After months of debate, the New York City Department for the Aging will move its offices to 14 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. The city has signed a 20-year lease for 81,000 square feet at the property owned by Alexander Rovt. The agreement is valued at $77 million.
The lease terms specify that in the first five years, the city will pay $33 per square foot, with scheduled increases every five years capped at $44 per square foot. There is no confirmed date yet for when the department will relocate from its current address at 2 Lafayette Street.
The process surrounding this deal has drawn criticism and scrutiny. Some have alleged that city officials directed the lease toward Rovt, who has contributed to Mayor Eric Adams’ campaigns and legal fund. Jesse Hamilton, a former deputy commissioner at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), resigned last month amid broader controversy over office leases and now faces corruption charges unrelated to this particular deal.
Reports indicate Hamilton became involved in the procurement process to favor Rovt’s property even though internal scoring ranked AmTrust Realty’s 250 Broadway as a higher choice for leasing. An internal DCAS review did not examine Hamilton’s actions but concluded that proper procedures were followed during evaluation. DCAS also stated that choosing 250 Broadway would have cost taxpayers an extra $16 million overall and noted that officials from the Department for the Aging preferred moving to 14 Wall Street.
Regarding his assessment of the agreement, DCAS Commissioner Louis Molina said: “I evaluated the deal, and it was clear that 14 Wall St. was the best economic deal for the city.”
Rovt has donated $9,200 to Adams’ mayoral and Brooklyn borough president campaigns as well as $5,000 to his legal defense fund; his wife and son have also made contributions.
