Midtown West

Ellen's Stardust Diner has been a Theater District fixture since 1987, famous for its retro '50s design, subway car entrance, and singing waitstaff. But like so many other restaurants in New York City, Ellen's struggled to reopen due to the pandemic. As Broadway World reported in July, a photo on Facebook showed a notice posted at the diner from the landlord that said Ellen's owed $618,459.22 in back rent. But good news--Time Out NY now reports that the restaurant and landlord seem to have resolved their conflict, and Ellen's will reopen (singing waiters and all!) as of tomorrow.
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Food & Dining

Huge hound sculptures made of recycled materials take over Midtown

Photos by Alexandre Ayer/Diversity Pictures for the Garment District Alliance

September 21, 2020

Huge hound sculptures made of recycled materials take over Midtown

Over-sized sculptures of dogs have been installed along Broadway in Midtown's Garment District. Created by artist Will Kurtz, the gigantic public art exhibit "Doggy Bags," features six sculptures of different breeds of dogs, all made out of recycled single-use materials, like plastic bags. The exhibit, which can be found between 38th and 40th Streets, will be on display through November 20.
See more here

Events & Things To Do

$66M triplex penthouse at 111 West 57th Street sits 900 feet above Central Park

Penthouse 72 Loggia, courtesy of 111 West 57th Street

September 11, 2020

$66M triplex penthouse at 111 West 57th Street sits 900 feet above Central Park

Two new impressive units just hit the market at New York City's most slender supertall. At 111 West 57th Street, a three-level, four-bedroom penthouse with over 7,000 square feet of interior space and an additional 1,367 square feet in private outdoor space with picture-perfect views over Central Park has hit the market for $66 million. And a duplex with three bedrooms and unobstructed park views is now asking $39.5 million. The latest multi-million dollar listings at the Billionaires' Row tower come after two $30 million units sold earlier this summer during the coronavirus shut down, giving a boost to the city's nearly stagnant luxury market.
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Krispy Kreme unveils new Times Square flagship

All photos courtesy of Krispy Kreme

August 26, 2020

Krispy Kreme unveils new Times Square flagship

Just like their doughnuts, Krispy Kreme says its new 24-hour Times Square flagship will be "fresh and one-of-a-kind." Opening on September 15, the massive, immersive new shop will feature the world's largest glaze waterfall, a doughnut-making theater, and the ability to produce 4,560 doughnuts an hour.
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Food & Dining

Public art campaign lights up Times Square in support of essential workers

PSA by Carrie Mae Weems; Photo by Maria Baranova

May 19, 2020

Public art campaign lights up Times Square in support of essential workers

A public art campaign is lighting up Times Square in support of New York City's healthcare and essential workers. As part of a joint effort by Times Square Arts, For Freedoms, and Poster House, "Messages for the City," now in its second phase, features work from more than 30 artists and designers on digital public service announcements in New York, Boston, and Chicago.
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Events & Things To Do

Artwork titled “Now & Forever” by Tristan Eaton created exclusively for Montefiore and Alto New York’s 2020 “Heroes” campaign

May 12, 2020

Street artist Tristan Eaton reveals new Midtown mural thanking NYC’s nurses

Los Angeles-based painter and designer Tristan Eaton is well known for his street murals, which he's brought to NYC through a collaboration with Montefiore Hospitals. The towering artwork, which sought to capture the heroism of our healthcare workers, is located on 34th Street and 8th Avenue and is part of a larger appreciation campaign for National Nurses Week sponsored by Montefiore and its creative company of record, Alto NY. They wanted to create a "digital" ticker-tape parade and "extend the Canyon of Heroes to the doors of every hospital in New York." Using Eaton's mural as a template, New Yorkers can create their own hero image by uploading a photo on the website or through Instagram. In addition, Montefiore has created a moving video thanking all the brave nurses.
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See NYC landmarks turn blue in honor of essential workers

Photo by Jörg Angeli on Unsplash

April 10, 2020

See NYC landmarks turn blue in honor of essential workers

To show support for New York City's essential workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic, a number of buildings turned blue Thursday night. Madison Square Garden, One World Trade Center's spire, Beacon Theatre, Pier 17, Hudson Yards' Vessel, and more join more than 100 landmarks across the country as part of the #LightItBlue campaign. The nationwide lighting will occur weekly every Thursday.
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City Living

Elevated country style and modern convenience define a $7.5M Hell’s Kitchen townhouse

Photo credit: Guillaume Gaudet courtesy of The Corcoran Group.

