Paterson pitches new Aqueduct selection process, city board and students divided over Bronx school move … and more

1. Flushing Commons plans get first-round approval, as some community members throw their enthusiastic support behind the project [Crain’s] and [Curbed] 

2. Fed up, Paterson says he wants to select Aqueduct racetrack contract winner by himself [NYO]
3. Images from Empire State Building’s new cocktail lounge, the Empire Room [Gothamist]
4. $10 million mortgage scam uncovered in Brooklyn, Queens [Post]
5. Residents riled over filthy conditions at Queens apartment building [NY1]
6. Bob Zuckerman named new executive director of the Lower East Side Business Improvement District [Twitter]
7. NBA execs sizing up presumptive Nets owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov [Star-Ledger]
8. Architect stands by 15 Union Square West design [Curbed]
9. Downtown Brooklyn Partnership reveals its self-assessment on development plans [Brooklyn Eagle]
10. Collapsed crane owner and victim’s family face-to-face for the first time [Post]
11. A look at some of architect George Chappell’s most influential designs [Brownstoner]
12. After years of criminal activity, Prospect Park family-friendly again [NYT]
13. Supporter sings for Freddy’s bar, which faces eminent domain closure for Atlantic Yards development [Indie Sounds]
14. City launches experimental rooftop gardens to test air quality improvement and ability to catch water [NYDN]
15. Long Islanders want better downtown centers for their suburban centers [The City Fix]
16. Corcoran employees allegedly angling for Foursquare “mayorship” [Corcoran Twitter via Curbed]
17. City board, students divided over choice to move campus to South Bronx [Mount Hope Monitor]
18. Fashion model Behati Prinsloo offers peek inside NYC home [Refinery29]