Related Party Transactions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Related Party Transactions	Related Party Transactions Formation Transactions Each property, except for 1400 Broadway and 111 West 33rd Street (formerly known as 112 West 34th Street), that is owned by us was owned directly or indirectly by the entities comprising our predecessor or was a property in which our predecessor had a non-controlling interest. Each of the existing entities had entered into a contribution agreement with us and ESRT in connection with the formation transactions, pursuant to which substantially concurrently with the completion of the Offering it contributed its assets (including its ownership interests in any of the properties) and liabilities to us in exchange for shares of ESRT common stock, operating partnership units and/or cash, which it distributed to its equity owners in accordance with their individual elections. Each of our predecessor’s management companies had entered into a merger agreement with us and ESRT in connection with the formation transactions, pursuant to which certain of our subsidiaries merged with and into such management company or pursuant to which such management company merged with and into subsidiaries of us in exchange for shares of ESRT's common stock and/or operating partnership units, which was issued to the equity owners of such management company. In addition, each of (i) the Malkin Group (as defined below) and (ii) the estate of Leona M. Helmsley and entities affiliated therewith, including the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, entered into contribution agreements and merger agreements with us and ESRT, pursuant to which each of them contributed their direct or indirect interests in certain existing entities to us in exchange for operating partnership units, shares of ESRT common stock and/or cash. The operating partnership units that were issued and shares of ESRT common stock that ESRT issued in the formation transactions to investors in the public existing entities were registered pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-4 that we separately filed with the SEC. To the extent that ESRT or its subsidiaries (other than us) were a party directly to certain mergers in the formation transactions, ESRT contributed the assets and liabilities received in such merger transactions to us in exchange for operating partnership units. The value of the shares of ESRT's common stock and operating partnership units that we issued, and the amount of cash that we paid, in connection with the formation transactions aggregated $2.8 billion based on the actual public offering price of ESRT's Class A common stock in the Offering. The existing entities and our predecessor’s management companies declared final distributions, inclusive of reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with the formation transactions, to the investors in such entities, including members of our senior management team and certain of our directors, in an amount of approximately $180.0 million in the aggregate, and of which $38.9 million was paid to the Malkin Group, including Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin, in accordance to their ownership interests in each applicable existing entity and predecessor management company. Under the contribution and merger agreements, Anthony E. Malkin directly and/or indirectly received 210,289 shares of ESRT Class A common stock, 586,095 shares of ESRT Class B common stock, and 28,718,631 operating partnership units, representing, in aggregate, a 12.0% beneficial interest in ESRT and the Company on a fully diluted basis, and Peter L. Malkin directly and/or indirectly received 2,772 shares of ESRT Class A common stock, 100,084 shares of ESRT Class B common stock, and 6,027,867 operating partnership units representing, in aggregate, a 2.5% beneficial interest in ESRT and the Company on a fully diluted basis. The Malkin Group, which includes Anthony E. Malkin, Peter L. Malkin and their related parties and affiliates, directly and/or indirectly received 396,025 shares of ESRT Class A common stock, 747,435 shares of ESRT Class B common stock, and 37,748,249 operating partnership units, representing, in aggregate, a 15.8% beneficial interest in ESRT and the Company on a fully diluted basis. Other members of ESRT's senior management team received an aggregate of 1,167,336 operating partnership units, and 2,407 shares of ESRT's Class B common stock representing a 0.5% interest in ESRT and the Company on a fully diluted basis. We did not conduct arm’s-length negotiations with the parties involved regarding the terms of the formation transactions. In the course of structuring the formation transactions, certain members of ESRT's senior management team and other contributors had the ability to influence the type and level of benefits they received from us. The term “Malkin Group” means all of the following, as a group: Anthony E. Malkin, Peter L. Malkin and each of their spouses and lineal descendants (including spouses of such descendants), any estates of any of the foregoing, any trusts now or hereafter established for the benefit of any of the foregoing, or any corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other legal entity controlled by Anthony E. Malkin or any permitted successor in such entity for the benefit of any of the foregoing; provided, however that solely with respect to tax protection rights and parties who entered into the contribution agreements described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Malkin Group shall also include the lineal descendants of Lawrence A. Wien and his spouse (including spouses of such descendants), any estates of the foregoing, any trusts now or hereafter established for the benefit of any of the foregoing, or any corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other legal entity controlled by Anthony E. Malkin for the benefit of the foregoing. Tax Protection Agreement In connection with the completion of the Offering and the related formation transactions, we and ESRT entered into a tax protection agreement with Anthony E. Malkin and Peter L. Malkin that is intended to protect the Malkin Group and an additional third party investor in Metro Center (who was one of the original landowners and was involved in the development of the property) against certain of the tax consequences described above to a limited extent. First, this agreement provides that we will not sell, exchange, transfer or otherwise dispose of four properties, which we refer to in this section as protected assets, or any interest in a protected asset until October 7, 2025, with respect to First Stamford Place and the later of (x) October 7, 2021 or (y) the death of Peter L. Malkin and Isabel W. Malkin who are 82 and 79 years old, respectively, for the three other protected assets, Metro Center, 10 Bank Street and 1542 Third Avenue, unless: (1)Anthony E. Malkin consents to the sale, exchange, transfer or other disposition; or (2)we deliver to each protected party thereunder a cash payment intended to approximate the tax liability arising from the recognition of the pre-contribution built-in gain resulting from the sale, exchange, transfer or other disposition of such protected asset (with the pre-contribution “built-in gain” being not more than the taxable gain that would have been recognized by such protected party had the protected asset been sold for fair market value in a taxable transaction at the time of the consolidation) plus an additional amount so that, after the payment of all taxes on amounts received pursuant to the agreement (including