Rockefeller Center’s Christmas Tree to Return Without the Crowds

(Bloomberg) -- Rockefeller Center will have a Christmas tree in 2020. And under that tall spruce, there will be skaters, though maybe not the usual big crowds.

That’s according to Tishman Speyer Properties, which owns and manages the Midtown Manhattan landmark. While worrying about details such as cleaning, bike storage and food deliveries, the real estate firm is keen that the complex built during the Great Depression signals a New York comeback.

“Of course the Christmas tree will go up this year, and we will do a terrific and phenomenal tree,” EB Kelly, the Tishman Speyer managing director who oversees the center, said in an interview. “We may need to reimagine what the tree lighting itself looks like.”

Until then, there’s a hot summer to get through, when the outdoor plazas will have appeal.

Rainbow Room

The open-air City Winery cafe on the north plaza will be reopening in July with temperature checks and questionnaires required for entry. Capacity will drop to 40 or 50 people from last summer’s 150, with groups limited to no more than four.

Also next month, the center is considering putting tables and chairs on the rink, and keeping the doors of the concourse open to make it easier for food and beverage vendors to serve. Food trucks and a farmer’s market will be added on the plazas.

“New York City is a city of extroverts, we feed off our personal interactions,” said Rob Speyer, the firm’s chief executive officer. “You can’t do that by Zoom.”

The hospitality and security staff will be monitoring the environment to ensure things are “safe and welcoming,” Kelly said. “We expect this to be done with a human touch.”

It’s unclear when the Rainbow Room will return to host weddings and galas, but the Top of the Rock, offering commanding views of the city, will be back as soon as permitted, which will be in Phase 4, Kelly said. Visitors will encounter the same safety measures as those imposed in the lobby: Appropriate queuing, reduced elevator capacity, staff wearing face coverings and asking guests to do so. The timed ticketing system already in place will facilitate social distancing.

On Monday, as part of the city’s Phase 2 reopening, the center anticipates “somewhere between 10% and 20% of office tenants to return -- core people and those struggling with working from home,” Kelly said.

‘Ramping Up’

“We also certainly expect that that will change and will be ramping up as the city progresses,” she said. “None of our tenants have expressed to me any sort of fundamental shift in the view that they’d no longer have their people back in the office.”

Before the lockdown, the complex drew about 20,000 people a day to its 19 buildings located between 48th and 51st streets.

Kelly said there’s been an “uptick of interest from people with leases expiring,” and expects “we will have increasing conversations with tenants as they reassess their space needs in this environment.”

Tenants have been notified which entrances will be enter-only and exit-only; where to stand in the elevators; and where if necessary one stands in a queue in the lobby to maintain 6 feet of distance. Most of this has taken place on the firm’s Zo platform, which has provided amenities to tenants during the lockdown such as virtual yoga and wine tastings. When workers return, the Zo clubhouse and its outdoor terraces, as well as the library, will be open with reduced capacity.

As far as the commute is concerned, Rockefeller Center has one garage. There are 60 spaces for pre-registered bike storage with key-card access, and alternative locations have been identified if demand warrants. Two new Citi Bike locations are in the works.

The center is considering enabling group take-out ordering from Blue Ribbon Sushi or other concourse eateries through the Ritual app, Kelly said. Orders would be collected by one person, who would bring the food to the office. Sweetgreen outposts, for salad pick-ups, were in place before the pandemic.

The buildings are looking particularly sparkling, from the metalwork of sidewalk grates to the paintings on the exterior walls to freshly planted flowers. By August, expect new flags around the rink joining those by artists including Jenny Holzer and Faith Ringgold.

There’s an open call through June 30 for designs reflecting “aspirations for the return of New York,” Kelly said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.