Rendering by Brdar 

When it comes to a prime downtown location, the corner of 14th Street and 6th Avenue is pretty darn good. On the northeast corner, the new 50-unit condo at 540 6th Avenue was designed inside and out by Morris Adjmi, replacing a lower-scale building that held a long-time dance studio (one home to Merce Cunningham) and an outpost of Moscot eyewear. The 12-story condo, which topped out this past November, has now launched a teaser site as it gears up to launch sales. It’s also been dubbed Förena, the Swedish word for “unite,” a nod to the building’s location at the nexus of Greenwich Village, Union Square, and Chelsea.

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Photo by Christopher Payne | ESTO

If you’ve walked by Union Square over the past year, you might have spotted something different. Rising atop  Reading International’s landmarked Tammany Hall is a modern glass-and-steel dome. BKSK Architects designed the addition, which can house a variety of commercial uses, with the building’s history in mind. Though many associate Tammany Hall’s history with political corruption, BKSK wanted people to understand that its namesake is actually Lenape Chief Tammanend, who worked towards a peaceful relationship with 17th-century European settlers. Ahead, see amazing photos of the dome’s exterior and interior and hear from BKSK partner Todd Poisson about its construction and how it was conceived to resemble a turtle breaking out of water.

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Photo by Shinya Suzuki on Flickr

Another New York City tradition has been canceled this year because of the coronavirus. The Union Square Holiday Market, a city staple for more than 25 years, will not open this season. And the Columbus Circle Holiday Market will also be closed this year, according to Urbanspace, which operates both markets.

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Photo by Brianne Sperber on Wikimedia

One of New York City’s largest and most beloved independent bookstores is asking for help. Citing a decline in foot traffic, a lack of tourists, and zero in-store events because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Strand Bookstore’s revenue has dropped nearly 70 percent compared to last year, owner Nancy Bass Wyden said on Friday. According to Bass Wyden, the business, one of the last bookstores of Union Square’s former “Book Row,” is not currently sustainable.

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Non-profit Village Preservation has launched a new online platform called Virtual Village, which is part of their larger efforts seeking landmarks protections for the “South of Union Square” area, where Greenwich Village meets the East Village. The interactive online tool offers 36 free, guided walking tours of the neighborhood, ranging from architectural topics like the Cast Iron Tour to cultural topics like the German History Tour to social topics like the Women’s History and LGBTQ Tours.

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A view of Fish’s Eddy’s storefront at 889 Broadway in June 2019. Map data © 2020 Google

“We’re like a fish gasping for air — literally,” said Julie Gaines, the owner of Fishs Eddy, to the New York Post. The much-loved Union Square store has been in business since 1986, selling mix-and-match, reasonably priced dinnerware that includes NYC-themed items and quirky finds like Obama shot glasses and parking ticket plates. Since the pandemic hit, however, they’ve only been doing 30 percent of their usual business, much of which is based on tourists, which is making it harder and harder to afford their high rent.

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Photo by Zack Winestine

The massive electronic clock in Union Square that has puzzled New Yorkers for over two decades has been repurposed as a count down to climate disaster. Created by Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd, the “Climate Clock” displays the years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds the world has left to make significant changes before the effects of global warming become permanent. The new installation comes as Climate Week NYC kicks off this week, alongside the United Nations General Assembly.

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Rendering of Zero Irving courtesy of RAL Development Services

Pioneering food hall operator Urbanspace is opening its latest outpost at Union Square reports the NY Post. They’ve leased 10,000 square feet at Zero Irving, the contested tech hub on 14th Street that will serve as office space, a technology training center and incubator, co-working spaces, and an event space when it opens in the first half of 2021.

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Map data © 2020 Google

Don’t get too excited yet–it’s not opening until at least 2023, when the lease expires for the space’s current tenant, the Food Emporium grocery store. The Post reports that Target signed a lease for the 32,579-square-foot space at the base of 10 Union Square East. Target currently has seven stores in Manhattan, with two more set to open in Times Square, Columbus Circle, and Washinton Heights. One of their stores is just a few avenues east on 14th Street at Avenue A.

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Photo by 6sqft

The prominent Union Square storefront on 16th Street and Union Square West that was home to sceney restaurant Coffee Shop for 28 years has changed quite a bit since the former diner closed its doors last October. Reports that yet another Chase branch and an outpost of vegan chain By CHLOE. would open in its place were confirmed a few months ago, and now the transformation is complete. A new location for Joe Coffee is also open in the building, and, interestingly, is part of a partnership with Chase, according to the Wall Street Journal. With an entrance on 16th Street, By CHLOE.’s colorful storefront stands where the former diner’s back dining room used to be, while the Union Square side has lost its iconic neon sign for ubiquitous Chase branding.

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