Design unveiled for World Financial Center, home equity lending returns … and more

1. Preservation Development Partners, new Manhattan start-up, focuses on acquiring and preserving affordable housing [Crain’s] 

2. Brookfield Properties unveils redesigned plan for World Financial Center [Broadsheet Daily] 

3. Starchitect Michael Van Valkenburgh wins prize from Municipal Art Society for designing Brooklyn Bridge Park [Brooklyn Paper] 

4. VE Equities rolls out new residential development projects [Post] 

5. Brooklyn renters prefer Williamsburg, while Manhattan renters favor Upper West Side, says data from Naked Apartments listings site [Curbed] 

6. New $50M façade restoration unveiled at New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street [Gothamist] and [Curbed]
7. Labor leaders, small business owners and elected officials speak out against Walmart’s expansion plan [Crain’s] 

8. Politicians question Dermot Company on 42-story tower at 29 Flatbush in Fort Greene [Brownstoner] 

9. Home equity lending is making a comeback [WSJ] 

10. Moody’s earnings get a partial boost from commercial real estate transactions [Housingwire] 

11. Rent is too Damn High party founder Jimmy McMillan stars in a commercial [Gothamist] 

12. Zillow and Yahoo announce merger [Curbed] 

13. Blackstone real estate assets post 14 percent gain in fourth quarter of 2010 [Crain’s]