Yesterday, Bruce Ratner and Frank Gehry got together down on Beekman Street to celebrate the topping out of the Santa Monica architect’s one Ratner project that did get off the ground. The inimitable Eliot Brown stopped by to snap some pictures and discuss the condo tower with Gehry—Brown’s sorta right about that unveiling, as we were there, so it kinda happened, making us one of “those magazines”—and their discussion reminded us of two interesting facts.

First, the 76-story jobber is twice as tall as anything Gehry’s ever done, and may yet ever do, given the economy and certain other realities. (Gehry did quip, after all, that the building was achieved with “No Viagra!”) And it is now officially the tallest residential building in the city, taller even, yes, than the Death Star. Our favorite fact, though, is that they apparently had a specially designed (read: spray painted) silver concrete bucket to do the honors of pouring the last batch.

And for something more serious, the salmon-colored site also has a look at a new study out by NYU’s Furman real estate center that finds, lamentably but perhaps unsurprisingly—especially if you’ve read this gem—that New York’s minority residents were primarily the target of sub-prime (some call it predatory) lending and eight-times as likely as a white New Yorker to get a bad loan.