Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:35:42 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Eliot Brown :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Eliot+Brown istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/powerful-voice-in-javits-talks-may-push-to-scrap/65883/ Mon, 5 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST In plotting the long-awaited expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, the Spitzer administration is increasingly finding itself torn between the conflicting interests of the city, the hotel industry, and users of the facility amid frustration over the costs. This week, state officials are scheduled to meet with an influential group of convention facility users and exposition management firms that could have a heavy impact on the state's course of action. At the start of the year, the... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/in-shift-city-is-promoting-expansion-of-maritime/65645/ Thu, 1 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST The Bloomberg administration is showing a new interest in promoting industry on the waterfront, marking what port advocates call a notable shift from the city's emphasis on reclaiming the shores of the five boroughs with condominiums and parkland. In coming weeks, the city's Economic Development Corporation plans to release a study that recommends building up the local maritime support industry, calling for a significant expansion of ship repair facilities along the waterfronts. The report... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/doctoroff-races-to-protect-mayors-development-plan/65556/ Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST With the countdown clock in City Hall today showing 792 days until the arrival of a new mayor, the Bloomberg administration is facing the tall task of implementing its ambitious, mostly market-driven development plans at the very time that the local economy appears headed toward a slowdown. At the center of the city's efforts is a Michigan-raised former investment banker, Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, the man who led New York's failed bid for the Olympics and catalyzed a far-reaching set of... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/city-moves-to-shutter-east-side-church-catering/65525/ Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Facing pressure from elected officials and residents, the Bloomberg administration is moving to halt the use of a private catering hall in an Upper East Side church. In recent months, the Third Church of Christ Scientist at 583 Park Avenue has rented out its space to a catering company, hosting Oscar de la Renta fashion shows and weddings, among other events, in an attempt to raise cash for renovations. But the city's Department of Buildings yesterday said it intended to revoke renovation... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/city-mulls-landmark-status-for-village-buildings/65414/ Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST The city will consider designating five East Village buildings as landmarks tomorrow, possibly adding development restrictions on the properties as new hotels and condominiums sprout up in the surrounding neighborhood. The five buildings — the concert house of Webster Hall, a former bathhouse on 11th Street, a Hungarian synagogue, a bank on Avenue C, a former young women's shelter, and a former biscuit factory — were constructed between 1886 and the late 1920s. Their possible designation comes... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/thompson-6m-was-wasted-on-golf-course/65350/ Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST The Bloomberg administration's failed attempt to build a golf course in the Bronx included about $6 million in unnecessary payments to a private developer, according to a new report. Comptroller William Thompson Jr. released an audit yesterday that criticized the city's Department of Parks and Recreation for failing to provide proper oversight on the more than $22 million construction project of a Ferry Point golf course, a development that was aborted last year before its completion. Developer... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/council-pushes-for-regulation-of-construction/65247/ Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST The Bloomberg administration is opposing a City Council proposal to lay new regulation on the construction industry, striking a rare note of legislative discord between the mayor and Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The council and Ms. Quinn are pushing a bill that would install new rules for using explosives during excavation and demolition, bringing in new layers of city and state oversight and requiring a city inspector on site any time a contractor engages in blasting. The bill comes in... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/bankruptcy-filings-jump-signals-trouble/65129/ Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST A sharp jump in the number of personal bankruptcy filings could signal growing economic uncertainty for the city. Crain's New York Business reported yesterday that Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filings in the five boroughs rose 69%, to 10,541, in the past year. Economists said such numbers are likely linked to the troubles of the subprime lending industry, which is experiencing an overwhelming level of foreclosures as homebuyers with high-interest loans are unable to make payments. Taken with a... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/preliminary-penn-station-plans-released-a-test/65137/ Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST The sweeping redevelopment of Pennsylvania Station and the surrounding area will mark a test for Governor Spitzer, as his administration goes to bat to for hundreds of millions in private dollars for the huge public works and economic development project. Mr. Spitzer and his deputies have promised parsimony in negotiating with developers, bringing down the level of public subsidy by standing firm in deals with the private sector. The state yesterday released its preliminary plans for the... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/state-details-penn-station-overhaul/65104/ Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:47:56 EST The state today outlined plans for a multi-billion dollar renovation of Pennsylvania Station and the surrounding area, signaling a resolve to carry out a project that has been little more than a concept for more than 15 years. The planning document details more than 7 million square feet of new development, equivalent to more than two Empire State Buildings, in the context of the renovation, dubbed the Moynihan Station project, which would move Madison Square Garden into the rear of the... