BodyRok arrives on University Place

Have a browse through Idlewild Books, on West 19th St. just west of 5th Ave. on the south side of the street. This travel specialist arranges all its books, no matter what kind they are–fiction, essay, guide–by location, so that E.B. White’s “Here Is New York” is right next to “Fodor’s New York.” It’s a novel idea that makes for great browsing. This is one of the city’s most pleasant independent bookstores. Good luck to them.

Sweetgreen, the expensive high-end organic salad bar place, will arrive in the vacant space on University Place between 12th and 13th St. Kale for everyone.

At the spot on University Place near 11th St. that was long home to Patsy’s Pizza and more recently to the ill-fated Lucky Louie’s, we now find a new branch of the delicious Maman Bakery. Many French-style treats to be had.

maman (mamannyc.com)

Closed at the corner of 13th and 6th. Probably because for take out, the food was too pricey. Wonder what will fill that cursed space next.

The W Hotel Union Square is up for sale after owner Host Hotels & Resorts retained Eastdil Secured to market the 20-story property at 201 Park Avenue South. The brokerage is pitching the 205,00-square-foot, Beaux-Arts style building as a possible residential conversion opportunity, per marketing materials. The 270-room hotel, located on the corner of East 17th Street just north of Union Square, includes 26 guest suites. Bethesda, Md.-based Host Hotels acquired the property in September 2010 for more than $185 million, according to the New York Observer. The building was renovated and reopened in 2000 and houses two dining establishments – the Irvington restaurant and the W Living Room bar and lounge – operated by Scott Gerber’s Gerber Group. The hotel also includes 6,600 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center and a business center.