Editing Empire State Building (section)

====2000s====
Following the destruction of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks, the Empire State Building again became the [[List of tallest buildings in New York City|tallest building in New York City]], but was only the [[List of tallest buildings in the world|second-tallest building in the Americas]] after the [[Willis Tower|Sears (later Willis) Tower]] in Chicago.<ref name="CBS News 2012" /><ref name="Dunlap 2012" /><ref name="New York Daily News 2012" /> As a result of the attacks, transmissions from nearly all of the city's commercial television and FM radio stations were again broadcast from the Empire State Building.{{sfn|Guerrero et al.|2002|p=37}} The attacks also led to an increase in security due to persistent terror threats against prominent sites in New York City.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rashbaum |first=William K. |date=July 15, 2002 |title=Terror Makes All the World A Beat for New York Police |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/15/nyregion/terror-makes-all-the-world-a-beat-for-new-york-police.html |access-date=October 31, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107120009/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/15/nyregion/terror-makes-all-the-world-a-beat-for-new-york-police.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2002, Trump and Yokoi sold their land claim to the Empire State Building Associates, now headed by Malkin, in a $57.5&nbsp;million transaction.<ref name="Bagli 2013" /><ref name="Bagli 2002">{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=March 19, 2002 |title=Partnership in Deal for Empire State Building |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/19/nyregion/partnership-in-deal-for-empire-state-building.html |access-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127165316/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/19/nyregion/partnership-in-deal-for-empire-state-building.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This action merged the building's title and lease for the first time in half a century.<ref name="Bagli 2002" /> Despite the lingering threat posed by the 9/11 attacks, the Empire State Building remained popular with 3.5&nbsp;million visitors to the observatories in 2004, compared to about 2.8&nbsp;million in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |last=Collins |first=Glenn |date=August 14, 2004 |title=Making Sense of New York, From 86 Stories Up; Views From the Empire State Building, Mapped Out in Steel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/14/nyregion/making-sense-new-york-86-stories-up-views-empire-state-building-mapped-steel.html |access-date=October 31, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107115209/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/14/nyregion/making-sense-new-york-86-stories-up-views-empire-state-building-mapped-steel.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Even though she maintained her ownership stake in the building until the post-consolidation IPO in October 2013, [[Leona Helmsley]] handed over day-to-day operations of the building in 2006 to Peter Malkin's company.<ref name="Bagli 2013" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 30, 2006 |title=Helmsley Caves In – Empire State Bldg. War Ends |work=New York Post |url=https://nypost.com/2006/08/30/helmsley-caves-in-empire-state-bldg-war-ends/ |access-date=September 21, 2017 |archive-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922051536/http://nypost.com/2006/08/30/helmsley-caves-in-empire-state-bldg-war-ends/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2008, the building was temporarily "stolen" by the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' to show how easy it was to transfer the deed on a property, since city clerks were not required to validate the submitted information, as well as to help demonstrate how fraudulent deeds could be used to obtain large mortgages and then have individuals disappear with the money. The paperwork submitted to the city included the names of [[Fay Wray]], the famous star of ''King Kong'', and [[Willie Sutton]], a notorious New York bank robber. The newspaper then transferred the deed back over to the legitimate owners, who at that time were Empire State Land Associates.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 2, 2008 |title=It Took 90 Minutes to 'Steal' the Empire State Building |newspaper=New York Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/90-minutes-daily-news-steal-empire-state-building-article-1.353477 |access-date=June 16, 2017 |archive-date=June 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607185902/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/90-minutes-daily-news-steal-empire-state-building-article-1.353477 |url-status=live }}</ref>