any tax liability incurred as a result of receiving such payment), the protected party retains an amount equal to such protected party’s total tax liability incurred as a result of the recognition of the pre-contribution built-in gain pursuant to such sale, exchange, transfer or other disposition; or (3)the disposition does not result in a recognition of any built-in gain by the protected party. Second, with respect to the Malkin Group, including Anthony E. Malkin and Peter L. Malkin, and one additional third party investor in Metro Center (who was one of the original landowners and was involved in the development of the property), to protect against gain recognition resulting from a reduction in such continuing investor’s share of the operating liabilities, the agreement provides that during the period from October 7, 2013 until such continuing investor owns less than the aggregate number of operating partnership units and shares of ESRT common stock equal to 50% of the aggregate number of such units and shares they received in the related formation transactions, which we refer to in this section as the tax protection period, we will (i) refrain from prepaying any amounts outstanding under any indebtedness secured by the protected assets and (ii) use our commercially reasonable efforts to refinance such indebtedness at or prior to maturity at its current principal amount, or, if we are unable to refinance such indebtedness at its current principal amount, at the highest principal amount possible. The agreement also provides that, during the tax protection period, we will make available to such continuing investors the opportunity (i) to enter into a “bottom dollar” guarantee of their allocable share of $160.0 million of our aggregate indebtedness meeting certain requirements or (ii) in the event we have recourse debt outstanding and such a continuing investor agrees in lieu of guaranteeing debt pursuant to clause (i) above, to enter into a deficit restoration obligation, in each case, in a manner intended to provide an allocation of our liabilities to the continuing investor. In the event that a continuing investor guarantees our debt, such continuing investor will be responsible, under certain circumstances, for the repayment of the guaranteed amount to the lender in the event that the lender would otherwise recognize a loss on the loan, such as, for example, if property securing the loan was foreclosed and the value was not sufficient to repay a certain amount of the debt. A deficit restoration obligation is a continuing investor’s obligation, under certain circumstances, to contribute a designated amount of capital to us upon our liquidation in the event that our assets are insufficient to repay our liabilities. Because we expect that we will at all times have sufficient liabilities to allow us to meet our obligations to allocate liabilities to our partners that are protected parties under the tax protection agreement, our indemnification obligation with respect to “certain tax liabilities” would generally arise only in the event that we dispose in a taxable transaction of a protected asset within the period specified above in a taxable transaction. In the event of such a disposition, the amount of our indemnification obligation would depend on several factors, including the amount of “built-in gain,” if any, recognized and allocated to the indemnified partners with respect to such disposition and the effective tax rate to be applied to such gain at the time of such disposition. Our partnership agreement requires that allocations with respect to such acquired property be made in a manner consistent with Section 704(c) of the Code. Treasury Regulations issued under Section 704(c) of the Code provide partnerships with a choice of several methods of allocating book-tax differences. Under the tax protection agreement, we have agreed to use the “traditional method” for accounting for book-tax differences for the properties acquired by us in the consolidation. Under the traditional method, which is the least favorable method from our perspective, the carryover basis of the acquired properties in our hands (i) may cause us to be allocated lower amounts of depreciation and other deductions for tax purposes than would be allocated to us if all of the acquired properties were to have a tax basis equal to their fair market value at the time of acquisition and (ii) in the event of a sale of such properties, could cause us to be allocated gain in excess of its corresponding economic or book gain (or taxable loss that is less than its economic or book loss), with a corresponding benefit to the partners transferring such properties to us for interests in us. Registration Rights We entered into a registration rights agreement with certain persons receiving shares of ESRT common stock or operating partnership units in the formation transactions, including certain members of ESRT's senior management team and our other continuing investors. In connection therewith, on October 7, 2014, which we refer to as the shelf effective date, we filed an automatically effective shelf registration statement, along with a prospectus supplement, with respect to, among other things, shares of ESRT Class A common stock that may be issued upon redemption of operating partnership units or issued upon conversion of shares of ESRT Class B common stock to continuing investors in the public existing entities. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement, under certain circumstances, ESRT will also be required to undertake an underwritten offering upon the written request of the Malkin Group, which we refer to as the holder, provided (i) the registrable shares to be registered in such offering will have a market value of at least $150.0 million, (ii) ESRT will not be obligated to effect more than two underwritten offerings during any 12-month period following the shelf effective date; and (iii) the holder will not have the ability to effect more than four underwritten offerings. In addition, if ESRT files a registration statement with respect to an underwritten offering for its own account or on behalf of the holder, the holder will have the right, subject to certain limitations, to register such number of registrable shares held by him, her or it as each such holder requests. With respect to underwritten offerings on behalf of the holder, ESRT will have the right to register such number of primary shares as it requests; provided, however, that if cut backs are required by the managing underwriters of such an offering, ESRT's primary shares shall be cutback first (but in no event will our shares be cut back to less than $25.0 million). ESRT has also agreed to indemnify the persons receiving rights against specified liabilities, including certain potential liabilities arising under the Securities Act, or to contribute to the payments such persons may be required to make in respect thereof. ESRT has agreed to pay all of the expenses relating to the registration and any underwritten offerings of such securities, including, without limitation, all registration, listing, filing and stock exchange or FINRA fees, all fees and expenses of complying with securities or “blue sky” laws, all printing expenses and all fees and disbursements of counsel and independent public accountants retained by ESRT, but excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, any out-of-pocket expenses (except ESRT will pay any holder’s out-of-pocket fees (including disbursements of such holder’s counsel, accountants and other advisors) up to $25,000 in the aggregate for each underwritten offering and each filing of a