The Good Old Days

Word is that the neighborhood’s first 7-11 convenience store will move in on 14th St. near 6th Ave.

Check out Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, a new shop on 11th between University and Broadway that’s devoted to all things baseball.

Union Square-14th Street continues to demonstrate incredible resilience with strong signs that the district will not
only continue its upward trajectory but also thrive as one of the City’s best neighborhoods to live, work, and invest in. In this report, we outline the neighborhood’s key advantages and highlight the positive indicators of continued economic growth and success.

Among Union Square’s many advantages is its function as a true “15-minute neighborhood,” with its wealth of local amenities and resources accessible within walking distance or a short bike ride. The draw of Union Square’s diverse retail, food, culture, health, and entertainment offerings, and Union Square Park, its crown jewel, produced positive outcomes with foot traffic and spending reaching near pre-pandemic levels.

Microsoft has leased 150K sf across 10 floors at The Bromley Companies’ 122 Fifth Avenue. The building is undergoing a complete renovation of its commercial and retail spaces, which also welcomed Allbirds to the ground floor in March 2022.

∫ The Zero Irving Tech Center made headlines as its first commercial tenants, Melio (25K sf), and Sigma (15.5K sf), signed leases in the state-of-the-art building, which is ontrack to open in 2022.

∫ NYU announced plans to relocate the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service to its formerly administrative
office space at 105 East 17th Street. It plans to open to its 864 students and 200+ faculty members in Fall 2024.

∫ Longtime district partner Barnes & Noble unveiled Union Square & Co, the name for a new subsidiary of Sterling
Publishing, further reinforcing the strength of the Union Square brand and neighborhood identity.

∫ Over 80K sf of retail space has been leased since 2020 to national brands, such as Allbirds and Sephora, and
newcomers, such as Rookie and Modern Age, who chose Union Square to locate their flagship storefront.

With over 76,000 residents and 145,000 employees within a 1/2 mile radius, Union Square remains one of NYC’s most desirable places to live and work.

∫ Its 2:1 employee to residential population and significant population density, 24% higher than Manhattan, make Union Square a true mixed-use neighborhood, supported by a diverse array of commercial businesses, retail, and restaurants.

∫ Union Square is comprised of 32.5% owner-occupied
housing, which is well above Manhattan’s 24%.

See the entire report here. 

The soon-to-rise condo tower on University is selling fast, with both penthouses in contract at prices north of $10 million. Wow. Check it out here.

Andrade Shoe Repair, on University between 12th and 13th, will be dunzo on April 25. It’s a shame.

Curbed.com is reporting on a terrible HVAC noise problem being caused by the system installed by Vapiano last summer. Watch the video, and you’ll see and hear the problem. Here’s the report:

There’s nothing like a good noise controversy to round out the day, so here’s a tipster’s accusation that University Place chain restaurant Vapiano is destroying neighbors’ eardrums: “For the last seven months, residents of 48 East 13th Street, 107 University Place and 35 East 12th Street have been living with an egregious noise condition created by Vapiano’s HVAC system. Attempts to correct this with the various NYC agencies (DEP, DOB have thus far have not been effective. Vapiano has been issued 3 noise violations thus far by the DEP, has been the subject of TV news coverage (NY1 & Fox5), has been found in violation of the Building Code (twice!) and yet the residents are still subjected to the loud illegal noise levels from early morning to well into the late. This has been going on every day since July 16th of 2010.” Precise! So what do the locals plan to do about it? >> The neighbors have a plan: shame the restaurant via blog, video, and petition. Says our tipster about the video, “there is nothing wrong with your speakers, that’s actually what Vapiano’s HVAC system sounds like. If the noise is too loud and you can’t understand what people are saying just turn up the volume!” Noise wars: on.