The Bond Buyer

July 21, 2003, Monday

SECTION: NORTHEAST BOND-WATCH ; Pg. 33
LENGTH: 179 words
HEADLINE: NEW YORK: Give Them Liberties 
BYLINE: Michael McDonald

BODY:
The New York City Industrial Development Agency confirmed last week that it has received an application for $400 million in tax-exempt Liberty bond financing from Forest City Ratner Cos. and an application for $700 million in bonds from developer Douglas Durst.

Forest City Ratner would use the bonds to help finance a 52-story tower on Eighth Avenue that would include a new headquarters for the New York Times. Durst is planning a 2 million-square foot tower for Bank of America on Sixth Avenue. Both projects are in midtown Manhattan.

Of the $8 billion in Liberty bone authorization, the city and state can sell up to $2 billion for projects outside of lower Manhattan. The IDA has already given preliminary approval for $113 million in bonds for Forest City Ratner to construct an office building for the Bank of New York in Brooklyn.

A spokeswoman for the IDA said she was not sure when the agency's board would consider the applications.