resale shelf registration statement or demand registration statement), and any transfer taxes. In connection with the shelf registration statement that we filed on October 7, 2014, we incurred expenses of approximately $0.5 million. Employment Agreement and Change in Control Severance Agreements ESRT entered into an employment agreement with Anthony E. Malkin, which provides for salary, bonuses and other benefits, including among other things, severance benefits upon a termination of employment under certain circumstances and the issuance of equity awards. In addition, ESRT entered into change in control severance agreements with Thomas P. Durels, David A. Karp, Thomas N. Keltner, Jr. and John B. Kessler. Indemnification of Our Directors and Officers We entered into indemnification agreements with each of ESRT's directors, executive officers, chairman emeritus and certain other parties, providing for the indemnification by us for certain liabilities and expenses incurred as a result of actions brought, or threatened to be brought, against (i) ESRT's directors, executive officers and chairman emeritus and (ii) ESRT's executive officers, chairman emeritus and certain other parties who are former members, managers, securityholders, directors, limited partners, general partners, officers or controlling persons of our predecessor in their capacities. Option Properties On July 15, 2014, we acquired the ground lease at 1400 Broadway (the “1400 Property”) and the ground and operating leases at 111 West 33rd Street (formerly known as 112 West 34th Street) (including fee title interest in a small connected structure at 122 West 34th Street) (the “112 Property”), both office properties in midtown Manhattan (together, the “option properties”), from affiliates of our predecessor, pursuant to option agreements we had executed in connection with the Offering. Our subsidiary supervised each of the option properties pursuant to a management agreement entered into by our subsidiary and the owners of the option properties. The 112 Property was acquired for approximately $423.6 million, consisting of assumption of existing mortgage debt, cash and shares of our Class A and Class B common stock and our operating partnership’s Series PR operating partnership units. In connection with the acquisition of the 112 Property, Anthony E. Malkin directly and/or indirectly received approximately $39.4 million, Peter L. Malkin directly and/or indirectly received approximately $2.7 million, and the Malkin Group, which includes Anthony E. Malkin, Peter L. Malkin and their related parties and affiliates, directly and/or indirectly received approximately $44.9 million, in each case consisting of a combination of shares of our Class B common stock and Series PR operating partnership units, and the estate of Leona M. Helmsley (a member of affiliates of our predecessor and of the owners of the option properties) directly and/or indirectly received approximately $92.4 million in cash. The 1400 Property was acquired for approximately $310.0 million, consisting of assumption of existing mortgage debt, cash and shares of our Class A and Class B common stock and our operating partnership’s Series PR operating partnership units. In connection with the acquisition of the 1400 Property, Anthony E. Malkin directly and/or indirectly received approximately $23.3 million, and the Malkin Group, which includes Anthony E. Malkin, Peter L. Malkin and their related parties and affiliates, directly and/or indirectly received approximately $23.5 million, in each case consisting of a combination of shares of our Class B common stock and Series PR operating partnership units, and the estate of Leona Helmsley directly and/or indirectly received approximately $56.6 million in cash. The purchase price for each of the option properties was based on an appraisal by independent third parties utilizing the appraisal process set forth in the option agreements. As part of the option agreements, we agreed that Anthony E. Malkin, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, would not participate in the negotiations and valuation process on our behalf. Our Chairman Emeritus, Peter L. Malkin, also agreed not to participate in the process. In addition our Board of Directors appointed a special committee consisting of independent members of such Board to review the appraisal process on its behalf. The independent members of our Board of Directors unanimously approved the price and terms of the acquisition of interests in each of the option properties. The purchase price was payable in a combination of cash, shares of our common stock and operating partnership units, but the estate of Leona M. Helmsley (a member of affiliates of our predecessor and of the owners of option properties) received all cash. Reference is made to Note 3. In connection with the closing of the transaction, we entered into a registration rights agreement covering the resale of all shares of our Class A common stock issued in connection with the transactions, and all shares of our Class A common stock that may be issued upon redemption of Series PR operating partnership units or upon conversion of our Class B common stock issued in connection with the transactions. To satisfy our obligation under the registration rights agreement, we registered the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock that may be issued upon redemption of Series PR operating partnership units or upon conversion of Class B common stock as part of the automatically effective shelf registration statement that we filed on October 7, 2014. Additionally, the shares of Class A common stock issued to the Malkin family in connection with the transactions are subject to the demand and piggy-back rights that the Malkin family has under the registration rights agreement we entered into in connection with the consolidation and initial public offering of our Class A common stock. See “-Registration Rights” above. Excluded Properties and Businesses Our portfolio is partially comprised of all of our predecessor’s Manhattan and greater New York metropolitan area office and retail assets in which it held a controlling interest and other metropolitan area office properties in which it had a non-controlling interest. The Malkin Group, including Anthony E. Malkin, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, owns non-controlling interests in, and Anthony E. Malkin and Peter L. Malkin control the general partners or managers of, the entities that own interests in seven multi-family properties, six net leased retail properties, (including one single tenant retail property in Greenwich, Connecticut), and a parcel that is being developed for residential use. The Malkin Group also owns non-controlling interests in one Manhattan office property, two Manhattan retail properties and several retail properties outside of Manhattan, none of which were contributed to us in the formation transactions. We refer to the non-controlling interests described above collectively as the excluded properties. In addition, the Malkin Group owns interests in two mezzanine and senior equity funds, three industrial funds, and five residential property managers, none of which were contributed to us in the formation transactions, and which we refer to collectively as the excluded businesses. The Malkin Group owns certain non-real estate family investments that were not contributed to us in the formation transactions. Other than the Greenwich retail property, we do not believe that the excluded properties or the excluded businesses are consistent with our portfolio geographic or property type composition, management