As the Bloomberg administration scrambles to get its development projects in the ground amid a slowing economy and a waning political term, two major planned initiatives the city has championed face a formidable hurdle: the Internal Revenue Service.

For the financing plan for the Atlantic Yards housing and sports arena complex in Brooklyn, and for one being considered for the planned middle-income-housing mega-complex at Hunter’s Point South in Queens, the city would need a favorable ruling from the I.R.S. or face substantially higher costs for both projects. Negative rulings from the federal agency could result in tens of millions of dollars in added costs, putting up new obstacles to major developments that have already seen ambitions scaled back.  read more »

EDC veteran Seth Pinsky has been appointed head of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, taking over the job vacated by now-Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber, the city announced today.

The appointment of Mr. Pinsky, who as an EDC vice president had his hands in many of the city’s major development projects, seems to suggest the Bloomberg administration favored a clean transition as the mayor has less than two years left in office. The administration has previously looked to the private sector to fill top EDC positions, though the job may also have been a harder sell given its temporary nature.

In the past two years, EDC has seen a shuffling of its top ranks. In 2006, then-president Andrew Alper resigned, and his interim replacement Josh Sirefman went to Brookfield Properties a few months later. Kate Ascher, a top EDC vice president, left the agency last year for Vornado Realty Trust; and in December, the mayor announced that Mr. Lieber, in office for less than a year, was being promoted to take Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff’s job.  read more »