Big Japanese Market to Open on University
Get ready for Hashi Market. This small but growing chain of Japanese markets will open a store at 93 University Place, the former home of Saigon Market and vacant for four years.
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BlueWater Grill and Republic Destined to Close
ByDonBecause the rent is to damned high….here are the details, courtesy of Eater.com:
After over 20 years in Union Square, noodle shop Republic and seafood restaurant Blue Water Grill will both close by the end of the year. The culprit is outrageously high rent, with Blue Water Grill facing $2 million-plus annually, Bloomberg reports.
It’s part of a larger issue that Bloomberg breaks down in greater detail: Restaurants, like Union Square Cafe, which faced this same issue in 2014, open in less desirable neighborhoods with affordable 10- to 25-year leases. Then, in that time period, those restaurants contribute to the neighborhood increasing in value, which in turn causes landlords to raise rents to unsustainable highs once a lease is up.
Specifically, at Republic, the 3,800-square-foot restaurant went for $220,000 a year in 1995. Now, owner Jonathan Morr will vacate the space three-and-a-half years early so he can split the difference between what [the landlord] gets from us and what he’ll get from the next tenant, and call it a day, Morr tells Bloomberg. Marty Feinberg, of Winner Communications, which owns Republic’s building, says that taxes on it have gone up from $90,000 to $476,000 since the mid-’90s. (It’s not clear in the wording whether the landlord pays the taxes or it’s the responsibility of Republic as part of the lease agreement.)
Even restaurants with a lot of firepower behind them feel the squeeze. Tilman Fertitta, the tycoon behind Landry’s restaurant group, now owns Blue Water Grill, but still the rent increase to over $2 million a year is an amount at which can’t be successful,according to a Landry’s spokesperson. (This is also the group that just closed Isabella’s after 30 years on the Upper West Side.) The restaurant is currently searching for a new space. Uber-successful restaurateur Danny Meyer’s flagship Union Square Café” named after the very area it can no longer afford” vacated in 2015 after its rent increased fivefold over a 30-year period.
“That area is going to have to become a food desert” says realtor Leslie Siben of LB Realty Services LLC, because] no normal restaurateur with any experience would touch that as it is now.
This doom and gloom is met with a depressing solution: more food halls. Optimal Spaces broker Stephen Sunderland tells Bloomberg that it’s an appealing scenario for restaurants for its limited risk and lower costs to open” or close if needed. On the landlord and developer side, Smorgasburg co-founder Jonathan Butler recently commented on an unrelated panel that every developer wants a food hall at the bottom of their building or to anchor their big project.
There is no set date yet for the closures of Republic and Blue Water Grill. Stay tuned for more.
Even Less Pastry in the Hood
ByDonFirst Au Bon Pain kicks the bucket, and now Tisserie at corner of Union Sq. West and 17th is gone as well.
Latest New School Construction Update
ByDonNext week (June 4 to June 5), Superstructure work will continue at the 18th floor level. The superstructure concrete work will be completed on the building buy the end of the month. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic.
The following week (June 11 to June 15), we will be working on the machine room levels on the 18th floor. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic. The crane on site will be demobilized and removed from site at the end of June.
This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, June 2nd for superstructure related activities between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City. To control noise levels within the site, work activities will be limited to the placement of formwork and concrete, plumbing and electrical work, rebar for concrete placement, using the crane and equipment to support all activities. Safety horns are used, and required by law, to coordinate lifting with the crane and to alert the workers of the danger overhead. We have directed the operators to limit the use of horns to one short sounding and to use the crane later in the day so as to avoid any excess noise.
Entertainment in the Park
ByDonThe 2011 “Summer in the Square,” at Union Square, provides early morning fitness, family fun for kids and parents, and live music every Thursday until Aug. 11. In the evening, live music is presented, beginning at 6 p.m., from a diverse mix of genres like latin, rock, jazz, and folk and a mix of local and touring bands. The exception was June 30, when three groups performed. One of them, “Million Dollar Quartet,” is based on the grand recording session where legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis were brought together.
Zip Line!
ByDonNY1 reports:
New York’s annual block party will return this summer with even more Saturday morning activities for participants.
The Department of Transportation will host the Fifth Annual Summer Streets event on August 4, 11 and 18.
The Summer Streets route runs from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way to 72nd Street along Park Avenue and connecting streets. The seven miles of city streets will be blocked off for activities ranging from yoga to dance classes.
DOT officials also fit thousands of people for free bicycle helmets during Summer Streets as part of its Bike Smart program.
“The streets are for everyone and it’s a great way for New Yorkers to get out and enjoy and see the city in a different way and engage in some really fun, healthy, terrific activities,” said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
One of the highlights this year will likely be a 160-foot zip line at Union Square Park.
On Tuesday morning, the zip line was set up by Fantasy World Entertainment in Union Square for passersby to try out.
“For your first time [it’s scary], after that, you’ll come right back in line,” said Greg Korzeniowski of Fantasy World Entertainment.
“It’s a great idea for a bit of a good rush in the morning, great way to wake you up. I don’t have to have a coffee this morning, I’ve done this,” said one zip line user.
“It was fun. When you jump off, I was a little nervous, but then it was like fun,” said another.
Even NY1’s Roger Clark tried out the zip line. As he stood 30 feet about Union Square, the operators assured him that he would be caught by workers at the end of the 160-feet line.
Clark did have a safe landing, and then wanted to use the zip line again. He wasn’t the only one.
“As soon as I finished I was like, can I go again? I didn’t think he would let me, but he did, so it was fun,” said a zip line user.
Free HIV Testing in Union Square on June 27
ByDonNew Yorkers go to Union Square for various reasons. Whether it be to peruse the farmer’s market, doing a little shopping, or just to catch their next train, but on Thursday, June 27 you can also get a free HIV test. To mark National HIV Testing Day, the Community Healthcare Network (CHN) will provide all-day free HIV tests and Hepatitis C screenings, as well as meningitis vaccines.
The HIV tests take 20 minutes for the results, so to make the wait more bearable there will be free massages, snacks, life-coaching, and stretching workshops while you wait. The CHN’s mobile van will be in the park from 9am-5pm, so stop by to find out your status, and get your meningitis vaccine before the weekend’s Pride festivities!