NYSE Abandons Downtown Plan

NEW YORK CITY-A week after word hit the street that a search is under way for a spot to build a second trading floor for the New York Stock Exchange, the exchange’s chairman, Richard Grasso, yesterday revealed that negotiations for a new Downtown facility are officially kaput.

An NYSE spokesman detailed the decision for GlobeSt.com, saying that in light of the city’s Sept. 11-induced decision to back down on its original deal with the exchange, plans for a new Downtown trading floor have been scrapped. The arrangement had included a $1 billion subsidy for a trading floor topped by a 900-foot office tower at 23 Wall St., across the street from the NYSE’s current headquarters.

Financial constraints and the current lack of enthusiasm for tall buildings put the $1.6-billion deal on shaky ground, the spokesman said. Talks bogged down earlier this year when Grasso nixed the office tower and Mayor Bloomberg asked the exchange to double its financial commitment to the project. Yesterday, Grasso pulled the plug on the entire deal.