Commercial rents falling, economist says NYC will survive recession well … and more

1. Asking rents for commercial space continue to fall [NYT]
2. Hotels rise on Duffield Street [Brownstoner]
3. Incisive Media’s vice president of real estate talks about the 2009 market [GlobeSt]
4. Harvard economist says New York will survive the recession well [NYT]
5. Angry East Village renters put up signs about bad management company [EV Grieve]
6. Freddie Mac names new chief credit officer [CPN]
7. Office building approved for construction in East Hampton [Green Buildings]
8. Number of real estate agents to drop at least 20 percent by 2010 [Inman]
9. Hotel Le Bleu still closed [GL]
10. Jersey City mayor wants to boost city’s green image [GlobeSt]
11. Piggyback loans may hinder mortgage modifications [Bloomberg]
12. Upper West Side apartment sees 15 percent price cut [WSJ]
13. Property owners want to stay in Willets Point [Queens Crap]
14. IRS speeds up home sale process [SFBJ]
15. Foreclosure can be the best choice for some homeowners [San Diego Union-Tribune]
16. Architecture Billings Index continued to fall in November [Unbeige]
17. New Twitter feed tracks layoffs in architecture industry [Unbeige]