Forget Shark Week! Get ready to be immersed in a new ocean experience.

By next summer, National Geographic Times Square: Ocean Giants expects to be thrilling you near Times Square on West 44 Street in the base of the Times Building.

The 59,137-square-foot multi-floor deal was inked by Jared Kushner of Kushner Companies, which owns the 250,000-square-foot retail condominium. Located between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, the property has frontage on West 43rd and West 44th streets.

In his spare time, Kushner, a real estate developer as well as publisher of the New York Observer, has been providing advice and speech-writing for his somewhat famous father-in-law, developer and presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The new tenant, formally known as Times Square Attractions Live, is a partnership between Lisa Truitt’s SPE Partners and Peterson Companies, a major Washington, DC-area real estate developer led by Milton Peterson. His son, Jon Peterson, a company principal for 25 years, has been leading this venture as the financial and strategic partner.

Truitt, a 20-year National Geographic employee, had been president of National Geographic’s Giant Screen Films and Special Projects. National Geographic operates a popular museum at its own DC headquarters.

The tenant was represented by Eric Gelber of CBRE and is but one of several entertainment companies locking in area spots. Gelber’s representation of Foot Locker in its deal at 8 Times Square, aka 1460 Broadway, was chosen by the Real Estate Board of New York as the Most Significant Retail Deal of 2015.

Lon Rubackin and Gary Trock of CBRE, along with Morris Harary, Larry Rabinowitz and Ira Bloom, negotiated the long lease in-house for Kushner Cos., which previously signed a 49,000-square-foot deal with the miniature world of Gulliver’s Gate. Bowlmor and Guitar World are two of the other retail condo tenants.

The rent was not disclosed, but the Times Square area’s ground-floor asking rents average is $2,363 per square foot — with the typically larger upstairs and downstairs spaces rented at a significant discount.

Other entertainment companies nabbing spaces include Margaritaville at the Brill Building at 1619 Broadway, the Grand Ole Opry at 1604 Broadway and the NFL at the upcoming 20 Times Square, aka 701 Broadway.


Lobbying for rules, regulations, landmarks, unique designs and other land-use arcana is as much a way of life in New York as is window shopping.

But now, worrisome city and state laws amended in 2013 have developers and land-use professionals in a confidentiality conundrum and time bind as two lobbying amnesty programs come into play this week.

“What is lobbying for the city might not be lobbying for the state and vice versa,” explained Michael De Chiara, a partner with Zetlin & De Chiara. “If you have an innovative design but it is not precisely defined by the fire code, for instance, all of the meetings [to discuss it] could be deemed lobbying.”

Architects and engineers who typically have informal discussions about potential projects with agencies such as the New York City Department of Buildings and City Planning have to not only register as lobbyists but also disclose their fees and their clients, i.e., the developers, who also now have to register as “clients.” And all must then continue to pay fees and file multiple forms each year. “They don’t know which conversations are lobbying and what is not, and it’s an incredible burden to say it would be lobbying,” De Chiara said.

Worse, Thursday, June 30, is the last day to apply to the City Clerk for amnesty in a program that was designed to get parties registered by waiving late filing fees and penalties for the last 10 years of “lobbyist” activity. The city form needs details of clients, meetings and compensation going back to Jan. 1, 2015.

On Tuesday, the deadline to apply for amnesty with the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics was extended.

Once that’s accepted, JCOPE wants the same details going back to Jan. 1, 2013, and also requires “training.”

“They are giving another 90 days to provide more clarity as to what will constitute a lobbying act,” said De Chiara. “It’s unfortunate the city hasn’t followed suit. The industry needs greater clarity and the clients need clarity.”

Thankfully, media are exempt, so please rethink these requirements that appear to be designed as “gotchas” and won’t stop truly illegal activity.