New Yorkers looking to purchase a “starter” apartment would be wise to stick to the East Side. Citing Streeteasy.com research, New York magazine reported that competition for selling studios and one-bedroom apartments in the Upper East Side, Lenox Hill, Turtle Bay and Murray Hill is so strong that more than one-third of those units have had their asking prices cut.

Apartments in those neighborhoods linger on the market for 33 to 42 weeks, on average, so owners “have to make their listings more compelling,” said Sofia Song, vice president of research at Streeteasy.com. [more]

Arbor Realty Funding, the lender at the site of a fatal 2008 crane collapse in Turtle Bay, has filed a $69 million malpractice suit against Herrick Feinstein, alleging the law firm provided bad advice about the zoning regulations for the planned 42-story tower. Manhattan-based Arbor provided $70 million in short-term bridge loans to help developer Jim Kennelly convert the several parcels at 303 East 51st Street into a luxury condominium, but a crane collapsed onto a residential building across the street, killing seven people, causing millions of dollars in structural damage and criminal convictions. [more]