Job layoffs aren’t impeding real estate growth in Long Island City … and more

1. Job layoffs aren’t impeding real estate growth in Long Island City [NYT]
2. Jonathan Miller interviews New York Times real estate writer and blogger Teri Karush [Housing Helix]
3. Long-shuttered Paramount Theater in Staten Island will reopen [SI Live]
4. Reasons why Jamaica High School should close [NYDN]
5. The Garment District becoming haven for theater and dance [Crain’s]
6. New York Times misidentifies Whitestone as a neighborhood in the Bronx [Queens Crap]
7. Economic Development Corp. allowed Mets to use mob-tied contractors at Citi Field, NY Post says [Queens Crap]
8. Peter Vallone wins 2010 “King of Queens Crap” award for overdevelopment of Astoria [Queens Crap]
9. Andre Balazs wins “Hotelier of the Year” award and his Standard hotel wins “People’s Choice Award” [Hotel Chatter]
10. A chronicle of events in western Queens during 2009 [Queens Chronicle]
11. Wildlife Conservation Society has created an extensive plan for five New York City zoos [Crain’s]
12. Developers of Brooklyn Whole Foods will participate in Brownsville cleanup program [Carroll Gardens Diary]
13. Interview with real estate investment lawyer Jonathan Mechanic [NYT]
14. Delinquent unpaid CMBS balance reaches $37.93B in November, up from month earlier [Retail Traffic Mag]
15. Five key housing issues to watch in 2010 [WSJ]
16. Some economists say Obama’s mortgage modification program has done more harm than good [NYT]
17. Home equity lines of credit becoming rare as homeowners become more fiscally conservative [NYT]