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/added-funds-sought-for-no-7-expansion/65084/ Tue, 23 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Over the next nine months the Bloomberg administration will likely press the state for an additional $450 million in funding for the no. 7 subway line extension, as cost overruns have left the 1.5-mile project with only one planned station stop. The city has put up the full $2 billion required for the project. Though with the major tunneling contract slated for approval tomorrow, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has dropped plans for constructing the shell of a station at Tenth Avenue... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/state-finally-to-make-move-on-penn-station/64985/ Mon, 22 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST In a boost to the planned multibillion-dollar remake of Pennsylvania Station, the state is expected to release an environmental planning document today, a required first step in a lengthy approval process for the far-reaching development plans. The release of the draft scope for an environmental impact statement would be the Spitzer administration's first public display of forward progress on the Moynihan Station project, which seeks to move Madison Square Garden into the back of the... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/business/city-jobless-rate-drop-is-sharpest-since-1978/64899/ Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Despite the recent turmoil in the financial industry, New York City's unemployment rate dropped considerably between August and September, new data shows, suggesting the city's economy has yet to suffer any economic downturn. As reported yesterday by the state's Department of Labor, the drop in the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, to 5.1% from 5.7%, was the single largest month-to-month fall since the numbers were put on record in 1978. The data comes as Wall Street feels reverberations... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/freight-rail-tunnel-study-ordered/64863/ Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:40:03 EST A proposed freight rail tunnel under the New York Harbor, connecting Brooklyn and New Jersey, could move closer to reality in coming years, as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey yesterday agreed to study the issue at a board meeting. The multi-billion dollar project has been championed by Rep. Jerrold Nadler for years, and aims to cut down on the freight traffic in Manhattan, as many trucks use the borough to get to Long Island from New Jersey. Mayor Bloomberg initially offered... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/crucial-governors-island-funding-test-approaches/64824/ Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST The effort to secure support for long-term funding for a city and state initiative to develop Governors Island will likely face a test in coming months, as a more cohesive plan for the island comes into view. The 172-acre former military base, just off the southern tip of Manhattan, will require a substantial public investment to create parkland, Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff said at a meeting of the island's oversight agency yesterday. The agency is in the process of selecting a team to design... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/report-jobs-in-construction-at-record-high/64704/ Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST A building boom is driving the number of construction jobs to record high numbers, taking the number of people employed in the sector to 130,000 in 2009, up from 116,000 in 2006, a new study says. The new jobs come even as residential construction is expected to decline over the next two years, according to the report by the New York Building Congress, dropping to an expected 30,000 units in 2009 from an estimated 35,000 units in 2007. Despite the projected decline in residential construction... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/rezoning-plan-may-transform-area-of-harlem/64548/ Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST The Bloomberg administration is seeking zoning changes that would allow for substantial new development along much of 125th Street, a move that could transform a major Harlem thoroughfare into a dense hub of activity. After avoiding the area for decades, developers are warming to the corridor as its retail market flourishes and nearby housing prices reach levels that 15 years ago would have seemed almost unfathomable. Aiming to leverage the soaring real estate market, the city wants to convert... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/long-island-man-given-medal-of-honor/64477/ Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST A Navy SEAL from Long Island who was killed in combat in Afghanistan will be awarded America's highest military award, the Medal of Honor, the White House announced yesterday. Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, of Patchogue, will become the first member of the armed forces to receive the award for combat in Afghanistan and the third for service in the global war on terrorism. Murphy, who died at age 29, was killed June 28, 2005, while on a reconnaissance mission in enemy territory in northeastern... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/garage-plan-could-spur-development/64436/ Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST A section of downtown could be opened for new residential development, a state official said yesterday as he outlined a plan to alter the use of a parking garage and sell off its unused air rights. The chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Avi Schick, said the state was working with the city to convert a parking garage on West Street, by the entrance to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, to a facility for commuter and tour buses from public automobile use. The move would unlock 3... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/atlantic-yards-opponents-appeal-dismissal/64230/ Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Property and business owners suing to stop the use of eminent domain for the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project are facing a crucial decision from a federal appeals court, one of the few remaining legal options for the opponents. Yesterday, the opponents group argued that it deserves a trial to challenge the state's taking of property for the project in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The appeal comes after a U.S. District Court judge in Brooklyn, Nicholas Garaufis, dismissed... