Commercial building owners — in their haste to get in on the Treasury Department’s solar panel installation grants before the year-end deadline — have depleted some energy factories of their inventory, the New York Times reported. The federal program, instituted in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, covers 30 percent of the project’s cost and, according to a study by the U.S. Partnership for Renewal Energy Finance, has doubled nationwide investment in solar energy systems. [more]

The Brooklyn Bridge is about to undergo a $500 million renovation project, including a massive lead paint removal, according to the Broadsheet Daily. The effort, which is being funded in part by stimulus money through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is set to take about four years. Contractor Skanska is slated to lead the project, which will begin around late May or early June. Overnight traffic on the bridge may be affected the most, according to a representative from the Department of Transportation, who said officials expect about 82 percent of the traffic to be diverted to the Manhattan Bridge.

From left: President of Century 21 NY Metro Marc Lewis, Brown Harris Stevens broker Justine Bray, tax attorney Robert Ladislaw

The end is near — that is, tomorrow — for first-time homebuyers seeking a federal tax credit introduced by Pres. Barack Obama last winter to deal with the housing downturn. Though the tax credit officially expires at midnight Nov. 30, many brokers have imposed an unofficial deadline of Sept. 1 for their buyers who want to take advantage of it. The reason is that it can take up to three months to finalize a sale, between contract signing and closing, and brokers want to play it safe. But instead of rushing to buy homes before the Sept. 1 deadline passes, as is the case in other parts of the country, many New Yorkers have spent the last few days simply shrugging their shoulders.  More

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