Something has gone wrong in Union Square Park this summer. Complaints about illegal behavior, drug use, and vagrancy have led to a 320% increase in police citations. Now the police are patrolling much mor aggressively, as are hired security teams from the Union Square BID.
From Curbed: Now that the demolition of the Greenwich Village building that once held Bowlmor Lanes (RIP) is complete, it paves the way for the 23-story tower that’s due to rise on the site. And now, Curbed has the first details on that development: The building, designed by Annabelle Selldorf, will be called 21E12, and a teaser site launches today. As for pricing, considering that these are Selldorf condos in a desirable neighborhood, they’re about as expensive as you might expect: one-bedrooms will start at $2.35 million; two-bedrooms will start at $3.95 million; three-bedrooms will go from $5.45 million; four-bedrooms, from $8.25 million; and a selection of townhouses and penthouses will range from $10.5 million to more than $15 million.
Reports are coming in that 86 University Place is likely doomed. More condos ahead? Here’s some history on the lovely old building:
“The structure, built as a single-family house ca. 1840 with alterations in the 1880s and 1919, captures some of the great currents of New York and Greenwich Village history. One of its earliest owners and occupants was one of the 19th century’s great philanthropists, involved in founding, expanding, or managing the New York Public Library, the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Historical Society, the nation’s first chronic disease hospital, and the city’s first library for women. Later it was the residence and business place of one of the city’s most prominent and successful German immigrant families, when NYC had the largest German-speaking population of any city outside Berlin or Vienna. And in the 20th century it was home to The Royalist operated by “Mayor of Greenwich Village” Barney Gallant, the first New Yorker prosecuted for violating Prohibition, and The Bagatelle, one of the most prominent pre-Stonewall lesbian bars, frequented by writers Audrey Lorde and Ann Bannon.”
Here’s the plan:
The proposed 193-foot-tall development will yield 16,806 square feet, with 15,213 square feet designated for residential space and 1,593 square feet for commercial space. The building will have seven residences, most likely condos based on the average unit scope of 2,173 square feet. The concrete-based structure will also have a cellar.
There’s much more about the history HERE.
Next week (October 21st to October 25th), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on the academic floors inside the building and we anticipate paving on 5th Ave.
The following week (October 28th to November 1st), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on academic floors.
This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, October 19th for interior activities between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City.
Reminder: The annual shareholders’ meeting will take place on
July 22nd at 7PM – 9PM at The Seafarers and International House ,123 East 15th St. on the second floor.
Please attend, and if you can’t, please hand off your signed proxy to a neighbor who will be attending. After the meeting, the Board will send around the minutes and any presentations via e-mail. If you would like to update your e-mail address, please send it to donwillmott@hotmail.com.
Reps announce that Tortaria, the new Mexican sandwich shop and tequila bar at 94 University place and 12th Street, will open on Monday. The 65-seat space will serve tortas, taquitos, made-to-order guacamole, homemade salsas, hand-pressed tortillas, and a range of margaritas in a space that is the owners’ “reimagined take on the bodega.”
Here’s the update:
Since Best Buy is constantly looking to build on its existing culture of innovation and tailor its stores to the needs of local customers, the electronic retail powerhouse figures, “Heck, why not open a 24-hour spot down there in New York City’s Union Square?” That’s right, Best Buy’s CEO Brian Dunn announced today that a 24-hour, 48,000 square-foot location (the old Circuit City) will open its doors at the corner of 14th Street and 4th Avenue, the heart of historic “please don’t run into me with your skateboard” Union Square, on Nov. 13. Dunn explained, “Today’s consumers have hectic lifestyles that don’t always conform to traditional retail hours. New York has long been known as the city that never sleeps.” Ye —people are lying awake at night, wishing they had a Golden Girls DVD or an Epson scanner! (Sorry, Virgin Megastore.) Maybe people really are looking to shop after 10 p.m.—the 24-hour 5th Avenue Apple Store is doing well. And there’s always the possibility of making a night of it with a bite to eat at the soon-to-come TGI Friday’s. The new location will be open each week from 8 a.m. on Monday through 12 a.m. on Sunday, re-opening for regular Sunday hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.