Mr. Malkin also said that executory clauses were exercised to save rent money far more often than most landlords wanted to believe.

Yes, the state was insisting on the standard executory clause that allows governments to break a lease without penalty if the tenant agency loses its financing.

They say they always trusted the state to invoke the executory clause only if an agency itself lost its funding, not just because they did not like paying above-market rents.

Rather, they conjecture that it is of the form of an "executory clause", similar to those pertaining to trade agreements, which are ongoing and can be repudiated by either party at any time.

While he could not cite a specific incident, Kenneth Goldfarb, a State University spokesman, said that "the executory clause is in all state contracts, and it has been enforced in the past."