Union Square, 1898

You may remember The Adore on the 13th St. block. Now, a couple of doors down at the former site of the copy shop and, briefly, Blossom de Jour, will be a new French/Japanese bakery called Patisserie Fouet.

Toy store chain Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy protection last September, and it has been downhill ever since. Today, the company informed 33,000 employees it would be selling or closing all of its 700 U.S. stores, according to published reports. In addition, Toys “R” Us said today it would close its 75 remaining stores in the U.K., CNN reported, after failing to find a buyer to save it from insolvency administration, which is similar to bankruptcy. (It already closed 25 stores in Britain.) Stores in New York State include a Babies “R” Us at 24-30 Union Square East and a Babies “R” Us at 139-19 20th Avenue in College Point, Queens.

The corner of 4th Ave. and 13th St. will soon be the home of the latest outpost of Sandwicherie, which makes…sandwiches. The fast casual dining revolution continues.

The scaffolding is now going up around Bowlmor Lanes. The end is nigh.

More changes are afoot for 14th St. in the coming years. Find out about the potential plans here. 

NY Laughs: Laughter in the Park 2009

Sunday, June 7, 2009
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Laughter in the Park is New York’s only free outdoor comedy series. Every week, we present two hours of comedy at one of six different city parks. NYLaughs, Inc. is a unique non-profit that wants to change the cultural landscape of the Big Apple through humor. We seek to elevate the comic arts and provide laughter for free to New Yorkers on a consistent basis by producing free live comedy shows in New York City’s public spaces; from its parks and streets to its subways. We want to make New York a better place through laughter!