Palace hotel will reportedly close for a full year, city making a bid to control Governors Island

1. New committee formed at Hudson River Park Trust debates renovations for Pier 40 [Downtown Express]
2. The lobby at One Hanson Place in Fort Greene unable to find retail tenants, now used as banquet hall [Curbed, 1st item]
3. Discount retailer Forever 21 to open 90,000-square-foot location in Times Square [Racked]
4. Battery Park City middle school zoning debate intensifies [Downtown Express]
5. The Palace hotel will reportedly close for a full year in 2010, due to renovations [Curbed, 2nd item]
6. City making bid to control Governors Island [Downtown Express]
7. Authorities begin to probe real estate investments made by Madoff’s sons [Property Wire] 
8. State Historic Preservation office makes Chinatown and Little Italy Historic District official, noting it as “the most harmonious interracial community that has ever been” [Downtown Express] 
9. Pop-up New Jersey diorama on the UWS raises questions [Brick Underground] 
10. Battery Park City residents hope that new design could save Tire Swing Park [Downtown Express]
11. A look at residential sales in the area [NYT]
12. Mortgage rates fall below 5 percent this week, with 30-year fixed rates at a four-month low [WSJ]
13. Distressed properties becoming attractive option for investors [Real Estate Investor] 
14. Mortgage stocks have rough time as Dow drops 203 points [National Mortgage News]
15. Goldman Sachs advises investors to stay away from banks with heavy focus on commercial real estate [Reuters]
16. A look at the turbulent world of reverse mortgages [Inman] 
17. Fed report shows uptick in FHA lending due to buyers with good credit scores, not subprime borrowers [Inman]

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