"When you consider that there's over 350 million square feet of office space in Manhattan--that's more than Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston combined--even a return of 10 million sf isn't going to have that much of an effect," said Siegel. He targeted Long Island City and Harlem as promising areas for growth and added that class 'B' space is likely to suffer as a result of increased class 'A' availability.

"Right now, it's landlord heaven out there," Siegel said. "Whatever negative absorption we're experiencing right now is a pause rather than a stoppage or slowdown." Siegel downplayed the effects of the dot-com shakeout on the commercial real estate industry, claiming that the Manhattan market is still far from the depressed conditions that crippled business in the early 1990s.

Whether it will have a significant effect on the office market or not, the shakeout continues. Beenz.com, a web currency service of sorts, laid off all but 30 of its workforce of 265, rendering their offices at 3 Park Ave. all but redundant. MarchFIRST, a "global management consultancy," has dumped another 121,000 sf of space at 105 E. 17th St. back on the market after going the way of all good things.

"Experts tell us a recession is not in the cards," Siegel said. "Experts tell us a recession is probable. Experts tell us a recession might happen. Who knows? You ask three different experts, you get three different answers."