University Place Loses Bambootori and Pierre Marc Opticians

The Union Square district’s momentum has increased recently.

As measured by the Union Square Partnership, retail storefront occupancy of 82% in April — a 68% jump over the last quarter of 2024 — has since hit 88.5%, propelled by large recent leases such as Uniqlo’s deal for over 19,000 square feet at 860 Broadway.

More than 17,000 square feet of retail was leased in the second quarter, more than seven times the volume in the second quarter of 2024. Leading the food-and-beverage charge is Time Out Market, which will soon replace Urbanspace with a 10,000 square-foot hall on the ground floor of Zero Irving. It will be a smaller version of the DUMBO original.

Looks like Blick Art Supplies will be leaving 13th St. in the spring and moving to 4th and 11th, where another art supply store once existed.

This hand-drawn map from 1926 identifies our building as a 5 and 10-cent store, which, of course, as Woolworths, it was, all the way until 2003.

A bit surprising to see Goodwill pop up here at a time when everything is skewing high-end, but here it is, in the former location of the much-missed Metro Drugs.

The main thing to do to prep for Hurricane Irene is to remove anything from outside your apartment–on roof spaces or fire escapes–that could blow away in heavy and sustained winds. Please do this ASAP.

More than 100 booths fill Union Square Park for its annual Holiday Market. You’ll find plenty of affordable, quality items, as well as coupons for local businesses at the information booth. Your wallet will thank you. Update: The Union Square Holiday Market will be open November 16–December 24, 2024; find more NYC holiday content here.