Activists for homeless occupy an empty East Harlem lot, Nouvel’s MoMa tower receives favorable reviews … and more

1. Activists for homeless occupy an East Harlem empty lot [NYT]
2. Distressed commercial properties may hit the market soon [The Epoch Times]
3. Private school operator MetSchools has signed a lease for 200,000 square feet at 25 Broadway [NYO]
4. Ex-husband of Paul McCartney’s girlfriend buys Water Mill home [Newsday]
5. America’s 10 most undervalued places to live [US News]
6. Since High Line completion, area East of Ninth Avenue is affordable [Post]
7. Morgan Stanley reports $700 million write-down [Globest]
8. Non-residential construction spending fell in June [Reuters]
9. Renderings released for Mondrian Soho’s hotel restaurant [Hotel Chatter]
10. Council member Tony Avella opposes city plan to move Willets Point businesses to College Point [NYDN]
11. MTA’s construction chief says Second Avenue subway done [NYDN]
12. Deals to be had in La Mer condo in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn [Brooklyn Eagle]
13. Nouvel’s MoMa tower gets favorable reviews from city planning commission [Arch Paper]
14. Condo units at 300 20th Street have hit the market [Brownstoner]
15. Dow Jones tops 9,000 for first time since January, home sales rise for third month in a row [AP via OnlineAthens]
16. Fed recommends new rules to avoid mortgage abuses [CNN]
17. Economist Nouriel Roubini says economic recovery is going to be very ugly [CNBC]
18. How to profit from the housing crisis [Seeking Alpha]