Sunshine Featured In The New York Times

By: jakehow | Published: December 26, 2004 | Filed under: Sunshine Suites, Sunshine Suites in the news

When Fernando Figueroa, the owner and only employee of a software development and Web site design company called B Realm, fell behind on his $550 monthly rent for a tiny 50-square-foot cubicle at 45 West 21st Street, help came from an unlikely source: his landlord.“I wanted him to stay as a tenant,” said Joe Raby, a founder and managing partner at Sunshine Realty Management, which specializes in leasing entire floors and then dividing the space and offering it to small businesses and individual entrepreneurs. “An adventure travel guy moved in, needed a Web site, and I referred him to Fernando. It helped him get the business and pay the back rent.”That was not a typical commercial real estate transaction – nor was Mr. Raby’s recent offer to let Mr. Figueroa have free rent if he would sit at a desk just inside the office space and sign for packages. But then this isn’t a typical office: a swimsuit designer is next to a direct-mail marketer; real estate brokers are next to concert promoters; a 15-year-old Pomeranian named Amadeus roams the space like a mascot; and tenants go snowboarding with their landlords.