Staten Island developer convicted of $14M Ponzi scheme, Manhattan office leasing plummets 26 percent … and more

1. Founder of SI-based development firm convicted of $14M real estate Ponzi scheme [Post]
2. Because of widespread political support, NYU expansion opponents would be more effective of they pushed for compromise [Villager]
3. Manhattan office leasing falls 26 percent in January [Crain’s]
4. Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin begins house hunt after spending weeks on his brother’s LES couch [Post]
5. For a century, Roosevelt Island was a penitentiary with prime views of freedom [NYT]
6. Inside the 150-year-old Jersey City building that will house Snooki and JWoww for their “Jersey Shore” spinoff [NYDN]
7. Port Authority admitted $1B worth of predictable WTC costs were simply not accounted for [Post]
8. Public hearing on Fresh Direct subsidy package for Bronx move draws huge crowd of supporters and opponents [NYDN]
9. NYU declines request to donate money, instead of land on its expanded campus, for a public school [Villager]
10. Bank officials and federal and state negotiators missed Super Bowl to finalize mortgage settlement [Bloomberg]
11. Family bakery business thrives after relocating to 46,000-square-foot Mott Haven factory [NYDN]
12. Brookfield’s profitability falls in the fourth quarter after it spun off residential arm [Bloomberg]