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Bruce Ratner, chairman and CEO of Forest City Ratner, appeared on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop” (see video
on the jump) to discuss the New York real estate market and, of course, his
Atlantic Yards project. The developer said that if the economy tanks
again, and experiences a double dip the city would not come out as
cleanly as it did the first time around. The widespread layoffs being
announced by banks combined with existing budget woes would strain the
city. However, because the city’s economy is more diversified than it
was even five years ago, he still believes it would fare better than
most other markets. [more]

Fed up with the French Riviera, wealthy Russian buyers are descending on the Hamptons and they’re not afraid to pay the big bucks, according to the New York Post. “Russians are here big-time, and they don’t think much about dropping a million bucks to be in the Hamptons for the summer,” said one broker who has made several deals with Russian clients.

It is Russian renters, the Post said, who are setting the highest rates for summer in the East End of Long Island.

Russian billionaire bachelor Igor Sosin has rented a 12-bedroom mansion on Ox Pasture Lane in Southampton for $860,000 for July and August, sources said. The brokers were Victoria Logevisky and Erica Grossman of Prudential Douglas Elliman. [more]

Apple is reportedly eying retail space near Atlantic Yards

Let’s hope Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian oligarch who invested millions in the Atlantic Yards development, isn’t a Microsoft guy. Rumor has it that Apple has set its sights on a location adjacent to the Downtown Brooklyn project, according to the New York Observer. Insiders say that Apple has even been talking with Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner about potential retail spots in the area. But the tech company still has some major hang-ups, according to some. “They’ve been very gun shy, the Apple people,” a source said. “They’re focusing on the arena area right now, but there’s no space.” [more]

Top row, from left: Howard and Steve Rubenstein, Donald Trump, Mort Zuckerman; bottom row, from left: Jerry Speyer, Dottie Herman and Pamela Liebman

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the most powerful man in New York City — so says the New York Observer, which released its annual list of the top 150 most powerful New Yorkers. This year’s ranking included 24 influential real estate players, including real estate PR bigwigs Howard and Steve Rubenstein of Rubenstein Communications (ranked 17th and 78th, respectively), Donald Trump (19th), Boston Properties honcho Mort Zuckerman (20th), Tishman Speyer co-founder Jerry Speyer, Prudential Douglas Elliman CEO Dottie Herman (53rd) and Pamela Liebman, president and CEO of the Corcoran Group (89th). The list included a handful of surprises, as well. TRD [more]

The New Jersey Nets basketball team may have had the worst record in the league last year, but new owner and Atlantic Yards benefactor Mikhail Prokhorov said he’s determined to reverse the failing team’s course, according to Bloomberg News. The Russian oligarch, who paid Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner $200 million in exchange for an 80 percent sake in the team, flew the Nets out to Moscow and met with them yesterday. The billionaire businessman has already proved to be a hit among the team members, with point guard Devin Harris eager to glean information from Prokhorov. “It’s not just that he’s Russian,” Harris said. “He’s proven to be the bet in pretty much anything that he’s touched and he has a feel for the game.” [Bloomberg]

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While Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian oligarch who’s heavily invested in the Atlantic Yards development, is hailed by many local NBA enthusiasts, Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi thinks New York City fans might want to rethink their support. In this video from Fox Business News, Taibbi says it’s “unbelievable” to him that Prokhorov is “being celebrated as this great guy,” noting his widely reported, sketchy business dealings in the past.

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Related’s Stephen Ross (left), the proposed mosque site on Park Place and Vornado’s Steven Roth

An online sports wagering site is taking actual bets on which individual or group will be next to offer to purchase the planned Lower Manhattan site of the controversial Park51 mosque and Islamic community center, following the sound rejection of Donald Trump’s bid last week. The site, YouWager.com, has set limits at $10,000, and the odds are currently +200 on Stephen Ross’ the Related Companies, +400 on Vornado Realty Trust, and +350 on billionaire Russian tycoon and Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov. The odds are +100 on Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has repeatedly professed his support for the mosque at its current location. But Bloomberg is largely alone in his views. A new nationwide Quinnipiac University poll released today reveals that 63 percent of American voters believe it is wrong for developer Soho Properties to build a mosque at the current site near Ground Zero, even though 70 percent believe the developer has the right to do so. No sub-group said it was “appropriate” to build a mosque there. In a letter to a major investor in the Park51 project last week, which he also released to the media, Trump offered to buy the site at a 25 percent premium in order to “end a very serious, inflammatory, and highly divisive situation.” Through his attorney, the investor, Hisham Elzanaty, called Trump’s letter a “cheap attempt to get publicity and get in the limelight.” TRD

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Russian billionaire and new owner of the New Jersey Nets Mikhail Prokhorov has landed a new office, according to the Wall Street Journal, after signing a lease for 2,500 square feet in the famed Seagram Building at 375 Park Avenue between 52nd and 53rd streets. Prokhorov, who spent $200 million for his 45 percent stake in the Nets last year, will use the space as his office when he’s in town. The basketball enthusiast’s investment has proved crucial for the team — his capital injection helped finance the Atlantic Yards project, the Downtown Brooklyn development where the Nets’ new Barclays Center arena will open. The team is expected to begin using the space in 2012. [WSJ]

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The National Basketball Association has approved Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov’s purchase of an 80 percent stake in the New Jersey Nets team, according to the Associated Press. Prokhorov had agreed to buy the NBA team last year, providing financing for the construction of the new Barclays Center, in which he will have a 45 percent stake, a part of the Atlantic Yards development project in Downtown Brooklyn where the Nets will play. [more]

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who is on the verge of a $200 million deal to buy the New Jersey Nets from Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, is coming under scrutiny for his close business ties to Zimbabwe, according to the Post. New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell has called for a government inquiry into whether the Prokhorov-owned companies in Zimbabwe violate federal laws that prohibit American citizens and companies from doing business with dictator Robert Mugabe. Prokhorov’s Renaisance Capital has interests in the Zimbabwean stock exchange, among other investments in the country. Renaissance is also closely tied to Prokhorov’s Onexim investment fund — the one behind the imminent Nets takeover that will bring the basketball team to Ratner’s new Barclays Center in Atlantic Yards. “[The Nets deal is] being financed partly by the taxpayer, and the public has a right to know,” said Pascrell, who wants the Treasury Department to investigate Onexim. The NBA, whose vetting process for Prokhorov is already complete, last week announced that it would delay a scheduled Friday vote on the deal because of the stall tactics of residents living in the footprint of the new Nets arena, which is to be taken over by the state through eminent domain. [Post]