New York has long prided itself on being the city that never sleeps. But even by Big Apple standards, the latest mantra circulating among some AI companies sounds extreme: 9-9-6.
Don’t let it be confused with 6-7: this new number means 9am to 9pm, six days a week, a work schedule with roots in the Chinese tech sector that has crept into Silicon Valley, and now Manhattan. The rut could be a boon for commercial real estate, boosting demand for offices built for long work hours and housing developments near where people work.
“What interests me about the AI companies we’re dealing with is that they are culturally very different from what we think of as the typical technology companies,” Mary Ann Tighe said this month at the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate’s capital markets conference. In other words, they’re not the typical tech companies with kombucha taps and casual Fridays. One AI manager reportedly told her point-blank that their culture is 9-9-6.
“Now describe why we’re seeing such incredible growth here,” Tighe said of the AI sector. “How big of a workforce is there in our country where you can get a significant number of workers signing up for 9-9-6?”
Long working days and the weekend grind are not new in sectors such as the financial sector and the legal profession. But a 72-hour work week takes that culture of hard work to a new extreme. The 9-9-6 buzz recently started bubbling up in Silicon Valley amid the AI arms race, with job postings indicating 70-hour work weeks and spikes in weekend spending at office-adjacent companies, suggesting people aren’t opting out, according to the New York Times.
That same ruthless work ethic appears to be migrating east, where New York City-based AI startup Rilla’s website discourages candidates who aren’t “enthusiastic about” a 70-hour in-person work week from applying, as Fast Company recently reported.
New York office-to-residential developers are now targeting the 9-9-6 group. For example, Rudin is transforming 845 Third Avenue into 411 apartments and 355 Lexington Avenue into 297 units, counting on these high-paid professionals choosing convenience and proximity over traditional residential neighborhoods.
“The 9-9-6 is what our market is for,” Bill Rudin said at the conference.
“If you work at Citadel, Blackstone, Blue Owl or JPMorgan, next to Park, Madison or Sixth, chances are you’re already logging those hours, or worse,” Rudin said. “The question then becomes a logistical one: Do you want a 20-minute subway ride home and then turn around and do it again, or do you want to walk three blocks to a new apartment with a gym, work spaces and amenities built for people who might still be working on Sundays?”
The city that never sleeps may live up to its name.
What we think aboutDuring the most recent earnings call, Bob Sulentic, chairman and CEO of CBRE, said data centers generated nearly $700 million in revenue in the third quarter, up 40 percent year over year. Other brokers have reported similar results. A new crop of young real estate agents are cashing in on land transactions in data centers and earning hefty commissions. Who are the top players? Send a message to elizabeth.cryan@therealdeal.com.
Something we learned: Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza interned at real estate investment firms ACRE and Newmark in the San Francisco Bay Area after graduating from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business last spring. Mendoza transferred to Indiana University as a redshirt junior this year, where he threw for 33 touchdowns and six rushing touchdowns for the season.
Elsewhere…
– Fitness trainer Jerry Genesis allegedly robbed at least eight potential renters in Manhattan and Brooklyn of more than $100,000 by pretending to have apartments available for subletting and then charging false moving fees to unsuspecting victims, the New York Post reported. According to the Post, none of the tenants were able to move into the apartments they thought were sublet.
– Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that 2025 has been one of the safest years in the metro so far this century, The New York Times reported. With the exception of two years during the peak of the pandemic, major crime in the metro is at its lowest level since 2009, and the system is on track to reach its second-lowest crime rate since the 1990s, the governor’s office said. Major crimes include rape, murder, theft and assault.
– Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik announced she is no longer running for governor of New York. Stefanik, an ardent Trump supporter, announced her campaign to unseat Kathy Hochul last month. She is also giving up her seat in Congress.
Closing time
Residential: The highest residential deal recorded on Friday was $21.3 million for a 4,183-square-foot sponsorship condominium at 111 West 57th Street in the Plaza District. Nikki Field, Ben Pofcher and Jeanne H Bucknam with Sotheby’s had the mention.
Commercial: The best recorded commercial deal was $6.65 million for a 15-unit apartment complex at 977 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint.
New on the market: The highest price for a home that came on the market was $20.5 million for an 8,000-square-foot townhouse at 123 East 71st Street in Lenox Hill. The Benalloul team with Corcoran has the mention.
Groundbreaking: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 8,241-square-foot, 11-story, 72-unit mixed-use project at 11-35 31st Drive in Astoria. Angelo Ng + Anthony Ng Architects submitted the permit on behalf of Li Qing.
— Matthew Elo
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