News

A model apartment has been completed, and you can see it in all its glory here.

Read all about the sales difficulties of 61 5th Avenue and see lots of pictures here.

After nearly two and a half years since Dryden Gallery moved out, 129 Fourth Ave. is getting a new full-time tenant.

The Post reports that the first U.S. outpost of Mi Garba (“I like it” in Italian!) is opening here just south of East 13th Street.

And what will they sell?

“The flagship 1,000 square-foot space, at 129 Fourth Ave., will include a restaurant with 10 tables. There will also be Tuscan food and wine for sale along with a boutique offering fashion items, including custom-made shirts and jackets.”

This finding from the Union Square Partnership:

The Union Square Partnership analyzes and promotes visitor activity by conducting pedestrian and bicycle counts every two years over several Fridays and Saturdays in July.  Working with BFJ Planning, counts were taken from 8 AM to 10 PM at 26 locations around Union Square Park. To gain the most accurate account of how many people move through  Union Square on a typical summer day, the data gathered was then combined with transit turnstile information for the 14th Street – Union Square station. The station is the fourth busiest subway hub in NYC on a weekday and skyrockets to second position on weekends. Based on turnstile count patterns, it is estimated that during the summer a record-breaking 383,000 people visit the area on a Greenmarket Friday over a 24-hour period, a 10% increase from our last survey.

Find the full 2014 Pedestrian Activity Report here.

The Wall Street Journal has a lot to say about what’s happening in our neighborhood. For example: ““I think the area was quite spectacular and bohemian to begin with, but it’s becoming a bit more adult,” said Madeline Hult Elghanayan, a broker at Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “You now see a new, luxury-oriented clientele that’s looking for places to live in this immediate area.“

According to a report from Crain’s New York:

Foot traffic is stepping up in Union Square. The area now sees 11% more visitors on summer Fridays than it did in 2012, according to a recent survey conducted by the Union Square Partnership, the neighborhood’s business improvement district. After counting pedestrians and using data from subway turnstiles, the BID estimates that 383,000 people are in Union Square on a Greenmarket Friday.

“Union Square has it all,” crowed Jennifer Falk, executive director of the BID, in a statement, referring to the park, transit options, shops and the Greenmarket.

In recent months, the neighborhood has also drawn a variety of retailers—from Brooklyn doughnut shop Dough to classic outdoor-clothing brand Eddie Bauer. E-commerce brand Rent the Runway also set up a showroom in the area last fall. According to the BID, Union Square has a ground-floor retail vacancy rate of 2.9%, though several spaces are currently on the market.

Retail rents in the area are pricey and rising. Dylan’s Candy Bar signed a deal for 3,300 square feet at 33 Union Square West, a spot formerly held by Puma, for $545 a square foot in the fall, for example. Such rents have pushed out several longtime retailers, including Union Square Café. The Danny Meyer-owned restaurant announced over the summer it will be vacating its space on East 16th Street after three decades. When Mr. Meyer opened the eatery in 1985, he reportedly paid around $50,000 a year in rent—that price has jumped to $650,000.

Union Square’s BlueWater Grill may be gone as of next fall because the landlord, the same guy who priced Union Square Cafe out of the neighborhood, is at it again.

Because the rent is too damn high. As usual.

Num Pang has reopened just across 12th St. from its former location. Cambodian sandwiches for everyone.

Not that we needed a store full of notebooks…but here it is.