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/bowery-residents-band-to-fight-upscaling/64213/ Tue, 9 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST As new hotels and condos sprout up along the Bowery, forcing out the Lower East Side corridor's legendary raffishness and squalor, community residents are pushing back against builders by seeking restrictions on new development. With a community forum on the issue scheduled for Thursday, residents peeved by the rapid transformation of the Bowery are urging a possible rezoning that would limit building heights and density. Such restrictions would require approval from the Bloomberg... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/tiffany-hermes-lead-luxury-downtown/64093/ Mon, 8 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST When Tiffany & Co. opens its new downtown store at 37 Wall St., its signature blue boxes with white ribbons will join a growing mix of high-end shopping bags sprouting along the area's narrow streets. Together with the trademark orange bags from the recently opened Hermθs store, the infusion of new color portends a transformation of retail in the historic financial district, where high-end jewelers and clothiers burgeon amid a changing downtown. The elaborate ribbon cutting planned for... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/appeals-court-to-hear-atlantic-yards-case/64144/ Mon, 8 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Opponents of the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn will argue before a federal appeals court tomorrow in one of their few remaining attempts to challenge the use of eminent domain for the project. In June, a U.S. District Court judge in Brooklyn dismissed a lawsuit against New York State brought by a coalition of Prospect Heights residents and business owners affected by the project. An appeal of that ruling is being heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which sits... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/educators-only-need-apply-to-new-bronx-housing/64056/ Fri, 5 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST An apartment complex in the Bronx is setting a new precedent for "affordable" housing: The city-funded project caters exclusively to members of a specific profession. Comptroller William Thompson, joined by a city housing official and the president of the United Federation of Teachers, announced yesterday a 234-unit apartment complex that gives complete preference to educators, saying the development would help attract and retain stronger teachers. However, critics claim that a city-funded... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/grand-plans-for-red-hook-all-but-dead/63971/ Thu, 4 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST A host of elected officials, including three likely contenders for the mayor's office in 2009, are urging the state to maintain control of Brooklyn's last container port, a move that would all but put an end to a major Bloomberg administration economic development initiative. The City Council speaker, Christine Quinn, Rep. Anthony Weiner, Comptroller William Thompson, and Senator Schumer, among others, are pressuring the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to renew the lease of port... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/real-estate/plan-for-rail-link-on-high-line-faces-hurdles/63931/ Thu, 4 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST A developer proposing a "people mover" mass transit system on the West Side could face significant obstacles, as the rail link would be highly expensive and would run on the High Line's former rail viaduct, a space the community has sought to preserve as parkland. The plan by the Durst Organization would create a monorail-like train to connect Pennsylvania Station with the company's proposed development on the 26-acre West Side rail yards. "I'm concerned about the practicality of using the High... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/energy-designation-may-allow-use-of-eminent-domain/63861/ Wed, 3 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST A new action by the the U.S. Department of Energy may enable the use of eminent domain to clear the way for a large power line project in upstate New York despite the objections of state officials. The Bush administration yesterday designated much of the mid-Atlantic region a "National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor," which will allow the federal government to supersede local and state authorities to approve energy projects that might otherwise have been rejected. The energy corridor... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/business/rising-rents-for-manhattan-office-space-may-weaken/63817/ Wed, 3 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST The days of escalating rents for Manhattan office space could be nearing a close, as the commercial leasing market is showing some signs of weakening, new reports by brokerage firms suggest. Between July and September, leasing activity was down 28% for Class A office space compared with a year earlier, according to a quarterly report by Cushman & Wakefield. The numbers suggest companies are expanding and changing locations with less frequency, approaching large decisions with a newfound sense... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/power-plant-plans-100m-expansion/63751/ Tue, 2 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Facing a rising citywide demand for electricity, a Brooklyn-based power plant is seeking to increase its capacity, with plans to spend more than $100 million to expand its Sunset Park facility. The owner of the plant, Astoria Generating Company, a subsidiary of US Power Generating Company, announced yesterday that it is applying to add 100 to 150 megawatts of capacity to its 560-megawatt facility, an alteration that will require the operator to go through a lengthy environmental review process... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/lawmakers-and-business-leaders-to-highlight-citys/63803/ Tue, 2 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST As financial reports from a tough third quarter trickle in on Wall Street, the city is pushing the issue of New York's position in the global economy, with Mayor Bloomberg and three top administration officials scheduled to speak at a conference of business leaders today. The conference, hosted by the Economist magazine, focuses on a major theme of Mr. Bloomberg's tenure. The mayor has warned repeatedly that the city's dominant financial sector could be eroded by foreign competition. Early this... