New developments boost Manhattan’s sleepy Civic Center, online community tries to sharpen NYC neighborhood boundaries … and more

1. New developments are bringing new life to the quiet and affordable Civic Center area of Manhattan [WSJ]
2. Dual Groupe opens 3,000-square-foot event space in the Limelight [Post, 1st item]
3. Raid of Crown Heights apartment turns up boa constrictor, alligators, tarantula, scorpion and more [NY Mag]
4. Union Square has become the city’s cheese district [NYDN]
5. New York investment manager devises system to find bad mortgages in loan pool [NYT]
6.  Donna Karan’s Greenwich Street studio shut for minor renovations — not because of neighbor complaints [Post]
7. New brewing company opening in Carroll Gardens warehouse near Gowanus Canal [NYO]
8. The city’s retail strip may have some of the priciest rents, but New York malls are far cheaper than those in D.C., Las Vegas and many other cities [WSJ, 3rd item]
9. Fashion Week model Karolina Kurkova rents $17,000 a month River Lofts pad [Post]
10. China’s growth is being stymied by construction and real estate [NYT]
11. Architectural designer turns UWS pay phone kiosks into bookshelves [Curbed]
12. U.S. asking prices increased most annually since the recession [Trulia]
13. Beth Israel extended Huguette Clark‘s life, nurse says, adding that Clark “loved” the hospital [Post]
14. Profiling Cathy Dove, the lead engineer of CornellNYC Tech’s Roosevelt Island campus [Crain’s]
15. Internet community works to sharpen NYC’s blurry neighborhood boundaries [NYT]
16. Astoria group is trying to establish a communal work space and spur new businesses [NYDN]
17. Greek Orthodox church that owns discount store in Jamaica avoids seven years of property taxes by claiming not-for-profit status [Post]
18. FreshDirect South Bronx opponents up ante in lawsuit against subsidized project [NYDN]
19. And West Village gas pipeline opponents file Manhattan Supreme Court suit to block construction [Post]
20. Manhattan office values have not budged in last year, remain 21% below peak, according to REIT survey [WSJ, 2nd item]
21. 515 East 72nd Street condo offers Organic Avenue menu at spa as amenity for buyers [Post, 2nd item]