For the past year, the NYSE's main office building has been a construction site. First, the Garage, one of the two main rooms on the trading floor, was completely renovated and reopened in January.
But the bigger disruption has been for the 800 or so NYSE staff, who have been moved out of the 17-story 11 Wall St. office and into temporary offices next door while the entire building was torn apart and renovated, the first large-scale renovation in many decades.
That is all ending this week. President Tom Farley moved back in two weeks ago to new digs on the 16th floor, leaving the traditional sixth floor executive suite, where all previous NYSE presidents have been located. That floor is now being renovated and will be turned into space for listed company meetings. The iconic Board Room will remain, along with fixtures like the 1903 Russian urn that was a gift to the exchange from Czar Nicholas II.
We asked Farley to show us around his office and to explain why he felt the need for a top-down renovation, and why he's now giving away free food to the entire staff...