Midtown building repositioned as offices, a closer look at Blackstone’s Jonathan Gray … and more

1. Unpolished 1920s-era Midtown building repositioned as office condo
[Post, 3rd item]
2. Blackstone’s Jonathan Gray has conquered the world, but still not the firm
[NYO]
3. Demolition starting shortly at 51 Astor Place
[Ev Grieve]
4. Record number of private equity firms raise property funds as fees tighten
[Bloomberg]
5. M2M Asian grocery expands to Waverly Place [Village Voice]
6. Highlights of the Sept. 11 memorial at Ground Zero
[Chicago Tribune]
7. Trump praises presidential candidate Rick Perry, but hasn’t ruled out running himself
[AP]
8. Fannie Mae changes lender hiring requirements
[Twitter]
9. Strategic Hotels CEO faces criticism over executive bonuses
[WSJ]
10. Florida-based handbag store to reopen at 780 Madison Avenue
[Post, 2nd item]
11. Unique blue post office upstate may shutter [NYT]
12. AOL Real Estate launches new search experience
[Sys-Con Media]