Big Japanese Market to Open on University

Spacious,

the co-working space, has opened a large new facility at 34 Union Square East, former home of TGI Fridays.

As the new multimillion-dollar condos at 15 Union Square West continue to develop, it’s fun to look at this great 19th-century photo of what the Tiffany Building looked like in its prime. Note that some of the people on the street have been added later by an artist.

The Union Square Partnership is teaming up with Mount Sinai Health System and Paragon Sports to offer FREE flu vaccinations to the Union Square-14th Street community. To take part, you must register in advance for an appointment on Tuesday, November 1st. No insurance is required. If you cannot attend the clinic, please visit the bottom of our webpage for information about how to get your flu shot at several Union Square-14th Street pharmacies. There should be no cost to you with most insurance. Please note: the clinic is not happening at a Mount Sinai location, but instead at Paragon Sports at the corner of 18th Street + Broadway.

What used to be the TD Bank at the corner of University and 11th will soon be a new outpost of the quickly expanding Blank Street Coffee Chain. OK, but isn’t better to support local businesses? Go to NewsBar instead.

From the NY Times:

The latest record store to close in New York is a big one: the Virgin Megastore in Union Square. Following its announcement last month that the Times Square Megastore would close down in April, Virgin Entertainment Group North America will shut down the Union Square shop in late May or early June, a spokeswoman said, confirming a report in Billboard. Virgin will also close its Market Street store in San Francisco in April. The New York closures will leave Manhattan without a large-scale record store. Thousands of music retailers have shut down in recent years as CD sales have plunged, and Virgin has been closing most of its locations around the country since it was bought by the real estate companies Vornado and Related in 2007, but its high-traffic New York stores were said to be profitable.

Neighbor James Morgan has done additional investigative work to find out the following:
–The name of the cafe may be Maison de Croque Monsieur.
–The owners are from the Petite Abielle group.
–They intend to keep the antique signage on the building, which is great.