1. MORGAN STANLEY BACKS OUT OF WEST SIDE BID: The planned anchor tenant for Tishman Speyer’s bid for the West Side rail yards, Morgan Stanley, backed out of the plan after worries arose that it would not be able to relocate to the new complex before its current lease expires, the New York Times reported. Another bidder, Brookfield Properties, dropped out last month. The slowing economy is seen as a hurdle to the project.

2. KUSHNER BUILDINGS COLLAPSE IN HARLEM: A vacant five-story building collapsed on 124th Street and Park Avenue on Tuesday afternoon, halting subway and train service into Grand Central Terminal. Officials demolished a neighboring building later in the night because it was also in danger of collapsing. Both buildings belonged to Kushner Cos. A spokesman for Kushner, Howard Rubenstein, said it originally wanted to rehabilitate the buildings, which it had acquired for $5.2 million in 2006, but the structures began showing signs of instability, and there were plans in the works to demolish them.

3. DORMITORY PLANNED FOR LONG ISLAND CITY: A developer is planning to construct a mixed-use building in Long Island City that would include a dormitory for about 200 students at the City University of New York, the New York Daily News reported. The community board defeated an earlier plan for a 13-story mixed-use building, but the owner, OCA LIC, is aiming to convince the board to approve it by submitting a new plan that includes community space. The company said it would also spend several million dollars to clean up the contaminated site. Some local residents oppose the plan.

4. MILBANK MANSION SELLS TO HEDGE FUND MANAGER: One of Manhattan’s largest residences, the Milbank Mansion, sold for $49 million to a hedge fund managing director, the Real Deal reported. The 22,000-square-foot, six-story building at 14–16 E. 67th St. has 27 rooms, a ballroom, an indoor swimming pool, a gymnasium, a garden, and a marble staircase. A senior managing director at Harbinger Capital Partners, Philip Falcone, was the buyer.

5. MURRAY HILL SWEEPS UP 39-STORY TOWER: Murray Hill Properties bought a 39-story tower in Midtown for $310 million, GlobeSt.comreported. Bids for the 770,000-squarefoot tower, at 1250 Broadway, were due last week, but the owner, SL Green Realty Corp., sold it in advance. “We pre-empted the whole world,” the co-founder of Murray Hill Properties, Norman Sturner said.

6. KUSHNER WALKS AWAY FROM BROADWAY DEAL: Kushner Cos. walked away from a deposit and contract to buy 700 Broadway for $80 million, the New York Post reported. One of the principals of the family-owned business, Jared Kushner, had predicated the purchase on a deal with movie producer Harvey Weinstein to relocate his headquarters there, but Mr. Weinstein decided against the move. The news of the fizzled deal came as Mr. Kushner, who also owns the New York Observer newspaper, began marketing the retail portion of the company’s trophy acquisition, 666 Fifth Ave. The company bought the property for $1.8 billion last year. The sale is necessary to help pay off loans that come due in the next several months

7. SPITZER PROPOSES LAW TO HELP BORROWERS: To stem the rising number of home foreclosures, Governor Spitzer proposed a legislative package this week that would require lenders to work out payment plans before suing for money owed, the New York Times reported. The bill would require lenders to warn borrowers 60 days before beginning foreclosure proceedings and to attempt to negotiate before foreclosing. There was a 70% increase in foreclosures last year versus 2005.

8. NEW TENANT LAW IRKS INDUSTRY AND LAWYERS: Real estate lawyers are complaining that a new City Council bill that would make it easier for tenants to sue landlords would unleash a torrent of lawsuits, creating a logjam in the court system, the Real Deal reported. One of the co-sponsors of the bill, Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, said landlords often harass tenants with incessant buyout offers and other methods to push out them out of low-rent apartments. Real estate lawyers and the Real Estate Board of New York said the bill would unfairly open landlords to excessive litigation. Mayor Bloomberg is expected to sign the bill into law.

bhope@nysun.com