ISSUE NO. 18 | February 21, 2023 | | |
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Dear 555 Community,
The days are getting longer and brighter — Spring is just within sight, less than a month away. It’s time to venture forth — see new things in old and familiar surroundings.
In this issue of our newsletter, we are pleased to introduce you to your new neighbors, Pavia & Harcourt, who are happily returning to their old neighborhood having found a new home with us.
Our wonderful city is awash in new attractions in older settings, many of which we have highlighted for you in this newsletter.
So, get adventurous this Spring, and keep your eyes open — everything old (almost) is new again!
Happy reading!
The Rodney Corporation
| Please note: While we send this update to our designated tenant contact, we encourage you to share this newsletter and all issues with your entire staff so we can keep our community connected and informed. |
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THE LUXE LIFE
Pavia & Harcourt Returns to Madison Avenue
| 555 Madison Avenue welcomed its newest tenant this past December. Pavia & Harcourt took up residence on the 11th floor and the team is now settling into their new life in our building. About 22 professionals work from the NYC headquarters with other workers and affiliate offices in Milan and Paris rounding out the practice. | |
Giovanni E. Spinelli, Managing Partner | |
Pavia & Harcourt is a boutique international law firm with an array of clients, many of whom are in the luxury space. “We specialize in helping European businesses operate in the United States. Many of our clients don’t have in-house counsel in the U.S., and we strive to support them in that regard. We try to do it soup to nuts. We do commercial transactions; we help with employment law. We do IP law and litigation — basically we try to offer whatever our clients need. It’s a 360-degree operation. We also advise individuals with trusts, estates, matrimonial matters, and other transactions, but a good deal of our work is for medium sized foreign enterprises, particularly in the luxury goods arena,” explains Managing Partner Giovanni Spinelli. Spinelli has been with the firm since 2001. | |
Donatella Santillo, Paralegal; Stefania McCarthy, Director of Administration; Giovanni E. Spinelli, Managing Partner; Catherine Vance Perusse, Partner; Alessandro Saracino, Partner; Brandon Sherman, Associate | |
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With a focus on luxury, moving to Madison Avenue was not only a natural choice for the firm, it was a homecoming. “We are very much a neighborhood animal. We were at 600 and then 590 Madison for years. Then we moved to 230 Park Avenue, but we found ourselves to be too far away from a lot of our clients,” says Spinelli. “Moving back here puts us right in the middle of things. So many of our clients are right on Madison or around 57th Street. The overall energy here is palpable and it is very positive for us.”
Spinelli notes that the new space at 555 Madison Avenue is “bright, conducive to work and very galvanizing for our team.” That type of energy is just what the firm needs right now as they are very busy these days. In addition to representing brands including Balmain, CH Carolina Herrera, Ferragamo, Lanvin, Valentino, and Zegna, to name a few, the firm has recently added several new luxury clients to their roster. They are supporting these international businesses as they expand along with the entire luxury sector.
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“We are working on some really exciting projects. There’s a lot of growth right here on Madison Avenue. Some of our retail clients continue expanding and creating new flagship stores on Madison and in the Meatpacking District, and there’s a lot of growth in other areas you would expect, such as South Coast Plaza, but also in the high-end outlets throughout the country.” | |
With so much going on, Spinelli admits there hasn’t been much of an opportunity yet to interact with other tenants in the building. He says the firm is looking forward to meeting more neighbors and becoming a part of the 555 Madison Avenue community. | |
Other Building Updates & News | | |
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Elevator Upgrades: Work is proceeding on schedule! For the high-rise elevators, our restoration project will be finished when the last car comes back into service within the next few weeks. For the low-rise elevators, one car is undergoing restoration and will hopefully be back in service by late May, at which time all of our elevator upgrades will be complete. Thank you for your patience.
Bike Room: Spring is coming! Storage space is currently available for bikes — please contact the management office for more information.
Fire drills: Our building will be holding our biannual fire drills in April and October of this year — all tenants will be advised in advance.
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Thank you all for celebrating Valentine’s Day with us.
Our community is very special and we are grateful for the moments big and small we can share together, especially if they involve cupcakes.
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Everything Old is New Again
GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL
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Grand Central Madison
The new state-of-the-art Grand Central Madison station is now open for exploring (and for temporary shuttle trains to Jamaica). After your journey 15 stories below the street level, enjoy meandering around looking out for two wonderful new glass mosaic art works by Yayoi Kusama and Kiki Smith, along with a wide variety of digital art. And don’t forget to mark your calendar for February 27, when the LIRR comes to Grand Central Madison and nearly all of the LIRR schedules will be rewritten.
