As unemployment claims soar, more states are feeling the pinch, and some have even turned to Washington for help. [NY Times]
Paterson to propose $4 billion in taxes on a number of items—including soft drinks and fur coats—and $9 billion in cuts, primarily to education and Medicaid. [NY Times]
At the Railroad Retirement Board—which hands out disability payments to LIRR employees—a history of infighting and lax standards. [NY Times]
With the economy in the can, doormen are getting slimmer tips this holiday season. [NY Times]
Columbia tops off their $179 million Interdisciplinary Science Center—designed by José Rafael Moneo—thus completing a campus 113 years in the making. [NY Times]
More 20-something New Yorkers hoping to save on rent are sharing their bathroom with a few strangers. [NY Times]
Now the home of the Polish Consulate, Joseph De Lamar’s former apartment at Madison and 37th Street is one of the city’s most opulent. [NY Times]
These days, developers are happy if a new building sees just two or three apartments go to contract in a month’s time. [NY Times]
Though it doesn’t offer direct train routes to Penn Station, West Orange offers a homier feel that its suburban New Jersey neighbors. [NY Times]
Manhattan house-hunters bet $152,000 that the real estate market will continue to swing in their favor. [NY Times]
Divorced parents with high-travel jobs find the perfect home at new extended stay developments offering unfurnished apartments with yearlong leases. [NY Times]
Eco-friendly, mixed-use developments on the rise in Long Island. [NY Times]
While normally independent from stock market trends, REITs, like Wall Street, are poised to finish the year out with major losses. [NY Times]
Though NYC’s population grew considerably between 2003 and 2007, its traffic volumes actually decreased slightly. [NY Times]
A beloved and highly-regarded pre-school in Brooklyn Heights for students with speech impediments may be forced to close. [NY Times]
In Mumbai’s wake, the specter of terrorism rises for NYC’s luxury hotels. [NY Times]
After the stabbing of a MTA bus-driver, renewed calls for plexiglass partitions to protect drivers. [NY Times]
M.T.A. threatening to cut service at 150 stations and shut down four late at night unless Albany comes through with a bailout. [NYDN]
New Yorkers headed to stores in droves this weekend for last-minute Christmas shopping, but they certainly didn’t spend like last year. [NYDN]
As sludge production increases at the Newtown Creek sewage plant, the city secures a deal with New Jersey for the state to handle more of NYC’s sewage. [NYDN]
Tracking five recently unemployed New Yorkers as they struggle to get back in the game. [NY Post]
The brilliance behind Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. [NY Post]
Bloomberg hopes to create 1,800 bike lanes—enough to stretch from Manhattan to Albuquerque—over the next 20 years. [NY Post]
Borough presidents may be cut out of the public process for determining how city land is zoned and developed. [NY Post]
The number of New Yorkers filing for personal bankruptcy is up 31 percent this year. [NY Post]
General Growth in last-minute talks with Citigroup to extend the payment deadline on a $900 million loan. [WSJ]
The recession puts the timing and financing of WTC’s office and retail space in question. [WSJ]
Fannie Mae to allow tenants to remain in their homes even if their landlord falls into foreclosure. [WSJ]
Details emerge on Madoff’s growing list of victims. [WSJ]
