From left: Marion Hedges and the Target in Harlem

Marion Hedges, the Prudential Douglas Elliman agent hit by a shopping cart thrown off the roof of a Harlem shopping center in October, was technically dead at the scene, the New York Post reported. Hedges was revived by a resident at New York Hospital who was shopping at Target at the time of the accident. A law enforcement source told the Post about the heroics that helped to save Hedges’ life, but said the agent “will never be the same. … She will have cognitive issues.” [more]

[Updated 8:41 p.m.] The founder of a successful Midtown-based real estate firm is accused of funneling nearly $500,000 in alleged bribes to Brooklyn State Senator Carl Kruger, who in turn took action to benefit that company’s development projects, a complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court says. Prosecutors allege Aaron Malinsky, a principal with PA Associates, made the payments to an entity called Olympian Strategic Development, and that money was used to improperly benefit Kruger (see complaint after the jump). Kruger allegedly received at least $1 million in bribes from Malinsky and others between 2006 and 2011, investigators said. In addition to Malinsky, authorities accused lobbyist Richard Lipsky, a principal with Richard Lipsky Associates, whose clients include Forest City Ratner, of involvement in the alleged bribery schemes. [more]

[Updated at 4:36 p.m.] Big-box retailer Target quietly partnered with two local developers to purchase a 7.9-acre United States Postal Service site in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx, for $35.2 million, where they plan to build a 300,000-square-foot mall. The acquisition of the site at 815 Hutchinson River Parkway at Lafayette Avenue went into contract in November and closed Feb. 11, city property records published last Wednesday show. The owner was listed as Lafayette Nominee Owner LLC, with an address at Target’s corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, Minn. [more]

Wal-Mart is scouting out New York City locations as part of a push to open small locations in urban markets, the Associated Press reported. The superstore has been “on an aggressive roll” and has been talking to landlords and brokers about locations in Queens and Lower Manhattan, said Prudential Douglas Elliman retail chairman Faith Hope Consolo. The ideal size for the company is 20,000 square feet — larger than a drugstore but smaller than a supermarket, real estate executives said. A detailed explanation of Wal-Mart’s urban expansion strategy is expect next month at a meeting with analysts at the company’s headquarters. Competitor Target, meanwhile, is also making moves on the urban landscape, but is mostly looking for stores in the 60,000- to 100,000-square-foot range. Target opened its first Manhattan store in East Harlem this summer and is slated to open its doors in Queens’ new Sky View Center in 2011. [AP via Crain's]

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If you are a national or international retailer, it is your objective to operate a retail store in New York City, with Manhattan remaining the prize location. And in the down market, more national chains are capitalizing on lower rents. On July 31, Texas-based J.C. Penney opened its first Manhattan location at the Manhattan Mall. Later this year, residents of Manhattan will no longer have to travel to Astoria or Brooklyn to shop at Costco Warehouse Club. Costco is scheduled to open its long-awaited store in East Harlem at 116th Street at East River Plaza. [more]