According to Consolo, the deal, which closed in two weeks flat,is emblematic of a trend away from the large retail deals of the1990s, "when people would just shut their eyes and sign anything."Today's retail market, she says, "is giving local retailers theopportunity to get prime locations where they would have been shutout before."

Consolo also says that the wave of smaller deals belies currentnotions that Manhattan's retail market has slumped. "It defies theidea that the market is moving slowly," she says. "I had two dozenoffers on this location."

Another small retail deal handled by the same team just closedat 1460 Lexington Ave. The 2,200-sf storefront, between 94th and95th streets, was leased for 10 years at $75 per sf by a craftshop, The Lion and the Lamb. Consolo and Aquino represented boththe tenant and the building owner in the transaction.