The monthly events provide an opportunity for face-to-face discussions between tenants and management, explains Thomas P. Durels, executive vice president of Wien & Malkin Supervisory Services, the asset manager for the W&H portfolio. "They ensure that opportunities for landlord/tenant interchanges happen regularly. At 501 Seventh Avenue, the meetings have attracted excellent turnout and have contributed significantly to tenant satisfaction."

"We've found that tenants like to share their opinions in person in real time," Mr. Durels continues. "Furthermore, the meetings give our management insight into the issues that are important to our tenants and the chance to address potential problems before they develop."

W&H has always put a high premium on tenant-landlord communication, and the Town Hall program is the latest, and a most significant, addition to the available tools. Options already available to tenants, and which are encouraged by ownership, are e-mailing or phoning their building management, and the recently instituted tenant satisfaction surveys.

The surveys give tenants the opportunity to rate 42 aspects of their buildings and management on a scale of one to five and to provide comments. Subjects range from the appearance and condition of the properties to building features, cleaning services and the responsiveness of staff and management.

Our message is simple. We are serious about keeping our tenants satisfied. We want to do everything possible to achieve this. The more we know about your interests and needs, the better positioned we are to deal with them. Let's keep the dialogue going!