or strategic direction. Pursuant to management and/or service agreements with the owners of interests in those excluded properties and services agreements with the five residential property managers and the managers of certain other excluded businesses which historically were managed by affiliates of our predecessor, we are designated as the manager of the excluded properties and will provide services to the owners of certain of the excluded properties and the five residential property managers and provide services and access to office space to the existing managers of the other excluded businesses. As the manager or service provider, we are paid a management or other fee with respect to those excluded properties and excluded businesses where our predecessor had previously received a management fee on the same terms as the fee paid to our predecessor, and reimbursed for our costs in providing the management and other services to those excluded properties and businesses where our predecessor had not previously received a management fee. ESRT's management of the excluded properties and provision of services to the five residential property managers and the existing managers of the other excluded businesses represent a minimal portion of our overall business. There is no established time period in which we will manage such properties or provide services to the owners of certain of the excluded properties and the five residential property managers and provide services and access to office space to the existing managers of the other excluded businesses and Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin expect to sell certain of these properties or unwind certain of these businesses over time. We are not precluded from acquiring all or certain interests in the excluded properties or businesses. If we were to attempt any such acquisition, we anticipate that Anthony E. Malkin, ESRT's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will not participate in the negotiation process on our behalf with respect to our potential acquisition of any of these excluded properties or businesses and the approval of a majority of ESRT's independent directors will be required to approve any such acquisition. Reimbursement of Pre-Closing Transaction Costs As part of the contribution and option agreements, $103.8 million of expenses incurred in connection with the formation transactions and the Offering were reimbursed from the proceeds of the Offering. The existing entities and our predecessor's management companies declared final distributions, inclusive of reimbursement of these expenses, to the investors in such entities, including members of our senior management team and certain of our directors, in an amount of approximately $180.0 million in the aggregate, and of which $38.9 million was paid to the Malkin Group, including Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin, in accordance to their ownership interests in each applicable existing entity and predecessor management company. Guarantees The mortgage loan on First Stamford Place is guaranteed and/or indemnified by Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin. We entered into an indemnification agreement with Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin pursuant to which we are obligated to indemnify Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin for any amounts paid by them under the guarantees and/or indemnities with respect to the First Stamford Place mortgage loan. Other Services Services are and were provided by us or our predecessor to affiliates of the sponsors. These affiliates were related parties because beneficial interests were or are held, directly or indirectly, by the sponsors, their affiliates and their family members. During the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, we or our predecessor engaged in various transactions with affiliates. These transactions are reflected in our and our predecessor's consolidated statements of operations as third-party management and other fees and the unpaid balances are reflected in the due from affiliated companies on our consolidated balance sheets (See Note 7). Supervisory Fee Revenue We or our predecessor earned supervisory fees from affiliated entities not included in our and our predecessor's consolidated financial statements of $1.8 million, $2.0 million and $2.8 million during the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. These fees are included within third-party management and other fees. We or our predecessor earned supervisory fees from unconsolidated entities included in our predecessor's consolidated financial statements on the equity method of $0.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within third-party management and other fees. Property Management Fee Revenue We or our predecessor earned property management fees from affiliated entities not included in our and our predecessor's consolidated financial statements of $0.3 million, $0.4 million and $1.6 million during the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 respectively. These fees are included within third-party management and other fees. We or our predecessor earned property management fees from unconsolidated entities included in our predecessor's consolidated financial statements on the equity method of $0.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the year ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within third-party management and other fees. Profit Share We or our predecessor received additional payments equal to a specified percentage of distributions in excess of specified amounts, both being defined, from affiliated entities not included in our and our predecessor's consolidated financial statements. Our profits interest totaled $3.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within other income and fees. We or our predecessor received additional payments equal to a specified percentage of distributions in excess of specified amounts, both being defined, from unconsolidated entities included in our predecessor's consolidated financial statements on the equity method. Our predecessor's profits interest totaled $0.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within other income and fees. Other Fees and Disbursements from Non-Controlled Affiliates We or our predecessor earned other fees and disbursements from affiliated entities not included in our and our predecessor's consolidated financial statements of $0.02 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within other income and fees. Our predecessor earned other fees and disbursements from unconsolidated subsidiaries included in its consolidated financial statements on the equity method of $1.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within other income and fees. Included in these other fees are reimbursements from unconsolidated entities included in our predecessor's consolidated financial statements on the equity method for offering costs related to the Offering of $1.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. Other We are reimbursed at allocable cost for 647 square feet of shared office space, equipment, and administrative support, as was done prior to our formation, and we receive rent generally at market rental rate for 3,074 square feet of leased space, from entities affiliated with Anthony E. Malkin at one of our properties aggregating $0.2 million, $0.1 million and $1.1 million, for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. In each case the space is expected to be temporary, and such affiliate has the right to cancel such lease without special payment on 90 days’ notice.

