The MTA finally selected developer Tishman Speyer to transform the West Side rail yards, between 10th and 12th Avenues between 30th and 33rd Streets, into a 26-acre commercial and residential hub. MTA Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger said Tishman's $1.004 billion bid is "more money than anyone expected...It is an extraordinary deal." The MTA believes the deal will help with a $700 million budget deficit. The runner-up bid, from Durst-Vornado, (there were a total of......

Proposed Hudson yards renderings: Tishman Speyer's at left, Durst-Vornado's at right In spite of rumors suggesting Tishman Speyer, the real estate developer behind Rockefeller Center and Stuyvesant Town, has the upper-hand, the MTA is still seriously considering the bid from joint bid from Durst-Vornado for the 26-acre Hudson Yards. The NY Times explains that while Tishman has the higher offer, the Durst-Vornado offer is only $30 million less. And the Durst-Vornado bid still brings......

This past weekend, an aluminum tree sculpture, dubbed A Tree for Anable Basin, built upon a floating island, set sail off Hunters Point. The project by Chico MacMurtrie and Amoprhic Robot Works was conceived to investigate and celebrate "the enigmatic, rapidly changing waterfront environment of Long Island City." It also acts as a "condominium for birds"; the press release reads:It is designed to emote the displacement of nature, specifically of migratory water birds by......

Yesterday, the New School held a forum to discuss how New York City will save its public housing. The New York City Housing Authority, which is the city's primary sources of affordable housing to 400,000 residents, has an annual shortfall of $225 million. The Daily News reports that Sean Moss, the Regional Director for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the NY/NJ region, offered a suggestion that "prompted shocked murmurs." His idea: Sell......

Starrett City, the subsidized housing development in Brooklyn, was sold for $1.3 billion in February, but for the second time, the Department of Housing and Urban Development rejected the deal. The February sale needed to be approved by HUD, because Starrett City is the country's largest subsidized development, and shortly after the sale was announced, State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo got to work on blocking the sale. HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson called Starrett City "an......

Alarming news to start the workweek: The Daily News exclusively reports that the authorities are looking for "64 fugitive rapists, perverts and molesters" who have lied about where they live. Many of the sex offenders gave home addresses at city housing projects. But federal law prohibits Level 2 and Level 3 offenders from living in public housing, so the feds went to evict some offenders - only to find out they were never living there.......

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has blocked the billion dollar sale of Starrett City. A group of investors had bid $1.3 billion for the federally subsidized 46 apartment building complex in Brooklyn, but two weeks ago, NY State Attorney General asked HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson to stop the sale. The lead investor, David Bistricer, has had a "sordid" real estate history in New York City. Secretary Jackson said that the group of......

The $1.3 billion deal for Brooklyn developer Berkshire LLC to buy federally subsidized Brooklyn housing complex Starrett City may be blocked by State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Cuomo announced that his office will enforce an injunction barring the lead investor David Bistricer from completing "certain real estate for life and will not permit the conversion of any of the property to cooperative apartments." Cuomo's statement......

This week New York Magazine chose Eric Harvey Brown as their look book subject. We decided to ask him a few questions ourselves, and dig a little deeper - beyond the beard (just a little though). How did NY Mag approach you for the Look Book piece? They found me walking past Times Square. Why do you think they picked you? I have crazy facial hair. Where did they shoot the photo? They shot the......

The National Fair Housing Alliance says that real estate brokerage Corcoran discriminates against black people and also tries to steer white people from black neighborhoods. The NFHA, which was following up discrimination claims in a 2000 Department of Housing and Urban Development report, put both black and white people, posing as potential buyers, in a Brooklyn Corcoran office. Though the black "buyers" were more qualified, the whites received extra information about financial incentives. Further,......

Today's City section that brings up another problem with the development boom that has covered our fair city the past few years: Where to put the local old folk. Specifically where to put their nursing homes. For instance, the city currently has plans to build 250 low-income apartments on the parking lot of the old Greenpoint Hospital. Building those apartments will help fulfill low-income quotas that developers need in order to build more luxury......

One of Gothamist's new favorite blogs is The Gowanus Lounge-- it's reporting on real estate and urban development around the city. Today it reports on the acquisition of the Jewish Press Building on Third Avenue and Second Street, one of the last obstacles blocking the progress of the proposed Leviev Boymelgreen "Gowanus Village" project. The company plans to develop the entire lot between Carroll Street and Third Street, from Third Avenue all the way......

The plans for the proposed buildings around the Brooklyn Nets arena have been revealed by architect Frank Gehry, and they show a dazzling group of skyscrapers at various angles. The NY Times calls it an "instant skyline" and notes that the plan is far from a sure thing, given that developer Bruce Ratner still faces a bit of community antipathy for his plans. But the excitement is best summarized by the first paragraph of......

Gothamist is giddy over finding the New York Architecture Game, because with all this talk of rich dudes trying to make their mark on the city gives us serious urban development envy. Conceived by the world-renowned game designer Thomas Fackler, The New York Architecture Game challenges players as it explores the architectural feats that went into constructing 24 New York City landmarks, including the Empire State Building, the Guggenheim Museum, the New York Stock Exchange,......

Oh, that Paul Newman is funny (now in that crusty, 70-something way, but still funny) - he's going to sue the Department of Housing and Urban Development for ruining the name "Hud" (and his residual opportunities). Ah, nothing like the rich and famous laughingly trying to get richer. Read his op-ed in today's Times. Buy HUD on DVD. One of our favorite salad dressings is Newman's Own Balsamic Vinagrette. Yummy.......