Cornell Tech Gets $50M; Landlord Banned from Own Building

ROOSEVELT ISLAND—Cornell Tech announced today that Verizon is donating $50 million for what will now be known as the Verizon Executive Education Center, "a place for the entire tech community to gather, a convening place to leverage the impact the campus has on technology beyond its degree programs." Part of the first phase of the campus, the center is set to open in 2017. [Roosevelt Islander; previously]

GREENPOINT—More than a year after notorious slumlord Joel Israel allegedly destroyed the electrical system, thermostat, and boilers in his own building with an axe in an attempt to drive out rent-stabilized tenants, a Brooklyn Housing Court judge has banned Israel from entering 300 Nassau Avenue and appointed an administrator to repair and manage the building so that the tenants will finally be able to return home. [CurbedWire Inbox; previously]