Hillary Clinton Campaign Office: Brooklyn Picked For 2016 Headquarters

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign headquarters will be in an office building in Brooklyn, based on a lease signed for space there, Politico reported Friday. Its report confirmed months of speculation that Clinton’s camp would be operating out of New York. The lease is for two floors of 1 Pierrepont Plaza in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood.

It is unclear who signed the lease or whether it was signed in the name of an individual or a legal entity. The signing could open Clinton’s team to a Federal Elections Commission complaint because she is not a declared candidate, Politico said. The former secretary of state is expected to roll out her campaign this month. If she signed the lease, then this would be evidence that she is a candidate.

Brooklyn Heights is one of New York’s wealthiest neighborhoods. Its median household income is $95,539, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Members of Clinton’s team previously expressed concerns about the campaign headquarters location’s proximity to Wall Street, meaning the HQ site could help opponents associate the candidate with financial interests, CNN reported. However, Brooklyn is also economically, ethnically and racially diverse, which could help Clinton connect with low-income and minority voters.

The signing of the lease is the latest development that signals Clinton is close to launching her campaign for president. Top staffers of the Ready for Hillary political action committee -- a super PAC that has spent two years raising money, signing up grassroots supporters and drumming up enthusiasm for Clinton’s eventual campaign -- are about to join Clinton’s official campaign, the New York Times reported Thursday. Among the expected hires are Adam Parkhomenko, the super PAC’s co-founder and executive director, who is to be Clinton 2016’s director of grassroots engagement.