High times in New York City: Rent numbers keep going up!

The numbers just keep going up and up - the rent numbers, that is! The just-released Fall 2014 Retail Report from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) reveals that asking rents for the most famous shopping streets in the city continue to rise. Fifth Ave. between 49th and 59th Sts. commands $3,420 per s/f, up 8% from a year ago. Time Sq. asking rents rose 7% year-over-year to $2,317 per s/f. But other areas rose even more - Madison Ave.'s rates skyrocketed 24%to $1,709 per s/f, while Herald Sq. wasn't far behind with a 21% increase to $891 per s/f. Harlem rents also are seeking double-digit increases, rising 18% to $130 per s/f for West 125th St. This is great, but not surprising, news as we all gather at the Javits Center for the ICSC New York National Conference on December 8th and 9th. This is an exciting time for this show, allowing all of us to gather in one convenient location, and for thousands of developers and retailers to truly display their projects and plans. What the attendees will see is that New York's economy is strong, tourism even stronger, and retailers are realizing that taking locations in more than one neighborhood is good business, the report says. Saks and Barneys are taking second locations, and we all know that SoHo and Madison Ave. are practically sister locations these days. The new year will continue to see retailers expanding into the boroughs, side streets and anywhere they can find affordable space, as major brands focus on and are willing to pay rents for the famed shopping streets. With FiDi continuing to build out, I don't see rents decreasing any time soon, so retailers, find your spaces now! My team and I will be all over the show, so please contact us for an appointment! Some already have. Papyrus has signed for 655 Avenue of the Americas. Steinway will relocate its flagship showroom (as well as its corporate headquarters) to 1133 Avenue of the Americas by the end of 2015. Cloak & Dagger consolidated its two boutiques into a single new location at 334 East Ninth St. Anthom offers women's apparel at 197 Tenth Ave. Italian leather goods brand Piquardo is coming to 509 Madison Ave., while Rimowa will open its first shop in the city at 535. Returning to the boulevard: Italian shoemaker Santoni, to 762. Eddie Bauer is coming to 100 Fifth Ave. Billy Reid's second store in the city is now at 94 Charles St. Look for jeweler Satya at Brookfield Place next year. Juice Generation will come to FiDi at 101 Maiden Ln. Sneakerboy's posh athletic footwear and streetwear are coming to 170 Mercer St. The holiday calendar is busy as always. We at NYCREW are looking forward to our Holiday Gala and Empire Award presentation, to be held on Tuesday, December 9th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Columbus Citizens Foundation Townhouse, 8 East 69th St.. We'll celebrate the achievements of 2014, look forward to 2015, and present the Empire Award to NYCREW's MVP with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and companionship! For more information, visit www.nycrew.org. Happy Thanksgiving and happy shopping! Faith Hope Consolo is the chairman of the retail group at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, New York, N.Y.