Mayor Michael Bloomberg has submitted an official challenge to New York
City’s 2010 census results to the U.S. Census Bureau, according to a
letter released by the mayor’s office today. In the letter to Census
Bureau director Robert Groves, Bloomberg states that the city believes
housing units in Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst as well as in Astoria and
Jackson Heights were erroneously counted as vacant. Rather, Bloomberg
writes, data shows those neighborhoods are growing and vibrant parts of
the city.
– Miranda Neubauer [more]

A number of regional, national and international retailers are set to open first outposts in New York City. Last week, Costco, the largest membership warehouse club in the world, opened its first location in Manhattan in the 500,000-square-foot East River Plaza. Target will open its first Manhattan store in the same plaza next year. Best Buy, Marshalls and New York City’s first Bob’s Discount Furniture will join them. Bob’s has 35 stores throughout New York, New Jersey and New England. In the fall it opened its newest location in Carle Place, LI. [more]

Opponents of a proposed Bensonhurst waste transfer station are ramping up their efforts, calling on Governor David Paterson to intervene. The controversy stems from the new facility’s proposed location, the former site of an incinerator near Bay 41st Street and Shore Parkway. Opponents say that when the Department of Sanitation begins construction, it will unearth decades of toxic pollution caused by the incinerator. State Assembly member William Colton has been particularly vocal in his disapproval of the facility. “Why do we have a Department of Environmental Conservation if they cannot ensure the protection of families and their environment?” Colton said. “Governor Paterson now has an obligation to show leadership in this matter.” Brooklyn’s waterfront has often been the site of controversial city facilities, including a former Williamsburg garbage-handling facility that was recently rezoned and developed.

Joseph Sitt, president of Thor Equities, has presented city officials with a proposal to build a 214,000-square-foot big-box mall, including a BJ’s Wholesale Club and three other stores, in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of South Brooklyn. The Department of City Planning is set to host an Oct. 29 hearing on the proposal, in order to gauge public opinion on the issue.