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/business-booms-for-dormitory-operator-as-colleges/63700/ Mon, 1 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST As enrollments swell to record highs at New York City's colleges and universities, a private operator of dormitories is reeling in new business. The nonprofit, New York-based Educational Housing Services has been experiencing a rapid growth in interest recently and is planning to more than double the number of beds it operates to about 7,000 over the next three years. Founded two decades ago, the organization's recent rise is an emblem of a broader trend among the city's colleges and... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/study-diabetes-up-poor-hardest-hit/63574/ Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST Despite considerable efforts by the city and the state to combat diabetes, hospitalization rates for the disease have grown precipitously in the five boroughs, especially in less wealthy neighborhoods, according to a new study by the city comptroller, William Thompson. The report, released yesterday, also showed noticeable drops in childhood asthma hospitalizations, infant mortality, and death from heart disease during the last 15 years, with the reductions occurring across income groups... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/officials-boost-columbia-expansion/63487/ Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST As Columbia University takes its proposed 17-acre expansion before the City Planning Commission and the City Council in coming weeks, the institution is facing lessening political resistance, as elected officials are lining up to offer support for the plan. The president of Manhattan, Scott Stringer, yesterday recommended approval for the project, and received praise from the local council member, Robert Jackson, for an agreement he reached with the university. While the Community Board has... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/rezoning-may-ease-columbia-expansion/63434/ Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST As the Bloomberg administration and City Council mull Columbia University's proposed 17-acre expansion, the city is now seeking to rezone the surrounding West Harlem area, a move that could ease the concerns of many opposing the campus extension. The decision by the city was announced in a letter yesterday from commissioner of the Department of City Planning, Amanda Burden, to the president of Manhattan, Scott Stringer, who has been pushing new development and height restrictions. As Columbia's... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/sugar-factory-named-landmark/63376/ Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:13:30 EST The Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn stands to be converted to hold hundreds of units of housing after the city designated three large former industrial buildings at the site as landmarks today. The three buildings will be at the center of a planned complex of 2,100 apartments. A private developer is seeking to rezone and reinvent the site, building four towers of 30 and 40 stories. The decision by the city's Landmarks and Preservation Commission this afternoon will likely preserve the 19th... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/probe-wont-win-cuomo-any-facebook-friends/63360/ Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST Attorney General Cuomo is launching an investigation into Facebook Inc., claiming its popular social networking Web site is not as safe from sexual predators as its image and promotional materials suggest. Mr. Cuomo yesterday announced his office was sending subpoenas to California-based Facebook after a preliminary investigation found the company took little action when alerted to the presence of potential sexual predators, creating an environment that contrasts with the relatively safe... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/after-100-years-a-new-era-flowers-for-taxis/63262/ Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST The brothers behind the painted flowers dotting yellow cabs throughout the city are not quite Christo and Jeanne-Claude. But since the public phase of their art initiative started 12 days ago, the two middle-age California natives, Ed and Bernie Massey, have seen their art project burgeon, with between 2,500 and 3,000 taxis being adorned with a painted flower skin. Their nonprofit project, "Garden in Transit," was conceived in 2000, with a goal of placing unique pieces of art on one of the most... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/javits-expansion-delays-blamed-on-pataki/63154/ Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST Facing rising anxiety about the slow pace of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center expansion project, the Spitzer administration is placing blame on the Pataki administration for a failure to properly estimate the construction costs. "We now realize that the proposal we inherited dramatically understated expansion costs," the downstate chairman of New York's Empire State Development Corp., Patrick Foye, said at New York Building Congress luncheon. "The work required to come up with a realistic... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/plan-to-extend-no-7-line-has-only-one-bidder/63023/ Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST The $2 billion plan to extend the no. 7 subway line has received only one bid for what is likely the project's biggest contract, a factor that could weaken the state's ability to leverage a low-cost final agreement. The group that submitted the bid for the tunneling was a venture including one of the most active builders in the city, Skanska USA, which has received hundreds of millions in city and state contracts in recent years. Skanska's projects in the region include the PATH hub at ground... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/new-gold-coast/62904/ Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST Thirty-five years ago, a rising star on the New York real estate scene, Sheldon Solow, put the finishing touches on an eye-catching new office tower at 9 W. 57th St. The shiny, black glass building, held together by a white frame, has since been viewed by many as a crown jewel of Midtown, attracting top-end tenants and offering an iconic, modernist structure near the southern edge of Central Park. Now, at 79, Mr. Solow is embarking on a project that could redefine his legacy: to build, just... