Checkers plans massive NYC restaurant expansion, “Rent Is Too Damn High” candidate gets own music video … and more

1. Loosen your belts: Checkers to open 22 new locations in New York City [Crain’s]
2. Jimmy McMillan, a.k.a. the “Rent is too damn high” guy, now has an anthem [Animal NY]
3. Annie Leibovitz’s townhouse trio price reduced to $29 million [Curbed]
4. Greenpoint Landing, the 5,000-unit residential project, set to start ULURP this summer [Brownstoner]
5. The Palace of Versailles of Turtle Bay, now available for $16.5 million [Curbed]
6. Hines exec on 7 Bryant Park: “We feel pressure every day to lease those 28 floors” [GlobeSt]
7. Manhattan’s “cold pockets”: cheaper areas of pricey hoods [Zumper, via Curbed]
8. Larry Gagosian’s townhouse renovation is going swimmingly; he just added a rooftop pool [Curbed]
9. A look at recent sales in eastern Bedford-Stuyvesant, where prices are climbing [Brownstoner]
10. Most New Yorkers want Sandy funds to go to homeowners, not state: poll [NYDN]
11. Community board approves EPA plan for Gowanus Canal cleanup — with caveats [Brownstoner]
12. Calling all history buffs: 50 New York City buildings from an earlier era [Business Insider]
13. York & Sawyer starts work on bank-to-condominium conversion in Brooklyn Heights [Brooklyn Heights Blog]