New Neighbor on University

The corner of University and 10th will soon be graced by Amorino, a very upscale French purveyor of fine gelato. Just in time for spring.

The nonprofit behind the Union Square Greenmarket plans to open a new community space in the neighborhood to host events and classes on sustainability and nutrition, and provide a spot for other nonprofits in the city to gather near Union Square, according to GrowNYC Assistant Director Julie Walsh. The space, called “Project Farmhouse,” is expected to open at 76 E. 13th St., near Fourth Avenue, by November with a test kitchen, a conference room and a vertical grow wall with moving trays designed to rotate plants so they all get the ideal amount of water, fertilizer and light, said Kate Chura of GrowNYC, who is overseeing the project.

Rumor has it that the parking garage directly across from us at 12 East 13th St. is for sale and could be converted into offices, a hotel, or most likely 17 to 20 luxury condos. More construction to come????

Awful news: the building replacing Bowlmor Lanes will be 23 stories high. Here are the terrible details.

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.

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.