Ted Phillips

The developer of an Islamic cultural center in Lower Manhattan will seek $70 million of tax-exempt bond financing to build the new $100 million facility modeled after religiously affiliated community organizations like the YMCA or New York’s 92nd Street Y, according to a news report.

At a time when government is shrinking, the new office overseeing New York’s public authorities is looking to expand. The Authorities Budget Office, created under reform legislation last year, wants to add four new staff members in the near term as the agency writes regulations over the next six to eight months.

The Central Falls City Council plans to hire a lawyer to challenge the authority of its state-appointed receiver, according to news reports.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Thursday approved a financing agreement on World Trade Center development that clears the way for the refunding of $2.59 billion of escrowed Liberty bonds next month.

New York plans to price two delayed personal income-tax bond deals totaling $1.66 billion over the next two months.

Local issuers in New York will be able to sell deficit notes to make up for revenue shortfalls under legislation signed into state law earlier this month.

Extraordinary state oversight imposed on Newburgh, N.Y., prompted Moody's Investors Service on Friday to take the fiscally challenged city off watchlist for possible downgrade.

New York's 115 industrial development agencies are failing to provide promised jobs while costing the state and local governments tax revenue, two advocacy groups said in a joint report last week.

New York in July posted the largest monthly increase in private sector employment since 2005, the state Labor Department reported last week. The state added 29,000 private sector jobs last month, a 0.4% increase.

Emily Youssouf, former president of the New York City Housing Development Corp., will begin teaching at New York University this fall, it was announced last week.

School districts in New York are finding that mistakes made when filing for state aid that were once resolved without fanfare are seemingly insurmountable in a fiscal crisis.

Central Falls, R.I., plans to sell $2.1 million of deficit bonds to balance its budget under an austerity plan released by its state-appointed receiver Wednesday.

The Connecticut State Bond Commission approved two transactions totaling $1.47 billion at a special meeting on Tuesday. Both deals are expected to price before the end of the calendar year.

New York's independent Authorities Budget Office needs additional funding to effectively carry out its oversight mission, a state task force reported Monday.

Rockland County, N.Y., plans to competitively sell $33.8 million of tax-exempt general obligation bonds on Thursday.

New York City has begun another round of applications for recovery zone facility bond financing, even though it has already selected projects that would use its entire $121 million allocation.

New York legislative leaders last week approved the selection of Genting New York, an affiliate of a Malaysia-based firm, to develop and operate a video lottery casino in Queens. Gov. David Paterson already signed off on the firm’s $380 million bid to run the racino at Aqueduct Racetrack.

A decision more than a year ago to invest in financial modeling that addresses New York’s complicated finance laws paid off for Loop Capital Markets Inc.

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell Tuesday postponed a meeting of the State Bond Commission until Aug. 17 after a member complained about lack of information.

Nassau County, N.Y., plans to competitively sell $141.7 million of general obligation bonds Wednesday.