The Real Deal New York

A rendering of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

The City Planning Commission voted Wednesday to approve the U.S. Tennis Association’s expansion plan in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, DNAinfo reported. The commission vote is the last step before the somewhat controversial plan arrives at City Council for a final vote.

In a $500 million plan, the USTA is looking to overhaul its 42-acre Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, replacing the aging Louis Armstrong Stadium, building a new Grandstand Stadium, two parking garages and replacing seven tennis courts. [more]

101 Central Park West and George Gershwin

A scion of the Gershwin family has sold his co-op apartment at 101 Central Park West for $5.37 million, the New York Observer reported.

Marc Gershwin, the son of George and Ira’s brother Arthur, lived in the 15th-floor classic seven apartment for three decades. In late 2012, brokers Lorraine Ding and Michele Gershwin of Akam Sales managed to find a buyer for the unit, which was listed for $5.75 million, but the buyer was ultimately rejected by the co-op board. They then found the current buyer, Eiko Adams, a resident of St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. [more]

Alberto Vilar and the apartment at 860 United Nations Plaza

Half of the “golden” duplex at 860 United Nations Plaza that once belonged to notorious fraudster Alberto Vilar is back on the market with an asking price of $4.95 million, Curbed reported. [more]

East Village in the 1970s (Photo by Ann Sanfedele via Vanishing New York)

Developer lists China-inspired Bridgehampton home for $28 million. Trinity Prep School on Upper West Side looks to raise low-income tenant rents by 41 percent. Douglas Steiner’s planned apartment tower in the East Village could desecrate the dead, preservationists say. Brooklyn Navy Yard to host high-speed nighttime cycle racing. How eyewear store Warby Parker made the transition to brick-and-mortar. Read these stories and more after the jump.

Tim Tompkins and the old New York Times building

Times Square may be experiencing a mini technology boom, with tech companies including Yahoo and Microsoft snapping up 633,000 square feet of space in the neighborhood over the last 18 months, according to data provided to The Real Deal by the Times Square Alliance, a business improvement district group. [more]

A rendering of 56 Leonard Street and a rendering of 432 Park Avenue

High demand for super-luxury homes has tilted the scales, if you will, in favor of tall, skinny residential developments, the Wall Street Journal reported.

With buyers shelling out $3,000 per square foot for apartments perched in the sky, it makes financial sense for the developers to build needle-like towers. Previously, builders acquired wide sites, since constructing tall properties on small sites was expensive, the Journal said. [more]

Fort Tilden in Queens (Credit: Urban Ghosts Media)

Madison Square Garden gets 15-year permit. Townhouse at 294 West 4th Street asks $10.8 million. Starwood Capital Group in talks to buy seven malls from Westfield Group for $1 billion. The Muppets take Queens to star in museum exhibit. Cleanup workers try to restore Fort Tilden beach in Queens by the summer. Read these stories and more after the jump.

Michael Hoffenberg

From the May issue: A new Manhattan financial firm plans to originate between $100 and $150 million in loans in the coming year, founder Michael Hoffenberg told TRD. Newly launched Trevian Capital specializes in high-yield bridge loans — first mortgages or other senior secured loans with terms of six months to two years — in the $1 to $30 million range, he said.

Trevian will help provide nontraditional financing for small to mid-size players who need money faster than a large bank can provide it, said Hoffenberg. [more]

From left: Steve Rutter, Rebecca Mason, Kenneth Scheff, Charles Russell, Elizabeth Ann Stribling-Kivlan, Elizabeth Stribling, Catherine Witherwax, Kirk Henckels and Chris Wilson all of Stribling

Some 250 brokers and guests crowded into Stribling & Associate’s new Boerum Hill office last night, though the residential brokerage sent out only 150 invites to the opening of its first Brooklyn location. [more]

From left: Judge Shlomo Hagler and Broadway Triangle

A development watchdog group has raised concerns that a new judge overseeing a challenge to the Broadway Triangle apartment complex in Williamsburg will be biased in favor of the project, the New York Daily News reported. [more]