Meanwhile, there was still high demand for office space in Midtown, despite a myriad of new development in the area. For example, when real estate investment firm Realty Equities moved its headquarters to the Seagram Building in 1968, another company immediately offered to sublet Realty's space at a much higher price. Even Seagram & Sons found its own headquarters' rent to be too high, giving up half of its in the building and moving approximately 600 of its 983 employees elsewhere in 1972. In a letter to mayor John Lindsay, Seagram officials attributed the relocation in part because of the high tax assessment on the Seagram Building. Additionally, in 1971, building management conducted what city officials believed was the first voluntary fire drill at a New York City office building.