Rothman’s Moves One Block North

Allbirds, the shoes that Silicon Valley loves, signed an 8,000-square-foot lease deal with The Bromley Companies at 120-122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District. The clothing and shoe company will be moving into the two-floor space at the Bromley building after The Gap moved out in the summer of 2021 after nearly 30 years. The retail space on West 17th Street and Fifth Avenue will serve as Allbirds’ U.S. flagship store. The sudden vacancy left by The Gap marked the first time in four decades that the retail location had been empty, having been home to the first Barnes & Noble superstore in the nation prior to the clothing store coming to the Flatiron.

Thanks to Charles Stimson for purchasing and sharing these four photographs from the city archives. Shot for a tax survey in 1939, they show our block and are full of fascinating detail if you click on them to blow them up and look a little closer. Wouldn’t you love to stop off at Marty’s Luncheon for a sandwich? As New York races into the future, it’s quite a thrill to be able to look back and remind ourselves how things used to be.

A new Panera express shop has opened at 110 University, the first retail shop to open in the pedestal of that high-rise apartment building since it was completed three years ago. The format is entirely new, will be 40% smaller than the average Panera café at 2,000 square feet and will be designed toward to go-customers with dedicated shelves for rapid pickup, a digital menu, tracking screen technology with detailed order statuses, and very limited seating.

Here’s the news: “The New York City Water Board voted on Friday morning to approve a 14.5 percent increase for water and sewer rates, the largest increase since 1992. When the new rate is in place on July 1, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office, water rates will have risen a cumulative 77 percent since 2001, and double-digit increases are expected to keep coming for at least a few more years.”

This is one of those uncontrollable costs that bedevil the co-op’s budget every year. The only thing we can do about it: use less water. We’ve already taken steps to examine our infrastructure and make sure we have discovered any sources of waste and leaks. Other than that, it’s all about less consumption.

Stop by Sephora on the north end of the Square on September 10 to take part in Fashion’s Night Out. The event runs from 7 to 10 PM.

That sinkhole that opened up on University Place between 11th and 12th Streets certainly was something.