Midtown's Office Towers Are Full Again — Just Not on Fridays
Attendance in Manhattan's commercial core has rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels midweek, even as the four-day office becomes the new normal.
The Manhattan office is back — with an asterisk. Building-access data compiled by the fictional Midtown Partnership shows Tuesday-through-Thursday attendance has climbed to roughly 90 percent of its 2019 peak, while Mondays and especially Fridays remain sleepy.
Employers have largely stopped fighting the pattern. "We stopped counting badge swipes and started counting outcomes," said one executive at a Midtown media company who asked not to be named. The result is a compressed, intense midweek that has revived lunch counters, gyms, and after-work bars near Grand Central.
Landlords, meanwhile, are racing to upgrade older towers with the amenities that lure workers in voluntarily. In the new math of the New York office, the commute has to be worth it.
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