In Brooklyn, the Atlantic Yards project tries to stay afloat with help from the MTA and an historic district is recognized; The city gains for 30 acres of empty lot in Queens for $100 million.

The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted 10-2 in favor of giving Forest City Ratner 21years to pay $100 million for the rights to develop a redesigned plan for the Atlantic Yards site in Brooklyn rather than insisting upon a lump-sum payment. The Regional Plan Association indicated that it was opposed to this deal, citing that, unlike the plan they had originally approved, the new agreement found the benefits to the MTA and public to have been "greatly diminished." The new plan includes a scaled-back rail yard, a replacement for Frank Gehry's signature architecture, and what will very likely be an "indefinite delay in the affordable housing, office space and open space that were to provide most of the economic and community benefits."

Also in Brooklyn, The Landmarks Preservation Commission has approved the creation of the Prospect Heights Historic District–the area north of Prospect Park, bounded by Atlantic Avenue to the north, Eastern Parkway to the South, Flatbush Avenue to the West and Washington Avenue to the east.

Mayor Bloomberg announced that the city has purchased 30 acres at Hunter's Point South–the city's largest vacant property– in Long Island City, Queens, to develop with new housing, 60 percent of which will be affordable housing for "moderate- and middle-income families." The new community will also feature an 11-acre waterfront park.