ISSUE NO. 5 | January 27, 2021
Dear 555 Community,

We hope that 2021 is off to a good start for all of you. With vaccines rolling out, brighter days and a return to the more familiar rhythms of life and work in our great city are on the way!

As always, we are committed to enhancing the environment we share at 555 and to building community within our walls. In this first newsletter of 2021, we are highlighting our new destination dispatch elevator system and MANE is our tenant in the spotlight. 

This year your destination is 555. Cheers to that and happy reading! 
The Management Team
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.
You Have Arrived At Your Destination!
Our destination dispatch elevator upgrade is complete, and the system launched Tuesday, January 19th. The new system is easy and efficient. If you are still figuring out the system or haven’t returned to 555 Madison Avenue since New York on Pause, below is a brief overview of how it works.
Download the App
To use the elevator system, all tenants will need to download the myPort Public app (icon for reference above). The app is free and available in the app store. Here is a link. 
Easy Steps to Use
  1. Open the myPort Public app within the vicinity of the Port fixture in our lobby. 
  2. A list of floors will populate and you can then select your floor. 
  3. A notification will pop on the screen telling you which car will come first and when it arrives. 
It’s as simple as that. Here is an instructional video for you to watch at your convenience.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us for assistance.
MANE: Making Scents Of The Moment
MANE Lab
Founded more than 150 years ago and steeped with history, MANE is a family-run business for five generations that has always been comfortable with creating things that both stand the test of time and meet the moment. The French company, which develops fragrances and flavors for consumer products, describes itself as “having a unique ability to sense not only what people like, but what moves them on a deeper level, whether this is a fleeting trend or a timeless truth.”

MANE has more than 6,000 employees working in 76 locations worldwide. Forty of those employees, work right here in a creative studio nestled on floors 28, 30 and 31. The company first moved to 555 Madison Avenue decades ago, attracted to the location. Midtown east and the blocks surrounding the Coates Building have been the historic hub for fragrance houses. “All of our clients and competitors are here,” explains Birgit Benayoun, the VP of Fine Fragrance who heads up the New York creative studio. “We are like an architect’s office or ad agency. We are the tiny studio where you meet with the client, where you generate and create the ideas but manufacturing is not happening here. It’s about the experimentation and the creation.”

Here, perfumiers and evaluators develop unique olfactory experiences for fragrance lines including Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani and Jo Malone, as well as personal care and home products. Their process is meticulous and the emphasis is always the quality, purity and safety of the ingredients. The company prides itself on being good neighbors locally and responsible stewards of the planet and its resources.
Evaluation Area
In recent years, MANE completely renovated its space in 555 Madison. The goal was to liberate people from interior spaces to encourage greater collaboration. The only interior room left is used as a library for historic samples. The studio has a perfume gallery for showcasing scents and a state-of-the art lab that is now front and center. Much like an open kitchen in a restaurant, anyone who visits can watch the creative process unfold. Although COVID has meant no one is watching, the work of the moment goes on. 

While most of New York went on pause in March, MANE’s operations at 555 Madison remained open. The company’s work developing personal care products was deemed essential. In immediate response to the pandemic, MANE produced hand sanitizer that was distributed to New York hospitals. The team is now working in two shifts to maintain social distancing, and all aspects of the operations are back online and have adjusted to pandemic life.

“The pandemic really changed the way we interact with clients. We had to rethink the way we brought our creativity to our clients,” notes Benayoun. Presentations are all digital for easy sharing. Fragrance creations are shipped in small vials with testing paper for people to sample together over Zoom. “The pandemic has also shifted the consumer mindset about smell. There is a desire for consumer products with those traditional scent cues that say ‘this is clean. This is safe.’ And, we are happy to deliver what our clients need and want in the moment.”
Vaccines & Covid Protocols

AVAILABLE SPACE AT 555

In response to COVID-19, we are working with tenants to offer flexible, built-out space as needed on a short-term basis to help accommodate social distancing needs in the workplace. This could be a few private offices or an entire unit. Tell us what you need, and we are happy to help.

Need more permanent space? Here’s what’s available:

11th Floor
5,908 RSF, Pre-built C – Available Immediately

14th Floor
5,031 RSF, Furnished Pre-built – Available Immediately

19th floor
9,733 RSF, Full-floor White Box – Available Immediately

If you are interested in any of our available spaces or if you would like us to keep you in mind for future openings, please give us a call. We’re always happy to chat!
NEWS TIPS: We also 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. Thank you!
Thank you for reading our newsletter!