As Bear Stearns has struggled with the subprime crisis, it has been considering subletting its office space in New York for the first time in about 25 years, according to its property consultant, writes Daniel Pimlott.

Bear has been looking at putting 30,000-60,000 sq ft of office space on the market for the past four or five months, said David Berkey, a consultant at L&L Holdings, Bear's main adviser on its property in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.