Empire State Building owner begs City Council to reject proposal for 15 Penn Plaza … and more

1. Empire State Building owner begs City Council to reject proposal for 15 Penn Plaza [NYDN]

2. Jewish organization Chabad of NYU buys two units in architect Robert Scarano’s building at 52 East 4th Street [Curbed]

3. Can bug-sniffing dogs save us from the bedbug infestation? [WSJ] 

4. Art group in Harlem transforms empty city space into galleries [DNAinfo] 

5. Paterson loyalist tapped to be official Atlantic Yards project manager [Atlantic Yards Report] 

6. Italian architect Teresa Sapey can’t sell her Plaza condo with reduced $5.95M asking price [Curbed] 

7. An in-depth profile of the Park51 mosque near Ground Zero, with pictures [NY Mag]
8. Landmarks Preservation Commission updates its manual on how to navigate the permit process [Brownstoner] 

9. Saying goodbye to small businesses on Coney Island being evicted by Thor Equities [Amusing the Zillion]
10. Specialty cigar shop Maraya moving into former site of Guss’ Pickles on Orchard Street on LES [Bowery Boogie]
11. Number of housing contracts signed in the last 30 days is down 1,650 from April [Urban Digs]
12. Washington Heights Business Improvement District names new director, Angelina Ramirez [Crain’s]