February 27, 2020

Elevated country style and modern convenience define a $7.5M Hell’s Kitchen townhouse

Amid the new tall towers of midtown Manhattan's west side, we may forget the streets of historic townhouses that have made Hell's Kitchen a unique residential neighborhood for so long. Asking $7.5 million, this beautifully renovated home at 438 West 44th Street sits on a tree-lined block, with 5,223 square feet of living space within, spread over six floors and two family-sized units. The entire home is served by an elevator and has been thoroughly updated with new mechanicals throughout, while retaining its historic character and charm.
Explore the many levels

Distinctive Homes

February 25, 2020

Apple signs lease for four floors at 11 Penn Plaza

After the Post first reported speculations of the deal in January, they now report that Apple will lease four floors of space at 11 Penn Plaza. Sources told the Post that the tech giant became interested in the 1.15-million-square-foot building that stretches along Seventh Avenue between West 31st and 32nd streets across from Madison Square Garden after losing out to Facebook on a spot in the Farley Building. However, those with knowledge of the deal say that Apple has only signed a five-year deal, which may suggest that they are still keen on finding a larger, more permanent home in NYC.
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Real Estate Trends

Items at this pop-up grocery store in Times Square are made entirely of single-use plastic

Photograph by Maria Baranova-Suzuki courtesy of Times Square Arts.

February 20, 2020

Items at this pop-up grocery store in Times Square are made entirely of single-use plastic

With the new ban on single-use plastic bags hitting New York on March 1, a conversation has been started–and in some cases, continued–about the effects of our consumption on future generations. As important and complex as the topic may be, award-winning Brooklyn-based artist, puppet designer, and director Robin Frohardt has found a way to shine a creative light on consumption, conveniences, and the impact of single-use plastics. Located in Times Square, "The Plastic Bag Store" is an immersive, site-specific public art installation and three-act puppet show, on view from March 18 to April 12 at 20 Times Square.
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Photo via The Pennsy

February 12, 2020

Penn Station’s food hall, The Pennsy, and neighboring Kmart are closing

The retail landscape around Penn Station is set for some changes. The Pennsy Food Hall right above the station will be closing its doors for good on March 31, Commercial Observer reports. The 8,000-square-foot food hall opened at Vornado Realty Trust's 2 Penn Plaza four years ago with a mix of vendors and late-night hours to draw in delayed commuters as well as pre-concert and post-game crowds. The closure is hitting vegan eatery Cinnamon Snail especially hard—the company has confirmed it will be shutting down all operations after The Pennsy shutters. The news came on the same day that the Kmart across the street announced it would close after 24 years at One Penn Plaza.
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Food & Dining

Rendering courtesy of FXCollaborative

February 7, 2020

Macy’s reveals proposed 900+ foot skyscraper to rise above Herald Square flagship

Macy’s, which recently announced plans to close 125 department stores over the next several years, is still hoping to cash in on the thriving office market by building an office tower above its Herald Square flagship store in Midtown. The retail icon revealed that it has proposed the construction of 1.5 million square feet of office space, a sky lobby, and public improvements to the surrounding area, the Wall Street Journal reports. The proposed tower would rise between 700 and 950 feet with, according to renderings revealed by YIMBY, a glass façade, setbacks, and a crown. The department store below could confer it with supertall status (984 feet or taller).
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New Developments

Why are the tracks of the Times Square-Grand Central shuttle curved?

The Times Square shuttle platform, Photo by Helvetica Fanatic on Wikimedia

February 6, 2020

Why are the tracks of the Times Square-Grand Central shuttle curved?

At the platform of the Times Square-Grand Central shuttle, a train track is hidden in plain sight. At both ends of the two-station line, tracks are numbered 1, 3 and 4, with no Track 2 to be found. As the New York Times explained, Track 2 once ran in its appropriate spot, between Tracks 1 and 3, but was taken out of operation nearly 100 years ago. After an attempt to expand the original 1904 line turned to major confusion for commuters, transit officials covered Track 2 with wooden flooring to make it easier for New Yorkers to walk to the new tracks.
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Times Square Arts’ 2020 Valentine’s Day heart comes with a hidden surprise

Photos by Ian Douglas

January 31, 2020

Times Square Arts’ 2020 Valentine’s Day heart comes with a hidden surprise

Times Square Arts debuted the 2020 Times Square Valentine Heart yesterday, a tradition that started in 2009. This year's installation, Heart Squared, was selected by the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum and designed by MODU and Eric Forman Studio. The sculpture is composed of a 10-foot-tall cubic steel lattice structure that approximates the form of an anatomical heart and 125 mirrors that are suspended within and tilted at various angles to create a kaleidoscopic collage of the urban environment. The arrangement of the mirrors might seem random at first but they're precisely calibrated to form an anamorphic projection—meaning that the mirror array creates a surprise image when viewed from a specific vantage point, which is marked on the ground with white paint.
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Events & Things To Do

Renderings courtesy of Krispy Kreme

January 30, 2020

Krispy Kreme opening five new NYC stores ahead of Times Square flagship

Iconic doughnut chain Krispy Kreme announced in June that it will bring its "doughnut theater experience" to a 45,000-square-foot retail space at the corner of 48th Street and Broadway in Times Square where visitors will be able to watch the doughnut-making process–complete with glaze waterfall–or just grab one to go at the walk-up window. It won't open until May, but to hold you over, Krispy Kreme will soon open five new Manhattan locations, in addition to reopening their long-time Penn Station outpost after a renovation (h/t Time Out NY).
More, this way

