A new Panera express shop has opened at 110 University, the first retail shop to open in the pedestal of that high-rise apartment building since it was completed three years ago. The format is entirely new, will be 40% smaller than the average Panera café at 2,000 square feet and will be designed toward to go-customers with dedicated shelves for rapid pickup, a digital menu, tracking screen technology with detailed order statuses, and very limited seating.
The board is currently searching for a super. It is taking a bit of time, but obviously it wants to make the right decision and find the perfect person. Please stand by.
How do you feel about Union Square. The Union Square Partnership does an annual opinion survey to find out. Some thoughts from the results:
FOSTERING A THRIVING ECONOMY IN USQ
USP asked respondents to share the types of businesses
they would like to see in Union Square. Half of respondents
would like to see more cultural institutions (50%),
followed by art galleries/exhibitions (48%), and cafés/
coffee shops (47%). Many respondents mentioned wanting
to see more local businesses — including small, curated
stores, non-chain coffee shops and eateries, and specialty
grocery stores. This feedback highlights a strong community
interest in maintaining a vibrant retail environment in
Union Square rooted in unique, local offerings.
ENHANCING LIVABILITY IN USQ
USP is committed to keeping Union Square clean, safe, and
beautiful. The majority of respondents are satisfied (very
satisfied and somewhat satisfied) across key metrics of
USP’s work enhancing livability. Respondents reported the
highest levels of satisfaction with the landscaping of Union
Square Park (87%), planter landscaping (87%), Broadway Plaza
maintenance (85%), and public seating areas (77%). While
most respondents remain pleased with the district’s upkeep,
some expressed a desire for extended hours and seasonality
for the public seating areas as well as improved lighting,
especially in Union Square Park and surrounding streets.
Following USP’s 2023 launch of the Public Safety Officer
(PSO) program, perceptions of public safety improved by
15 points in the 2024 survey. The 2025 survey results show
that this perception has largely stabilized, with 87% of
respondents noting that their perception of public safety
in USP’s Core Services Area (CSA) has improved or seen
no change over the past year. Moreover, the percent of
respondents reporting concerns around public safety within
the CSA decreased by 15% in 2025 compared to 2024.
Shoo Loong Kan, a Chinese hot pot restaurant will soon arrive on 13th St. in the space that old timers will fondly remember as Borgo Antico. (The name means little dragon ridge.) The chain already has locations in Chicago, Houston, and Flushing.
DNAinfo Reports:
A 31-foot-tall sculpture resembling a stick of pink rock candy will rise on the plaza at 14th Street and Union Square East this fall, officials said.
The installation — dubbed “Rose Crystal Tower” and designed by renowned glassblower Dale Chihuly — will consist of a 22-foot structure made of glass-like resin sitting on top of a nine-foot base, according to Parks Department representatives.
The department is looking into whether it will be possible to use power sources in the area to light the sculpture from the inside, according to Jennifer Lantzas, deputy director of public art for the agency.
The tower will consist of numerous layers of pink crystals stacked on top of each other to create a column, according to early renderings.
The resin which Chihuly is using in place of his usual glass materials will be hard enough to withstand breakage, according to Dale Lanzone of Marlborough Gallery, which is sponsoring the Union Square installation.
“You could throw a rock at it or really do whatever you wanted to break it and it’s not going to break,” he said at Community Board 5’s Parks and Public Space Committee meeting Monday.
This will be Chihuly’s second public exhibition in the city, coming on the heels of an installation in the New York Botanical Gardens that will debut in April. It will be displayed from October 2017 until October 2018.
Chihuly, who sports a distinctive eye patch stemming from a glassblowing accident, is known for his creations that range from flora and fauna to abstract designs that have helped turn glassblowing into an avante-garde artform, Lanzone said.
“In the world of glass, he really invented the art form,” Lanzone said. “Chihuly is synonymous with glass sculpture.”DN
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.
Two and a half years after opening, All’onda, on East 13th St., is done. It burned hot and bright, but the fire couldn’t last forever.