Related Party Transactions

Formation Transactions

Each property, except for 1400 Broadway and 111 West 33rd Street (formerly known as 112 West 34th Street), that is owned by us was owned directly or indirectly by the entities comprising our predecessor or was a property in which our predecessor had a non-controlling interest. Each of the existing entities had entered into a contribution agreement with us and ESRT in connection with the formation transactions, pursuant to which substantially concurrently with the completion of the Offering it contributed its assets (including its ownership interests in any of the properties) and liabilities to us in exchange for shares of ESRT common stock, operating partnership units and/or cash, which it distributed to its equity owners in accordance with their individual elections. Each of our predecessor’s management companies had entered into a merger agreement with us and ESRT in connection with the formation transactions, pursuant to which certain of our subsidiaries merged with and into such management company or pursuant to which such management company merged with and into subsidiaries of us in exchange for shares of ESRT's common stock and/or operating partnership units, which was issued to the equity owners of such management company. In addition, each of (i) the Malkin Group (as defined below) and (ii) the estate of Leona M. Helmsley and entities affiliated therewith, including the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, entered into contribution agreements and merger agreements with us and ESRT, pursuant to which each of them contributed their direct or indirect interests in certain existing entities to us in exchange for operating partnership units, shares of ESRT common stock and/or cash. The operating partnership units that were issued and shares of ESRT common stock that ESRT issued in the formation transactions to investors in the public existing entities were registered pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-4 that we separately filed with the SEC. To the extent that ESRT or its subsidiaries (other than us) were a party directly to certain mergers in the formation transactions, ESRT contributed the assets and liabilities received in such merger transactions to us in exchange for operating partnership units. The value of the shares of ESRT's common stock and operating partnership units that we issued, and the amount of cash that we paid, in connection with the formation transactions aggregated $2.8 billion based on the actual public offering price of ESRT's Class A common stock in the Offering. The existing entities and our predecessor’s management companies declared final distributions, inclusive of reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with the formation transactions, to the investors in such entities, including members of our senior management team and certain of our directors, in an amount of approximately $180.0 million in the aggregate, and of which $38.9 million was paid to the Malkin Group, including Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin, in accordance to their ownership interests in each applicable existing entity and predecessor management company.

Under the contribution and merger agreements, Anthony E. Malkin directly and/or indirectly received 210,289 shares of ESRT Class A common stock, 586,095 shares of ESRT Class B common stock, and 28,718,631 operating partnership units, representing, in aggregate, a 12.0% beneficial interest in ESRT and the Company on a fully diluted basis, and Peter L. Malkin directly and/or indirectly received 2,772 shares of ESRT Class A common stock, 100,084 shares of ESRT Class B common stock, and 6,027,867 operating partnership units representing, in aggregate, a 2.5% beneficial interest in ESRT and the Company on a fully diluted basis. The Malkin Group, which includes Anthony E. Malkin, Peter L. Malkin and their related parties and affiliates, directly and/or indirectly received 396,025 shares of ESRT Class A common stock, 747,435 shares of ESRT Class B common stock, and 37,748,249 operating partnership units, representing, in aggregate, a 15.8% beneficial interest in ESRT and the Company on a fully diluted basis. Other members of ESRT's senior management team received an aggregate of 1,167,336 operating partnership units, and 2,407 shares of ESRT's Class B common stock representing a 0.5% interest in ESRT and the Company on a fully diluted basis.

We did not conduct arm’s-length negotiations with the parties involved regarding the terms of the formation transactions. In the course of structuring the formation transactions, certain members of ESRT's senior management team and other contributors had the ability to influence the type and level of benefits they received from us.

The term “Malkin Group” means all of the following, as a group: Anthony E. Malkin, Peter L. Malkin and each of their spouses and lineal descendants (including spouses of such descendants), any estates of any of the foregoing, any trusts now or hereafter established for the benefit of any of the foregoing, or any corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other legal entity controlled by Anthony E. Malkin or any permitted successor in such entity for the benefit of any of the foregoing; provided, however that solely with respect to tax protection rights and parties who entered into the contribution agreements described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Malkin Group shall also include the lineal descendants of Lawrence A. Wien and his spouse (including spouses of such descendants), any estates of the foregoing, any trusts now or hereafter established for the benefit of any of the foregoing, or any corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other legal entity controlled by Anthony E. Malkin for the benefit of the foregoing.

Tax Protection Agreement

In connection with the completion of the Offering and the related formation transactions, we and ESRT entered into a tax protection agreement with Anthony E. Malkin and Peter L. Malkin that is intended to protect the Malkin Group and an additional third party investor in Metro Center (who was one of the original landowners and was involved in the development of the property) against certain of the tax consequences described above to a limited extent.

First, this agreement provides that we will not sell, exchange, transfer or otherwise dispose of four properties, which we refer to in this section as protected assets, or any interest in a protected asset until October 7, 2025, with respect to First Stamford Place and the later of (x) October 7, 2021 or (y) the death of Peter L. Malkin and Isabel W. Malkin who are 82 and 79 years old, respectively, for the three other protected assets, Metro Center, 10 Bank Street and 1542 Third Avenue, unless:

(1)Anthony E. Malkin consents to the sale, exchange, transfer or other disposition; or

(2)we deliver to each protected party thereunder a cash payment intended to approximate the tax liability arising from the recognition of the pre-contribution built-in gain resulting from the sale, exchange, transfer or other disposition of such protected asset (with the pre-contribution “built-in gain” being not more than the taxable gain that would have been recognized by such protected party had the protected asset been sold for fair market value in a taxable transaction at the time of the consolidation) plus an additional amount so that, after the payment of all taxes on amounts received pursuant to the agreement (including any tax liability incurred as a result of receiving such payment), the protected party retains an amount equal to such protected party’s total tax liability incurred as a result of the recognition of the pre-contribution built-in gain pursuant to such sale, exchange, transfer or other disposition; or

(3)the disposition does not result in a recognition of any built-in gain by the protected party.

