"What we see doesn't look so bad," said Joanne Podell, executivedirector in Cushman & Wakefield's retail services group andchair of REBNY's retail stores committee. Introducing the reportduring a panel discussion at a REBNY luncheon yesterday, she notedthat despite the turmoil in the capital markets, "retail is holdingup."

Of the 17 retail corridors examined in the report, Fifth Avenuebetween 49th and 59th streets commands the highest average askingrent of $1,400 per square foot as of the end of Q3. That's up 12%from an average of $1,250 in Q3 2007--and rents along that corridorrange from $1,200 to $2,500 per square foot. Benjamin Fox,president of Winick Realty Group, noted that the higher figuresusually represented smaller spaces.

Substantial year-over-year increases were seen for the HudsonStreet corridor--up 62.5% from $75 to $120 per square foot--andWest 34th Street between Fifth and Seventh avenues--up 38% from$464 to $643 per square foot. Slight declines were seen for theThird Avenue corridor between 60th and 72nd streets--down 6.3% from$305 to $287-- and Fifth Avenue between 14th and 23rd streets--off8% from $298 to $276. Steeper decreases were recorded for Broadwaysouth of Chambers Street--off 16.6% from $301 to $251 per squarefoot--and Broadway between Houston and Broome streets--off 13.8%from $501 to $432.