Later this month, the member states of the United Nations will vote on
a plan that will decide key details of their impending five-year relocation
— and it may still lead it to a temporary home in Brooklyn.
The Brooklyn Papers learned this week that the United Nations had not
ruled out a temporary move of at least some of its headquarters operations
to Brooklyn, despite a preference to settle somewhere in Midtown Manhattan.
“After the General Assembly picks their option we will know how much
space we will be looking for,” Viviane Van De Perre, chief of administration
and communication for the UN’s capital master plan, told The Papers.
“If it’s a greater amount of [space] we need, chances are better
we might have to go farther to Brooklyn, or even farther out.”
Last spring, the 190-member international organization began a search
for temporary office space for use while its East Side headquarters undergoes
a thorough renovation that is expected to last at least five years.
This week the UN said it expects to count ballots by the end of December
and, soon after, begin the process of finding a place suited to its needs.
The UN could need up to one-million square-feet of temporary office, known
as swing space — the amount of space will depend on which plan assembly
members vote for.
Any strategy that involves swing space could potentially involve Brooklyn,
said Van De Perre, adding that UN staffers have at this point expressed
desires to stay as close as possible to the current headquarters.
It’s the number of square feet needed multiplied by the cost per
square foot that will determine a temporary locale for the international
diplomats and their staffs, according to Van De Perre.
In July, UN officials met with Borough President Markowitz, Brooklyn Chamber
of Commerce President Kenneth Adams and Downtown Brooklyn Council Director
Michael Burke. Participants said at the time that no specific Brooklyn
site was proposed — and the borough president’s office reiterated
that point this week.
“The borough president’s office is not dealing with any specific
developer,” said Markowitz spokesman Greg Atkins.
“It is completely up to the UN as to how they make any decisions
on their relocation,” Atkins said.
In August, the Daily News reported that the UN had nixed any outer-borough
foray in favor of midtown, citing a 31-story building at 485 Lexington
Ave. as a possibility for the five-year relocation.