Second, with respect to the Malkin Group, including Anthony E. Malkin and Peter L. Malkin, and one additional third party investor in Metro Center (who was one of the original landowners and was involved in the development of the property), to protect against gain recognition resulting from a reduction in such continuing investor’s share of the operating liabilities, the agreement provides that during the period from October 7, 2013 until such continuing investor owns less than the aggregate number of operating partnership units and shares of ESRT common stock equal to 50% of the aggregate number of such units and shares they received in the related formation transactions, which we refer to in this section as the tax protection period, we will (i) refrain from prepaying any amounts outstanding under any indebtedness secured by the protected assets and (ii) use our commercially reasonable efforts to refinance such indebtedness at or prior to maturity at its current principal amount, or, if we are unable to refinance such indebtedness at its current principal amount, at the highest principal amount possible. The agreement also provides that, during the tax protection period, we will make available to such continuing investors the opportunity (i) to enter into a “bottom dollar” guarantee of their allocable share of $160.0 million of our aggregate indebtedness meeting certain requirements or (ii) in the event we have recourse debt outstanding and such a continuing investor agrees in lieu of guaranteeing debt pursuant to clause (i) above, to enter into a deficit restoration obligation, in each case, in a manner intended to provide an allocation of our liabilities to the continuing investor. In the event that a continuing investor guarantees our debt, such continuing investor will be responsible, under certain circumstances, for the repayment of the guaranteed amount to the lender in the event that the lender would otherwise recognize a loss on the loan, such as, for example, if property securing the loan was foreclosed and the value was not sufficient to repay a certain amount of the debt. A deficit restoration obligation is a continuing investor’s obligation, under certain circumstances, to contribute a designated amount of capital to us upon our liquidation in the event that our assets are insufficient to repay our liabilities.

Because we expect that we will at all times have sufficient liabilities to allow us to meet our obligations to allocate liabilities to our partners that are protected parties under the tax protection agreement, our indemnification obligation with respect to “certain tax liabilities” would generally arise only in the event that we dispose in a taxable transaction of a protected asset within the period specified above in a taxable transaction. In the event of such a disposition, the amount of our indemnification obligation would depend on several factors, including the amount of “built-in gain,” if any, recognized and allocated to the indemnified partners with respect to such disposition and the effective tax rate to be applied to such gain at the time of such disposition.

Our partnership agreement requires that allocations with respect to such acquired property be made in a manner consistent with Section 704(c) of the Code. Treasury Regulations issued under Section 704(c) of the Code provide partnerships with a choice of several methods of allocating book-tax differences. Under the tax protection agreement, we have agreed to use the “traditional method” for accounting for book-tax differences for the properties acquired by us in the consolidation. Under the traditional method, which is the least favorable method from our perspective, the carryover basis of the acquired properties in our hands (i) may cause us to be allocated lower amounts of depreciation and other deductions for tax purposes than would be allocated to us if all of the acquired properties were to have a tax basis equal to their fair market value at the time of acquisition and (ii) in the event of a sale of such properties, could cause us to be allocated gain in excess of its corresponding economic or book gain (or taxable loss that is less than its economic or book loss), with a corresponding benefit to the partners transferring such properties to us for interests in us.

Registration Rights

We entered into a registration rights agreement with certain persons receiving shares of ESRT common stock or operating partnership units in the formation transactions, including certain members of ESRT's senior management team and our other continuing investors. In connection therewith, on October 7, 2014, which we refer to as the shelf effective date, we filed an automatically effective shelf registration statement, along with a prospectus supplement, with respect to, among other things, shares of ESRT Class A common stock that may be issued upon redemption of operating partnership units or issued upon conversion of shares of ESRT Class B common stock to continuing investors in the public existing entities. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement, under certain circumstances, ESRT will also be required to undertake an underwritten offering upon the written request of the Malkin Group, which we refer to as the holder, provided (i) the registrable shares to be registered in such offering will have a market value of at least $150.0 million, (ii) ESRT will not be obligated to effect more than two underwritten offerings during any 12-month period following the shelf effective date; and (iii) the holder will not have the ability to effect more than four underwritten offerings. In addition, if ESRT files a registration statement with respect to an underwritten offering for its own account or on behalf of the holder, the holder will have the right, subject to certain limitations, to register such number of registrable shares held by him, her or it as each such holder requests. With respect to underwritten offerings on behalf of the holder, ESRT will have the right to register such number of primary shares as it requests; provided, however, that if cut backs are required by the managing underwriters of such an offering, ESRT's primary shares shall be cutback first (but in no event will our shares be cut back to less than $25.0 million).

ESRT has also agreed to indemnify the persons receiving rights against specified liabilities, including certain potential liabilities arising under the Securities Act, or to contribute to the payments such persons may be required to make in respect thereof. ESRT has agreed to pay all of the expenses relating to the registration and any underwritten offerings of such securities, including, without limitation, all registration, listing, filing and stock exchange or FINRA fees, all fees and expenses of complying with securities or “blue sky” laws, all printing expenses and all fees and disbursements of counsel and independent public accountants retained by ESRT, but excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, any out-of-pocket expenses (except ESRT will pay any holder’s out-of-pocket fees (including disbursements of such holder’s counsel, accountants and other advisors) up to $25,000 in the aggregate for each underwritten offering and each filing of a resale shelf registration statement or demand registration statement), and any transfer taxes. In connection with the shelf registration statement that we filed on October 7, 2014, we incurred expenses of approximately $0.5 million.

