305 Fitness, Our Next Downstairs Neighbor

The great kitchen store Broadway Panhandler on East 8th St. will be closing this spring. Too bad because the store has a long history in the city going back to its original location on Broome Street in Soho. Watch for closing sales.

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.

The Diesel store on the corner of 14th and Union Square West is no more. In its place will be a Reebok store and gym. Let’s get physical.

Next week (September 17 to September 21), Material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors. Curtain wall installation on upper floors will continue. Curtain wall installation on the lower floors will proceed along 5th ave inside the construction site. To aid in the installation of the lower level curtain wall a crane will be arriving on site Monday, the 17th. The crane will be inside the construction perimeter and will not affect pedestrian or automotive traffic.

The following week (September 17 to September 21) Material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors. Curtain wall installation will continue on all floors. Curtain wall installation on the lower floors will proceed along 5th ave inside the construction site.

This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, September 15th for superstructure related activities and curtain wall installation between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City. Con Ed is on site working on the building but is not in any of the streets.

What: LGBT History of the East Village:
A Walking Tour
When: Sunday, June 26
12:00 – 2:00 P.M.
Where: meeting location available upon registration
Cost: free; reservations required
RSVP: rsvp@gvshp.org or 212-475-9585 ext. 35

Co-sponored by the Lower East Side History Project

Back in the 1880s queer and transvestite bordellos opened on the Bowery not far from the theaters where, 80 years later, Andy Warhol staged transvestite musicals for gay audiences. The East Village was home to the pre-eminent gay artists of the 20th century—Allen Ginsberg, Andy Warhol, Taylor Mead, William S. Burroughs, Quentin Crisp, Klaus Nomi, Keith Haring, among many more. On this walking tour, we will explore significant sites of gay history, along with the artists, writers, and musicians whose contributions dovetailed with LGBT culture. (More information)