We’ll miss Cafe Deville on the corner of 13th and 3rd. Replacing it is Penny Farthing, a gastropub type place that is off to a fast start.
What the heck happened to University Place between 13th and 14th? As part of the reimagining of 14th St., it appears that this block is now all but impassable to cars, and we have doubled down on Citibikes. Wow.
Free flu shots from Mount Sinai will be offered at Paragon Sports on September 28.
Joyce Leslie, “the store where you send your daughter to dress like a hooker,” has been gone for a while on the corner of University and 8th. A replacement has finally been named: CVS. So the neighborhood gets yet another alternative to the surly hellhounds at Duane Reade.
According to a report from Crain’s New York:
Foot traffic is stepping up in Union Square. The area now sees 11% more visitors on summer Fridays than it did in 2012, according to a recent survey conducted by the Union Square Partnership, the neighborhood’s business improvement district. After counting pedestrians and using data from subway turnstiles, the BID estimates that 383,000 people are in Union Square on a Greenmarket Friday.
“Union Square has it all,” crowed Jennifer Falk, executive director of the BID, in a statement, referring to the park, transit options, shops and the Greenmarket.
In recent months, the neighborhood has also drawn a variety of retailers—from Brooklyn doughnut shop Dough to classic outdoor-clothing brand Eddie Bauer. E-commerce brand Rent the Runway also set up a showroom in the area last fall. According to the BID, Union Square has a ground-floor retail vacancy rate of 2.9%, though several spaces are currently on the market.
Retail rents in the area are pricey and rising. Dylan’s Candy Bar signed a deal for 3,300 square feet at 33 Union Square West, a spot formerly held by Puma, for $545 a square foot in the fall, for example. Such rents have pushed out several longtime retailers, including Union Square Café. The Danny Meyer-owned restaurant announced over the summer it will be vacating its space on East 16th Street after three decades. When Mr. Meyer opened the eatery in 1985, he reportedly paid around $50,000 a year in rent—that price has jumped to $650,000.