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/romney-speech-pains-st-vincents/62812/ Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST When a Republican presidential contender, Mitt Romney, readied to deliver a speech on health care this morning, he chose a backdrop that might lend force to his message: the hospital Saint Vincent's, named for the great 17th-century caregiver to the poor, Vincent de Paul. There was one problem though: Saint Vincent's says it wants nothing to do with Mr. Romney. Soon after Mr. Romney's speech just outside the hospital at 12th Street and Seventh Avenue, during which he criticized Senator... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/romney-derides-hillarycare-plan/62800/ Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:11:27 EST Shortly before Senator Clinton was scheduled to officially unveil her national health care strategy, a Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, derided the plan, saying, "Hillarycare continues to be bad medicine." Mrs. Clinton is expected today to call for an "individual mandate" that requires all Americans to buy health insurance, according to the Associated Press. The concept was pioneered at the state level in Massachusetts by Mr. Romney, the former governor. However, unlike Mr... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/trump-seeks-hole-in-one-in-dunes-of-scotland/62730/ Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST An ocean away from his New York-based real estate empire, Donald Trump is looking to slap his bold-faced brand on a rugged corner of Scotland, where he plans to build what he calls one of the world's greatest golf resorts. The development mogul has never shied from pushing the envelope in New York City — after months of complaints and protests for slipping through what critics call a zoning loophole, for example, his Trump SoHo condo-hotel is slated for an official groundbreaking ceremony this... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/national/google-doodle-sparks-ire-of-jewish-community/62660/ Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST The Web search engine Google drew fire yesterday — the first day of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana — for decorating its home page in a motif that honored the late children's author Roald Dahl, who was once accused of anti-Semitism. Google returned its page to the default logo by 2 p.m. after contributors to Web logs criticized the timing of the decoration, which also coincides with Dahl's birthday. The company acknowledged that it took down the decoration — known as a Google Doodle — in... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/national/google-criticized-for-honoring-anti-israel-author/62602/ Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:22:38 EST The Web search engine Google drew fire today for decorating its home page in a motif that honored a children's author who has drawn accusations of anti-Semitism, Roald Dahl, on the first day of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. Google returned its page to the default logo by 2 p.m. after contributors to Web logs criticized the timing of the decoration, which also coincides with the birthday of Dahl. The company acknowledged that it took down the decoration — known as a Google Doodle — in... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/push-is-growing-for-us-funding-of-penn-station/62521/ Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST The developers involved in remaking Pennsylvania Station are pouring money into an effort to elicit federal funding for the development, retaining the services of six Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firms for the project, records show. In the first half of 2007, developers Vornado Realty Trust and the Related Companies put about $710,000 into the advocacy efforts, according to federal lobbying filings, an amount that comes on top of more than $15,000 in campaign contributions to key legislators... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/rockefeller-university-to-renovate-connect-2-labs/62394/ Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST Rockefeller University is embarking on a $400 million renovation and construction project to create a state of the art laboratory complex, the largest project at the Upper East Side institution in 15 years. Citing aging facilities and a need for more workable space, the scientific research university's plans for its new Collaborative Research Center include gutting the interiors of two pre-war buildings and completely remaking their laboratory space, and building a large glass structure to... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/sting-bowie-eye-burlesque-club-downtown/62242/ Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST A planned burlesque nightclub reportedly financed by musicians David Bowie and Sting is running into heated opposition from residents in the Lower East Side. The club, planned for a building just north of Chinatown, could bring a new glitz and nightlife to Kenmare Street, a residential and relatively low-rent retail strip that is gradually seeing a shift to a more upscale business makeup. But the opposition indicates that as the Lower East Side becomes thicker with luxury condominiums... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/nadler-other-officials-oppose-fordham-universitys/62256/ Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST Rep. Jerrold Nadler and some other elected officials are opposing a plan by Fordham University to triple the size of its Lincoln Center campus. The city planning department has scheduled an initial public meeting about the plan for today. In a letter sent to Fordham on Friday, obtained by The New York Sun, Mr. Nadler, Senator Thomas Duane, Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal offered sharp criticism of the design of the plan, among other issues, writing that the... ELIOT BROWN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/citing-markets-mayor-curbs-spending/62188/ Fri, 7 Sep 2007 14:38:13 EST Citing worries on Wall Street, the city today warned of possible budget reductions, and called for city agencies to curb hiring and spending. "The City's economy depends in no small measure on the profitability and success of Wall Street and the financial services industry," Mayor Bloomberg wrote in a memo sent to city agencies. "Recent events in the financial markets are, therefore, a subject of deep concern." While he did not call for immediate budget cuts, Mr. Bloomberg wrote "such...