Contact Us
News

UN POWER BROKER

New York
UN POWER BROKER
Andy Roos, 380 Madison, on Oct. 25, 2011
Colliers tri-state vice chair Andy Roos is a third-generation NYC CRE guy and the exclusive real esate broker for the United Nations. So he knows a lot of people. (He doesn't know Neil Young personally, but he does collect vintage music posters—this autographed one was a gift from one of his partners.) Andy once took Richard Nixon on a tour (looking for NYC office space post-presidency) of the top floor of 545 Madison. The man was taller than you'd have thought, he tells us. (We interviewed Michael Dukakis back in '99, and his eyebrows were less bushy than you'd have thought, too.) Andy's grandfatherjoined Williams Real Estate in 1929, buying up real estate after theDepression. His dad joined in 1951, and the firm later became part of FirstService Williams, now Colliers International, for which Andy was the top broker last year.
Daily News Building
He also repped Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan in six one-year leases starting in 1976 at Durst's 733 Third Ave. Why one-year terms? The GSA wouldn't sign for longer in case the senator passed away, Andy tells us. In '82, he did his first UN lease, and he landed the exclusive gig five years ago. That job covers more than just the iconic Secretariat Building: The UN and its agencies occupy about 1M SF around town, and Andy has done 500k SF of leases for them. There's plenty going on, too, as the HQ is renovated (it'll be ready in a year or two), international relations becomes increasingly relevant, and agencies like UN Women are added. That one took 85k SF in SL Green's Daily News Building at 220 E 42nd St (above) earlier this year.