BY ROBERT SAMMONS

With the election next week, we thought it was a great time to (very briefly) look at a 20-year time span (which will soon include a total of six presidential elections) in the context of the Manhattan commercial real estate market.

Where did the market stand at the time of each election, and what occurred under the stewardship of each president? Real estate cause and effect appears, for the most part, much more local, and doesn’t have a close relationship with the person or party in the highest office. Nevertheless, elections are great reference points.

After the jump, each of our last five elections is listed, showing the overall vacancy rate and asking rent in Manhattan, ending with where we stand today, exactly one week before the next election.

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BY ADELAIDE POLSINELLI

Anyone who has ever dared attempt to make a reservation at Manhattan’s single most elusive and notoriously difficult restaurant to get into, Rao’s, will attest to the acid-like sting of the resounding “NO” coming from the owner, Mr. Pellegrino. His nickname is “Frankie No” because that’s what you get when you call for an appointment.

After years of hearing Frankie No’s negative response, I persisted until I finally got my “yes.” For real estate brokers and many other professionals, the word “no” is par for the course. Sometimes it’s the main and only course. What separates a great broker from an average one is how they go about turning nos into yeses. Turning rejection into acceptance is a highly skilled trait that is worth fine-tuning.

The mother of all rejection sits in the nest of cold calling. Every broker has had to begin in this cold, dark, door-slamming chapter of sales. Eventually most brokers get so numb to the rejection that they give up or become immune. Immunity is good if it turns those nos into yeses. Success is bestowed on those who learn the techniques of positive persistence and relentless tenacity.

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BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM

Legend has it that nearly every attendee of the Sex Pistols first show eventually went on to start his or her own punk band, and that likewise, everybody at Big Star’s first show ended up a music critic. But what of the second annual Real Estate Rockers in Relief concert held last Wednesday?

Indeed, with its turntables and penchant for throwing “Back to the ’90s” parties, the Canal Room, a music venue in Tribeca, is better known for hosting celebrities like Tyson Beckford and Diddy than, say, David Lowenfeld of the Worldwide Group. But there he was last week, not only bereft of suit and tie, but at ease on stage while tickling the ivories alongside his band, Midlife.

And Mr. Lowenfeld wasn’t the only executive playing rock star that night. From Howard Glatzer of 40 North Properties to Carl Schwartz of Hunton & Williams, the industry came alive to salute colleagues.

After the jump, a sampling of real estate execs who rock, including members of Midlife, Normal by Day and RIPChORD, all of which performed last week.

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BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM

Since 2010, when Retro Fitness opened its first New York area location in Staten Island, the low-cost fitness center has been making major inroads on the East Coast.

Now boasting six locations within the five boroughs, Retro’s low $19.99-a-month fee has been giving its closest competitor, Planet Fitness, a run for its money.

With a new lease on Avenue Y in Brooklyn signed earlier this month, and a projected 30 locations throughout the five boroughs in the next three years, Jack Terzi, a tenant rep for Retro Fitness and president of the brokerage firm JTRE, reviewed the floor plans of its soon-to-open gym at 1623 Flatbush Avenue with The Commercial Observer and explained why the rapidly expanding company chose to open in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn.

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