Employment Agreement and Change in Control Severance Agreements

ESRT entered into an employment agreement with Anthony E. Malkin, which provides for salary, bonuses and other benefits, including among other things, severance benefits upon a termination of employment under certain circumstances and the issuance of equity awards. In addition, ESRT entered into change in control severance agreements with Thomas P. Durels, David A. Karp, Thomas N. Keltner, Jr. and John B. Kessler.

Indemnification of Our Directors and Officers

We entered into indemnification agreements with each of ESRT's directors, executive officers, chairman emeritus and certain other parties, providing for the indemnification by us for certain liabilities and expenses incurred as a result of actions brought, or threatened to be brought, against (i) ESRT's directors, executive officers and chairman emeritus and (ii) ESRT's executive officers, chairman emeritus and certain other parties who are former members, managers, securityholders, directors, limited partners, general partners, officers or controlling persons of our predecessor in their capacities.

Option Properties

On July 15, 2014, we acquired the ground lease at 1400 Broadway (the “1400 Property”) and the ground and operating leases at 111 West 33rd Street (formerly known as 112 West 34th Street) (including fee title interest in a small connected structure at 122 West 34th Street) (the “112 Property”), both office properties in midtown Manhattan (together, the “option properties”), from affiliates of our predecessor, pursuant to option agreements we had executed in connection with the Offering. Our subsidiary supervised each of the option properties pursuant to a management agreement entered into by our subsidiary and the owners of the option properties.

The 112 Property was acquired for approximately $423.6 million, consisting of assumption of existing mortgage debt, cash and shares of our Class A and Class B common stock and our operating partnership’s Series PR operating partnership units. In connection with the acquisition of the 112 Property, Anthony E. Malkin directly and/or indirectly received approximately $39.4 million, Peter L. Malkin directly and/or indirectly received approximately $2.7 million, and the Malkin Group, which includes Anthony E. Malkin, Peter L. Malkin and their related parties and affiliates, directly and/or indirectly received approximately $44.9 million, in each case consisting of a combination of shares of our Class B common stock and Series PR operating partnership units, and the estate of Leona M. Helmsley (a member of affiliates of our predecessor and of the owners of the option properties) directly and/or indirectly received approximately $92.4 million in cash. The 1400 Property was acquired for approximately $310.0 million, consisting of assumption of existing mortgage debt, cash and shares of our Class A and Class B common stock and our operating partnership’s Series PR operating partnership units. In connection with the acquisition of the 1400 Property, Anthony E. Malkin directly and/or indirectly received approximately $23.3 million, and the Malkin Group, which includes Anthony E. Malkin, Peter L. Malkin and their related parties and affiliates, directly and/or indirectly received approximately $23.5 million, in each case consisting of a combination of shares of our Class B common stock and Series PR operating partnership units, and the estate of Leona Helmsley directly and/or indirectly received approximately $56.6 million in cash. The purchase price for each of the option properties was based on an appraisal by independent third parties utilizing the appraisal process set forth in the option agreements. As part of the option agreements, we agreed that Anthony E. Malkin, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, would not participate in the negotiations and valuation process on our behalf. Our Chairman Emeritus, Peter L. Malkin, also agreed not to participate in the process. In addition our Board of Directors appointed a special committee consisting of independent members of such Board to review the appraisal process on its behalf. The independent members of our Board of Directors unanimously approved the price and terms of the acquisition of interests in each of the option properties. The purchase price was payable in a combination of cash, shares of our common stock and operating partnership units, but the estate of Leona M. Helmsley (a member of affiliates of our predecessor and of the owners of option properties) received all cash. Reference is made to Note 3.

In connection with the closing of the transaction, we entered into a registration rights agreement covering the resale of all shares of our Class A common stock issued in connection with the transactions, and all shares of our Class A common stock that may be issued upon redemption of Series PR operating partnership units or upon conversion of our Class B common stock issued in connection with the transactions. To satisfy our obligation under the registration rights agreement, we registered the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock that may be issued upon redemption of Series PR operating partnership units or upon conversion of Class B common stock as part of the automatically effective shelf registration statement that we filed on October 7, 2014. Additionally, the shares of Class A common stock issued to the Malkin family in connection with the transactions are subject to the demand and piggy-back rights that the Malkin family has under the registration rights agreement we entered into in connection with the consolidation and initial public offering of our Class A common stock. See “-Registration Rights” above.

Excluded Properties and Businesses

Our portfolio is partially comprised of all of our predecessor’s Manhattan and greater New York metropolitan area office and retail assets in which it held a controlling interest and other metropolitan area office properties in which it had a non-controlling interest. The Malkin Group, including Anthony E. Malkin, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, owns non-controlling interests in, and Anthony E. Malkin and Peter L. Malkin control the general partners or managers of, the entities that own interests in seven multi-family properties, six net leased retail properties, (including one single tenant retail property in Greenwich, Connecticut), and a parcel that is being developed for residential use. The Malkin Group also owns non-controlling interests in one Manhattan office property, two Manhattan retail properties and several retail properties outside of Manhattan, none of which were contributed to us in the formation transactions. We refer to the non-controlling interests described above collectively as the excluded properties. In addition, the Malkin Group owns interests in two mezzanine and senior equity funds, three industrial funds, and five residential property managers, none of which were contributed to us in the formation transactions, and which we refer to collectively as the excluded businesses. The Malkin Group owns certain non-real estate family investments that were not contributed to us in the formation transactions. Other than the Greenwich retail property, we do not believe that the excluded properties or the excluded businesses are consistent with our portfolio geographic or property type composition, management or strategic direction.

