale right now: Early Prime Day deals: Top 25 Amazon finds under $100 Below, you can save big on these top deals offering 50% off or more, and available right now: Shop more deals with 50% or more off These best early Prime Day TV deals you can grab right now and save up to 48% off:
