One of the finalists in the Disaster Design Competition, Cloud City, proposed adding a layer of (floating) provisional housing above disaster areas to allow residents to "remain an active part of the rebuilding of their community" and "foster a sense of security." Because nothing says security like being suspended in a bubble in midair above the rubble of your former home. [Curbed]
Blowback from the subprime mortgage crisis continues. In December, pending home sales dropped nearly 25 percent year-over-year. [Reuters]
England gets its first playground specifically for senior citizens. Will New York be next? [Buzz Feed]
The best ticker-tape parades in New York City history, as measured by the amount of celebratory confetti thrown. Was the Giants’ Super Bowl victory one-one-hundredth as important as V-Day or are New Yorkers just more environmentally aware now? [City Room]
Bizzare PR campaign of the week: Applebee’s is inviting political journalists to spend a couple of days at their Times Square branch interviewing "real Americans" about their thoughts on the election. To sweeten the offer, they’ve promised to provide food. [Gawker]
The owners of Hi-Fi will open a new nightclub, Bowery Electric, at the end of this month in the space that used to be occupied by Remote Lounge. [Zagat]
Will a federal indictment be the nail in Bear Stearns’ coffin? The former chief of asset management at the firm was questioned by the Feds today about the collapse of two of its hedge funds. [DealBreaker]
