New-nited Nations 
Staying in midtown during rehab 

By Paul D. Colford
Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/354442p-302191c.html

This 31-story building at 485 Lexington Ave. was early choice for UN during renovations, but NYPD reportedly had security concerns. 

The United Nations plans to scatter employees among as many as four midtown buildings while its landmark headquarters is renovated starting in 2007. 
Downtown Brooklyn, identified by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan last spring as a possible site for temporary offices, apparently is no longer under consideration. 
At this stage, what we're looking at is midtown, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said yesterday. 
The UN recently invited architectural companies to come forward if they want to be considered for a project renovating and furnishing 560,000 square feet of office space and 80,000 square feet of library space in midtown. 
It is anticipated that there will be two to four building locations to cover this swing space requirement, the UN's invitation said. 
Haq said the UN has yet to choose the midtown buildings it will occupy temporarily. 
The $1.2 billion renovation of UN headquarters, opened in 1951, will force 2,700 employees to relocate for five years. 
We're still studying a variety of options to see how we can move staff efficiently and at the least overall expense, Haq added. 
We expect to have proposals in mid-November. Ultimately, it's up to the General Assembly to decide. 
Sources said the Police Department raised security concerns about the UN's earlier interest in consolidating staff at one location. The 31-story building at 485 Lexington Ave. was identified as a possible choice. 
Yesterday, the NYPD said it had no comment on security issues involving the UN. 
In addition, the UN will be seeking architects to design and furnish a 150,000- square-foot temporary building, two to three stories tall, on the UN campus. 
It would contain 18 conference room/auditoriums ... small office area, cafe area, medical area and broadcast studios, the invitation said. 
Although Brooklyn appears to be out of the running, a spokeswoman at Brooklyn Borough Hall said yesterday that as far as she knows, the borough is still on the table. 
The UN's search for swing space accelerated this year because state lawmakers didn't approve legislation allowing the organization to build a 35-story tower on Robert Moses Playground, just south of its headquarters. 
Once the headquarters could be reoccupied, the new tower would have been taken over by other UN staffers already spread around Manhattan.