–In Sheldon Silver’s federal corruption trial yesterday, defense lawyers “took pains to show that (Dr. Robert) Taub knew of no explicit arrangement to trade patient referrals for state grants.” As the New York Times reports, the doctor refused to sign early versions of a nonprosecution agreement in which he admitted to a direct link. There’s no court today; testimony resumes Monday.
—A Pro Publica investigation “found that… state and New York City officials have (for years) tolerated the problem” of property owners “collecting big tax breaks under a program to spur housing” without registering their apartments for rent stabilization. The investigation determined that “landlords have failed to register thousands of buildings for rent regulation, casting doubt on the legality of leases for about 50,000 apartments across the city.”
—Commercial Observer reports that the Bowery Mission has sold it homeless shelter on Madison Avenue near 30th Street for $10 million.
–The New Yorker calls Stay Classy, the “popular new Will Ferrell-themed bar on the Lower East Side… a loud, swinging, bad-taste good time,” but adds, “like Ferrell’s George W. Bush, the bar can be fuzzy on strategy.”
