Major corporations were downsizing, and manufacturing companies were moving out.

As mentioned, these are the spaces that become vacant when corporations downsize and put their entire operation on, say, two floors instead of four.

As payback, the corporation will also downsize.

Meanwhile, the corporation, although it changed hands, did not downsize or spin Ripken off.

"As the large corporations downsized, a lot of talented and skilled people found themselves without jobs," Mr. Vogt said.

Analysts said that the corporations could downsize or even move out of New York in the wake of a settlement.

By comparison, in the late 1980's, when many large corporations downsized or moved, the rate was more than twice that.

Many American corporations were downsizing or streamlining their operations and no longer maintained their own corporate jets.

In recent years, as many big corporations have downsized and more people have gone into business for themselves, the home-business phenomenon has emerged from obscurity.