New York

Nassau County, N.Y., received its first rating downgrade in a decade last week as it prepared to market and remarket at least $463 million of general obligation debt.

Fitch Ratings on Wednesday downgraded to junk $792 million of bonds issued in 1997 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to build a terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority plans to market $500 million of taxable Build America Bonds on its subordinate lien on Tuesday.

New York Republican Comptroller candidate Harry Wilson said in an interview last month that he worked on a bond transaction with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power but declined to discuss it. The department could not confirm that Wilson had worked on a deal.

Investors in bonds that financed parking facilities serving Yankee Stadium are currently reviewing the budget of the fiscally troubled nonprofit that runs the lots, after being asked to waive debt-service coverage covenants.

New York City ended fiscal 2010 on June 30 with a $5 million general fund surplus, according to the comprehensive annual financial report released Friday by the city comptroller’s office.

New York voters next week will decide whether a politician or a businessman should be the state’s comptroller.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved bridge and tunnel toll hikes that will yield an additional 7.5% of revenue at its monthly board meeting Wednesday.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York gave both preliminary and final approvals Wednesday to up to $1.4 billion of bonds for education, higher education, and health care projects at a board meeting in Albany.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is looking to sell more than $1 billion of tax-exempt debt next month, including a $250 million remarketing of variable-rate debt as fixed rate.

The New York City Transitional Finance Authority plans to market $750 million of triple-A rated subordinate-lien bonds this week, right on the heels of a $1.23 billion general obligation deal from the city earlier this month.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Thursday moved forward with a freight-rail expansion program while offering little information on the future of a new passenger-rail tunnel that would run between New Jersey and Manhattan.

Housing developer AvalonBay Communities Inc. and partners will pay $2.2 million to settle a two-year-old discrimination case brought by the U.S. Justice Department regarding a bond-financed multifamily project in New York City.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is considering a two-part financing structure with a private developer that would design, build, finance, and maintain a new Goethals Bridge, according to the request for qualifications for the project.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to competitively price $347 million of Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority bonds Wednesday.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to sell $850 million of traditional taxable bonds next week to finance construction at the World Trade Center site.

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. plans next week to market its first new-money bonds in seven years. The corporation plans to sell up to $225 million of taxable Build America Bonds and up to $500 million of tax-exempt refunding bonds Tuesday, following a one-day retail order period Monday.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority at a special board meeting on Thursday approved fare hikes expected to yield an additional 7.5% in revenue.

New York City set a record for international orders on its $1.23 billion general obligation deal that priced on Thursday. Foreign buyers placed orders for $123.1 million of taxable Build America Bonds, Comptroller John Liu reported.

Former New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi pleaded guilty to a felony on Thursday in a pay-to-play kickback scheme. Hevesi admitted to accepting nearly $1 million in benefits in exchange for approving $250 million of pension fund investments.