MTA now considering four plans to close its $1.2 billion budget gab—two that would raise tolls by 23 percent and two that would raise them by 8 percent. [NY Times]
Current and one-time residents of Ocean Hill-Brownsville—a once heavily Italian area of Brooklyn—band together to save a treasured Catholic church from demolition. [NY Times]
Beginning motions in Madoff’s trial to start tomorrow. [NY Times]
In a sign of desperate economic times, five bank robberies were committed in four boroughs yesterday. [NY Times]
Analysts predict a slew of bankruptcies next year as the retail industry reels from the worst holiday selling season in four decades. [NYDN]
Realty Check: A rundown of the major Manhattan developments most in danger of falling victim to the recession. [NY Post]
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver may back a .33 percent payroll tax to help close MTA’s budget gap. [NY Post]
Eviction proceedings initiated against 96-year-old Editta Sherman—the last remaining tenant living above Carnegie Hall. [NY Post]
Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy may have cost creditors $75 billion. [NY Post]
Though projects like the WTC towers and the No. 7 train extension kept construction spending strong this year, analysts predict the industry will see a 19 percent drop next year. [Crain’s]
