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Information is sketchy, but it appears that Pan Am Equities, the real estate company that owns the collection of “True North” apartment buildings, including one on our 13th St. block, is now in the process of reconfiguring 24-26 East 13th St., the former home of the New York Health and Racquet Club, into 39 apartments, up from the previous 24. The ground floor and basement may once again hold a fitness facility. It’s unclear if the overall size of the building will change, but it appears not.

When the New School builds its new building on the corner, one of its major uses will be to house a consolidated Parsons School of Fashion Design, which is currently scattered among many midtown buildings. That’s according to the New School student newspaper. So expect even more groovily dressed teens outside our front doors.

New York City’s most iconic holiday market is back. The Union Square Holiday Market by Urbanspace returns this year on Thursday, November 17th with 170+ vendors showcasing a dynamic mix of global cuisines, original art, handcrafted accessories, and more. The market will be open through Saturday, December 24th.

The Union Square Partnership has released its latest annual survey of people’s opinions about our neighborhood’s livability in terms of cleanliness, safety, landscaping, lighting, and quality of life. It makes for an interesting read. One highlight:

“USP is committed to enhancing livability in the Union Square 14th Street district through its Clean + Safe program. According to the 2024 survey results, satisfaction for district conditions improved or remained consistent compared to 2023 results, with satisfaction for public safety increasing by 15%. This notable increase follows USP’s deployment of Public Safety Officers (PSOs) in June 2023, and survey respondents noted that their patrols have had a positive impact in Union Square Park and the playground. Despite this improvement, respondents dissatisfied with the conditions expressed ongoing safety, sanitation, and quality of life concerns around the district, including the lack of City enforcement and City services for those in need. USP is dedicated to continuing investment in the PSO program and increasing coordination with City agencies and law enforcement in response to the community’s quality of life concerns.”

Comfort food joint Chat ‘n Chew shut its doors this week after 22 years in the neighborhood, but the owner plans to reopen it as an Italian restaurant.

The diner-style eatery at 10 E. 16th St. near Fifth Avenue will relaunch in two weeks as Little Sal’s, said Ethan Silverman, son of owner Andrew Silverman.

“[Chat ‘n Chew] lost some of it’s energy, and now we’re getting it back,” Ethan Silverman said. “It’s going to be a Chat ‘n Chew on steroids. It’ll have traditional Italian food like chicken parm, eggplant parm and pastas.”

Silverman compared the concept of Little Sal’s to New York City restaurants like Sauce and Parm, where it’s “casual and family oriented — selling wine by the glass and not the bottle,” he said.

Andrew Silverman also co-owns Flatiron’s City Crab and Barbounia restaurants.

Little Sal’s will open as a pop-up in two weeks for a test run, and may remain open permanently depending on how well it does, Silverman said.

As for Chat ‘n Chew’s abrupt closure, Silverman said the team had known that they would be closing for a while, but hadn’t made it public.

“If people took a look at the place recently, they’d see that the staff was slowly kind of diminishing,” Silverman said.

“We’ve been in Union Square for a while, and we’re going to come back with energy,” he continued. “But [the concept] will be [in] keeping with the people who work and live in the neighborhood.”

What used to be PetCo at the northwest corner of Union Square will soon become Uniqlo.