Listing photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

The funky barrel-vaulted ceilings at this Union Square loft set the stage for a truly unique home, which has even been featured in Elle Decor. A greenhouse-windowed skylight, a spiral staircase, and an eclectic, colorful mix of decor add to the cool vibe, as does the roof deck that’s right below the building’s vintage water tower and trusses. Located at 13 East 16th Street, the two-bedroom condo is asking $2,175,000.

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Courtesy of NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development

Here’s an opportunity to live in a luxury Manhattan rental at a discount. A housing lottery launched this month for a dozen middle-income units at One Union Square South, a Related Companies-developed building most recognizable for the massive electronic clock art piece on its facade. While it’s hard to call this lottery affordable, the available apartments do offer significant savings compared to the building’s market-rate units. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, which include $2,523/month studios, $2,700/month one-bedrooms, and $3,235/month two-bedrooms.

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Screenshot of Women’s History Tour map; Courtesy of Village Preservation

On the first day of Women’s History Month, a preservation group is renewing calls to landmark nearly two dozen sites related to women’s history in New York City. Village Preservation on Monday kicked off a campaign effort urging the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate several buildings located south of Union Square that have a connection to trailblazing women, organizations, or historic events. It’s part of the group’s broader effort to protect nearly 200 buildings in the area which is slated for new development.

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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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All images: Marvel courtesy of Union Square Partnership

Open space around Union Square would increase by more than 33 percent under a new proposal to transform the Manhattan neighborhood into New York City’s “most accessible space.” The Union Square Partnership on Tuesday released a plan that expands Union Square Park by about two acres to the edges around the square and connects landscaped plazas with safe, pedestrian-friendly space. Designed in collaboration with Marvel, the proposal is the result of a two-year community out-reach process.

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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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