Huge Plans for Union Sq. Traffic Patterns

The newest Citibank branch, at 14th and Broadway, is supposed to be a “flagship” and a model for future bank brances, with hotel-lobby-like amenities and a clubby feeling. Enjoy.

It looks like our local BID wants to stretch its boundaries as improvements to Union Square and 14th St. continue to be planned.

There has been some grumbling over the fact that the city may give the pavilion at the north end of Union Square Park over to a private entity to run a restaurant in and around it. We’ll see how that turns out, but in the meantime, some renderings have been revealed.

After a New York Post story complaining about druggies in the park, The Village Voice followed up to see if it’s really true. Their conclusion: “The piece smacks of sensationalism, so we have to ask: Is Union Square any worse than any other park in the city? Or is it simply a place we’ve all heard of, and probably been, that can symbolize the outrage? Cops have reportedly made 84 drug-related arrests in and around the park this year. But that’s hardly a return to the bad old edgy days that many of us can’t stop bemoaning the loss of, even if it is worse than recent years.”

Urbanspace has opened a 10,000-square-foot food hall in Manhattan. Urbanspace Union Square is located on the ground floor of Zero Irving, a new mixed-use building on East 14th St. at the foot of Irving Place between 3rd adn 4th Avenues. Vendors include Summer Salt, Twenty One Grains, Kid Brother Pizza, Pita Yeero, Plant Junkie, Goat Café, Bao by Kaya, Bobwhite Counter, Playa Bowls, Wafels & Dinges, Top Hops, Casa Toscana and GoFish. The venue marks the fifth New York City food hall by Urbanspace.

From DNAinfo:

A developer’s plans to knock down two buildings in an historic district near Union Square to make room for new apartment towers, was shot down by the local community board, who say the integrity of the neighborhood and the retail options there should be preserved. Developer C.A. White wants to tear down two buildings at 21 W. 17th St. and 16 W. 18th St. to build 13- and 11-story apartment buildings in their place. The current buildings, which are significantly shorter, are occupied by a Rent a Runway shop and an empty storefront, formerly home to the restaurant BLT. They’re also a part of the Ladies Mile Historic District, and would ultimately need approval from the Landmark Preservation Commission to be altered.