The technical definition of the New York, N.Y., metropolitan statistical area, ranked 7th in this year's Top Metros tally (p. 176), encompasses the communities of Newark, N.J., and Edison, Pa. The Philadelphia, Pa., MSA, ranked 13th, encompasses Camden, N.J., and Wilmington, Del. So credit goes as much to the multi-state perimeters of Philadelphia and New York City as to their power-packed centers.
   But the center is where the action is, as demonstrated after the January 2006 World Economic Forum in Davos, when the Forum announced it would launch a Center for Global Industries in New York City, as well as a U.S.-based division of World Economic Forum. Many of the Geneva-based Forum's industry-focused teams will relocate there beginning in March 2006.

Lee Brathwaite, vice president for corporate real estate, Verizon

   "The World Economic Forum's decision to locate its North American affiliate here signals its enormous confidence in New York City as one of the world's greatest places to do business," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg at the February 1 announcement. He made similar statements in December as he welcomed the corporations themselves: Verizon and its 1,500 corporate headquarters employees officially came back to their lower Manhattan address at 140 West St., badly damaged during the attacks on the adjacent World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001.
   The original building, constructed in 1926, housed the headquarters of New York Telephone.
   "This building is the cornerstone of our real estate portfolio," said Lee Brathwaite, Verizon vice president for corporate real estate. "We restored its original splendor, but just as importantly, we have modernized the infrastructure systems, including a state-of-the-art telecommunications network that serves a significant portion of Lower Manhattan." The company employs approximately 18,000 people in the city's five boroughs.
   A week earlier, Goldman Sachs dedicated its own world headquarters across the street. And a month later, In January 2006, DHL pledged to invest $181 million in its largest U.S. service center. The company will consolidate two centers into the new 161,125-sq.-ft. (14,969-sq.-m.) building, which will serve Manhattan. The $181-million DHL investment includes a 20-year lease, construction of the new facility, and capital improvements. Construction was slated to have begun in February, and an additional 44,225 sq. ft. (4,109 sq. m.) are expected to be added by the fall of 2007.
   "Strategically located to provide rapid egress and regress through below-grade access through the Lincoln Tunnel, the new service center will increase throughput capacity from 10,000 to 15,000 pieces per hour," read the company's press release.