Pursuant to management and/or service agreements with the owners of interests in those excluded properties and services agreements with the five residential property managers and the managers of certain other excluded businesses which historically were managed by affiliates of our predecessor, we are designated as the manager of the excluded properties and will provide services to the owners of certain of the excluded properties and the five residential property managers and provide services and access to office space to the existing managers of the other excluded businesses. As the manager or service provider, we are paid a management or other fee with respect to those excluded properties and excluded businesses where our predecessor had previously received a management fee on the same terms as the fee paid to our predecessor, and reimbursed for our costs in providing the management and other services to those excluded properties and businesses where our predecessor had not previously received a management fee. ESRT's management of the excluded properties and provision of services to the five residential property managers and the existing managers of the other excluded businesses represent a minimal portion of our overall business. There is no established time period in which we will manage such properties or provide services to the owners of certain of the excluded properties and the five residential property managers and provide services and access to office space to the existing managers of the other excluded businesses and Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin expect to sell certain of these properties or unwind certain of these businesses over time. We are not precluded from acquiring all or certain interests in the excluded properties or businesses. If we were to attempt any such acquisition, we anticipate that Anthony E. Malkin, ESRT's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will not participate in the negotiation process on our behalf with respect to our potential acquisition of any of these excluded properties or businesses and the approval of a majority of ESRT's independent directors will be required to approve any such acquisition.

Reimbursement of Pre-Closing Transaction Costs

As part of the contribution and option agreements, $103.8 million of expenses incurred in connection with the formation transactions and the Offering were reimbursed from the proceeds of the Offering. The existing entities and our predecessor's management companies declared final distributions, inclusive of reimbursement of these expenses, to the investors in such entities, including members of our senior management team and certain of our directors, in an amount of approximately $180.0 million in the aggregate, and of which $38.9 million was paid to the Malkin Group, including Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin, in accordance to their ownership interests in each applicable existing entity and predecessor management company.

Guarantees

The mortgage loan on First Stamford Place is guaranteed and/or indemnified by Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin. We entered into an indemnification agreement with Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin pursuant to which we are obligated to indemnify Peter L. Malkin and Anthony E. Malkin for any amounts paid by them under the guarantees and/or indemnities with respect to the First Stamford Place mortgage loan.

Other Services

Services are and were provided by us or our predecessor to affiliates of the sponsors. These affiliates were related parties because beneficial interests were or are held, directly or indirectly, by the sponsors, their affiliates and their family members.

During the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, we or our predecessor engaged in various transactions with affiliates. These transactions are reflected in our and our predecessor's consolidated statements of operations as third-party management and other fees and the unpaid balances are reflected in the due from affiliated companies on our consolidated balance sheets (See Note 7).

Supervisory Fee Revenue

We or our predecessor earned supervisory fees from affiliated entities not included in our and our predecessor's consolidated financial statements of $1.8 million, $2.0 million and $2.8 million during the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. These fees are included within third-party management and other fees.

We or our predecessor earned supervisory fees from unconsolidated entities included in our predecessor's consolidated financial statements on the equity method of $0.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within third-party management and other fees.

Property Management Fee Revenue

We or our predecessor earned property management fees from affiliated entities not included in our and our predecessor's consolidated financial statements of $0.3 million, $0.4 million and $1.6 million during the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 respectively. These fees are included within third-party management and other fees.

We or our predecessor earned property management fees from unconsolidated entities included in our predecessor's consolidated financial statements on the equity method of $0.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the year ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within third-party management and other fees.

Profit Share

We or our predecessor received additional payments equal to a specified percentage of distributions in excess of specified amounts, both being defined, from affiliated entities not included in our and our predecessor's consolidated financial statements. Our profits interest totaled $3.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within other income and fees.

We or our predecessor received additional payments equal to a specified percentage of distributions in excess of specified amounts, both being defined, from unconsolidated entities included in our predecessor's consolidated financial statements on the equity method. Our predecessor's profits interest totaled $0.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within other income and fees.

Other Fees and Disbursements from Non-Controlled Affiliates

We or our predecessor earned other fees and disbursements from affiliated entities not included in our and our predecessor's consolidated financial statements of $0.02 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within other income and fees.

Our predecessor earned other fees and disbursements from unconsolidated subsidiaries included in its consolidated financial statements on the equity method of $1.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. These fees are included within other income and fees.

Included in these other fees are reimbursements from unconsolidated entities included in our predecessor's consolidated financial statements on the equity method for offering costs related to the Offering of $1.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2013. There were no such revenues in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Other

We are reimbursed at allocable cost for 647 square feet of shared office space, equipment, and administrative support, as was done prior to our formation, and we receive rent generally at market rental rate for 3,074 square feet of leased space, from entities affiliated with Anthony E. Malkin at one of our properties aggregating $0.2 million, $0.1 million and $1.1 million, for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. In each case the space is expected to be temporary, and such affiliate has the right to cancel such lease without special payment on 90 days’ notice.