On Manhattan’s East Side, Fannie Mae has granted its official approval
to 211 East 51st Street, HJ Development’s 14-story luxury condo
conversion. Also, Believe High Schools Network, a charter school organization, is
expanding and relocating to 33 Nassau Avenue in the Greenpoint area of
Brooklyn. Meanwhile, at the annual meeting of the American Economic
Association yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested
a comprehensive review of past monetary policy in order to avoid
future housing bubbles. Click here for more. TRD [more]

The Real Deal held its holiday party last night at the Sicis Art Factory, at 470 Broome Street in Soho. More than 1,000 real estate professionals filled the four-floor showroom packed with mosaic designs covering entire walls in flower and animal patterns, hanging tile displays that looked like flying carpets and mannequins dressed in armor. Attendees included Bob Knakal and Paul Massey, co-founders of Massey Knakal; Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel; Michael Shvo, founder of the Shvo Group; Steven Siegel, chairman of global brokerage at CB Richard Ellis; and Tamir Shemesh, managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman. While touring the floors of art and drinking champagne and sampling hors d’oeuvres, many of the real estate pros at the party talked about the state of the market and what they are up to. Here’s a sampling: Comments

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