Bloomberg Wants Bullpens at Agencies

MYFOXNY.COM - Fox 5 News has learned that the Bloomberg administration is looking to revamp city office space, urging agencies to tear down walls and managers' offices to create so-called 'bullpens.' Among the changes Mayor Bloomberg made at New York City Hall when he first took office was to create a communal setting as opposed to closed offices.

A lot of people did not know that the mayor does not use his own office. He sits in a bullpen with other staffers. You can pretty much forget shoe shopping when you're working at city hall. But the bigger picture is about reducing the amount of rent the city pays for office space.  It is known around city hall as the 'space project;' as in the hundreds and thousands of square feet used to house city agencies.

Decision makers do not have corner offices. That way they can communicate easily with each other. 

The Department of Environmental Protection is undergoing the transformation. Workers are boxing up their belongings and their floor will be gutted to look more like an already completed bullpen across the hall.  It is strikingly similar to the one Bloomberg created as one of his first acts of mayor.

Changes have saved  the DEP $800,000, in part by being able to sublease the area they no longer use. The squeeze is being put on other agencies to do the same. One-third of the city's agencies have committed to creating bullpens and more are in the works. It will help the mayor reach the goal he set four months ago to save $36 million in rent and $4 million in energy costs.