••• “J&R will get one final chance to argue its Park Row block should be named J&R Row. Community Board 1 planned to reject the request at a meeting Tuesday night, but after J&R spokesman Abe Brown begged for more time to make his case, the board agreed to postpone the vote.” This is ridiculous. Streets should not be named after businesses. If J&R wants to boost sales, it should make shopping there a more pleasant experience; I’d rather go to the DMV. Related: There’s one more potential advertiser we can scratch off the list! (DNAinfo)

••• “‘Yes We Can,’ a postmodern, postracial romp by Daniella Shoshan [at Walkerspace], is a pretty smart play. But you’ll only discover that if you read the script. Unfortunately most theatergoers who aren’t critics won’t have that advantage. Instead they’ll spend 95 minutes squinting their ears, trying to decipher what a cast of marble-mouthed actors are mumbling.” Meow. (New York Times)

••• “Facing a $3 million shortfall on a portion of the 9/11 Memorial 74 days before it opens, the Port Authority is refusing to pony up any more cash for the project. Agency officials announced the funding gap Thursday morning and said they would not put in any more than the $4 million they have paid already. ‘I’m going down to City Hall today to make it clear that somebody else is going to have to find the $3 million,’ PA Executive Director Chris Ward said during a meeting of the agency’s World Trade Center Redevelopment Subcommittee.” (DNAinfo)

••• Architect Larry Bogdanow died; he designed City Hall restaurant and the Tribeca Grand screening room, among many other establishments you no doubt know fondly. (New York Times)

••• “Lilac, the historic vessel now moored at the Hudson River Park’s newly refurbished Pier 25, will host the first public event at its new home today, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm: the opening party, for photographer Shelley Seccombe’s exhibition, Waterways. Ms. Seccombe’s photographs showcase waterfront images, both color and black-and-white, of the majestic Hudson River, along with nearby waterways, including the East River, Newtown Creek, and the Hackensack River.” (Broadsheet Daily)

••• “The Manhattan loft on the 2nd floor of 34 Laight Street has a listing history you don’t see every day: to market at $1.895mm on November 5, price increase to $2.1mm on January 7, contract by March 7. There are not too many listing price increases these days, and fewer still that lead to contracts within a reasonable time (or, as in this case, within 60 days). But I left out the punchline: the deal was done (closed on May 10) at $1,627,500. Read those numbers again. The 11% asking price increase led to a contract that was (a) a 22.5% discount from the new price and (b) a 14% discount from the original asking price. The marketing campaign may have been odd, but it was successful: seller cashed out 6 months after coming to market.” (Manhattan Loft Guy)

••• Rector Square developer “Yair Levy has been banned from “engaging in any business activity relating to the advertisement, offer or sale of securities—which includes condominium and co-operative apartments—in or from the state of New York.” He’s also ordered to pay a total of $7.76M to Rector Square, after being found guilty of emptying the building’s reserve fund after his firm, YL Real Estate Developers, defaulted on its $165M mortgage.” (Curbed)

••• “The Winter Garden stairs will stay when Brookfield Properties, owner of the World Financial Center, undertakes a $250 million renovation that will begin in October and end in 2013. Brookfield’s ambitious—and free—arts programming will also stay, according to Debra Simon, Brookfield’s vice president of arts and events. ‘We’re going to work around the construction,’ she said.” (Downtown Express)

••• The city’s ban on smoking in parks does indeed affect BPC: “‘The City implemented a smoking ban in City parks,’ said Gayle Horwitz at the B.P.C.A. June Board meeting. “We currently follow all city parks rules and regulations and as such we’ve instructed staff and P.E.P. officers that the smoking ban should be enforced and we are amending our signs accordingly.” (Downtown Express)

••• Reality-TV winner Soul Daddy couldn’t even make it at the Mall of America. (Eater)