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And while you’re at Grand Central, be sure to take a second look at something old you may now see in a new light: | |
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Info Desk Clock
Take a closer look at this “everyday” clock we’ve all glanced at thousands of times. It was made by the Self-Winding Clock Company in Brooklyn of opal glass set in brass and is rumored to be valued at up to $20 million.
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42nd Street Façade Clock
Look again. This clock is not only the largest Tiffany clock in the world, but also the largest-ever piece of Tiffany glass, spanning 14 feet in diameter. It was installed in 1914 as a part of the Transportation sculpture with depictions of Mercury, Hercules, and Minerva.
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Acorns
Count all of the acorns and oak leaves the next time you’re waiting for a train. They are everywhere in the station’s décor, even atop the Info Desk Clock. Acorns were a family symbol for the Vanderbilts, who built Grand Central — “From a little acorn, a mighty oak shall grow.”
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Everything Old is New Again
ROCKEFELLER CENTER
| The culinary options just south of us at Rockefeller Center have exploded with a bevy of new fine dining restaurants that are giving a fresh local heartbeat to this iconic tourist attraction. Here are just some of the new offerings perfect for a business lunch or post-work dinner: | |
FIVE ACRES (30 Rockefeller Plaza, Rink Level) is the highly anticipated new seasonally inspired restaurant from acclaimed chef Greg Baxtrom (the name refers to his family’s five-acre farm just outside Chicago). All day treats run the gamut from frangipane tarts and quiche in the morning to kohlrabi “fettuccini” Alfredo and smoky s’mores in the evening. | |
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JUPITER (620 Fifth Avenue, Rink Level) is the new Italian restaurant from the acclaimed trio of women behind the downtown hit King. Incredibly unique pastas and wines are the highlight here, including pansotti di zucca, agnoli di coniglio, and tagliarini al pomodoro; all the better when served with the most tempting wines from Sicily, Piedmont, and Tuscany. | |
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LE ROCK (45 Rockefeller Plaza) is the flagship runaway new success story at Rockefeller Center, offering a clever spin on the elegance and simplicity of French classic cuisine. Now also open for a carefully composed prix fixe luncheon, this jewel box serves everything from gratin de crab to duck confit lentilles to a beautiful and ever elusive île flottante. | |
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LIMANI (45 Rockefeller Plaza) is the colossal 200-seat restaurant from the Limani family, who have long reigned supreme on Long Island, known for their impeccable seafood menu with exquisite touches of Greek and Cypriot culture. Enjoy a classic Mediterranean meze followed by the freshest grilled fish of the day, and finish with karidopita, a walnut cake with ice cream. | |
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LODI (1 Rockefeller Plaza) is an all-day Italian caffé, bakery, and bar from esteemed chef Ignacio Mattos that is open seven days a week. Drop in anytime, day or night, for tempting aperitivo cuisine that includes everything from small pastries and a macchiato, to panini and a spritz, to a delicate mushroom risotto with a glass of delicious Chianti classico. | |
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NARO (610 Fifth Avenue, Rink Level) offers Korean Hansik tasting menus (including a vegetarian option) for both lunch and dinner from the husband-and-wife team that placed one of their restaurants on the World’s 50 Best list (Atomix). Tangpyeongchae, a Joseon dynasty (1392–1897) delicacy of mungbean jelly and thinly sliced vegetables is an only-at-NARO treat. | |
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Everything Old is New Again
BROADWAY
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You can always depend on Broadway, an arbiter that balances commercial and artistic success, to make us take a fresh look at older works we thought we already knew. Currently on the boards: | |
A DOLL’S HOUSE (Hudson Theatre) Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain leads this thrilling new re-imagination of the play that shocked and scandalized 19th century audiences. |
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CAMELOT (Lincoln Center Theater) Everyone’s favorite Kennedy-era musical has been freshly rewritten by Oscar and Emmy-winner Aaron Sorkin. King Arthur’s tale will rule anew on Broadway. |
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BAD CINDERELLA (Imperial Theatre) Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera may be closing, but his brand new re-telling of Cinderella’s story will ensure his melodies continue to sing on Broadway. |
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FUNNY GIRL (August Wilson Theatre) Superstar Lea Michele raises the roof off the theatre nightly in the first revival of this iconic 59-year-old musical that proclaims that people do need people! |
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NEWS TIPS: We are eager to hear and share your news. Please send story tips and news items about your company and employees for consideration for this newsletter to: newsletter@rodneycorporation.com
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Thank you for reading our newsletter!
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