Food & Dining

See inside Urbanspace’s new food hall in Midtown West

Photos by Laura Fontaine

January 10, 2020

See inside Urbanspace’s new food hall in Midtown West

A new Urbanspace food hall opened up in Midtown on Wednesday with 15 vendors and plenty of options for the lunch crowd and beyond. It’s the fourth permanent location for the company that’s also behind many of New York City’s seasonal markets and food halls. Located in the space formerly occupied by Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain at 152 West 52nd Street, the list of vendors offers a mix of new and established names “aimed to cater to New Yorkers and visitors alike,” most notably classic Flatiron sandwich shop Eisenberg’s first offshoot.
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Food & Dining

New public art installation brings illuminated, interactive seesaws to Midtown West

All photos by Alexandre Ayer

January 7, 2020

New public art installation brings illuminated, interactive seesaws to Midtown West

Yesterday, The Garment District Alliance unveiled its latest public art installation along Broadway between 37th and 38th Streets. Titled "Impulse," it's a collection of 12 oversized seesaws that light up and night and become an "urban instrument" when they emit various sounds as New Yorkers play on them.
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Events & Things To Do

Cuomo revives plan to overhaul Penn Station and create new Empire Station Complex

Rendering of new entrance on 8th Avenue to Penn Station via Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office

January 6, 2020

Cuomo revives plan to overhaul Penn Station and create new Empire Station Complex

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is returning to one of his favorite infrastructure proposals: the overhaul of Penn Station. During an event on Monday hosted by the Association for a Better New York, the governor announced plans to build the Empire Station Complex, a station that would link a modernized Penn Station, the soon-to-be-open Moynihan Train Hall, and a new terminal one block south of the existing site. The plan, first introduced by the governor in 2016, would add eight new tracks and increase train capacity by 40 percent at the station, which currently serves more than 650,000 passengers each day.
See the updated plan

See inside The Deco, an eclectic new food hall in Midtown West

Photo by Max Lau

January 3, 2020

See inside The Deco, an eclectic new food hall in Midtown West

A new food hall opened this month in Manhattan's Garment District, adding some bold flavors to the mostly lackluster options in the neighborhood. Located at 231 West 39th Street, The Deco Food + Drink features eight family-owned vendors, a cocktail bar, and event space. An ode to 1920s New York, the Carpenter & Mason-designed space features an Art Deco aesthetic, with geometric tiles, bright blues, and brass accents framing each section.
See inside

Food & Dining

Times Square’s Palace Theatre overhaul includes outdoor stage and ‘ball drop’ suites

Rendering courtesy of TSX Broadway

January 2, 2020

Times Square’s Palace Theatre overhaul includes outdoor stage and ‘ball drop’ suites

A mixed-use development project hopes to bring even more bright lights and theatrics to Times Square. A team of developers, led by L&L Holding Company, will provide the ultimate New Year's Eve experience at its new luxury hotel, part of the plan to transform the historic Palace Theatre into TSX Broadway. New renderings of the $2.5 billion project, which involves raising the theater more than 30 feet and building a 669-room hotel above it, show off suites with perfect views of the Times Square ball drop, the neighborhood's first outdoor stage, and immersive retail experiences.
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New Year’s Eve in numbers: Fun facts about the Times Square ball drop

Photo by Kohei Kanno on Flickr

December 30, 2019

New Year’s Eve in numbers: Fun facts about the Times Square ball drop

By Diane Pham

Every year as the clock nears midnight on December 31, anticipation runs high as the world holds its breath waiting for the sparkling New Year's Eve Ball to descend from its flagpole atop One Times Square. We all know that the countdown starts at 10, but there are a handful of other fun facts to muse over when it comes to the city's most lauded tradition. From the wattage of the ball to the weight of trash produced to how long it takes to get it all cleaned up, see what we've rounded up, in numbers, ahead!
More on New Year's Eve in Times Square here

Events & Things To Do

Snap a photo with the ‘2020’ New Year’s Eve sign in Times Square

Photo by Ian Hardy for Countdown Entertainment

December 16, 2019

Snap a photo with the ‘2020’ New Year’s Eve sign in Times Square

The new year has arrived in New York City...at least in numbers. Two seven-foot-tall numerals, the "2" and "0" in 2020, are currently on display in Times Square, offering the public a chance to snap a photo with the famous digits before they are placed on top of One Times Square. The 2020 signage sits below the crystal-filled New Year's Eve ball and will light up at midnight on December 31, marking the start of a new decade.
Details here

Events & Things To Do

Facebook in talks for office space at former Farley Post Office in Midtown

Rendering courtesy of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill via Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office

December 6, 2019

Facebook in talks for office space at former Farley Post Office in Midtown

Facebook is looking to expand its New York City footprint once again. The social media company is in talks to lease about 700,000 square feet at the former James A. Farley Post Office, a city landmark in Midtown currently being converted into a mixed-use building. If the deal is inked, Facebook would become one of the largest corporate tenants in the city with 3 million square feet of office space leased, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
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Real Estate Trends

Target announces new Times Square store, its 10th Manhattan location

Rendering courtesy of Target

December 5, 2019

Target announces new Times Square store, its 10th Manhattan location

New York City is getting another Target. The retailer announced on Thursday plans to open a small-format store in Times Square, its 10th store in Manhattan. The 33,000-square-foot location will be located at a five-level retail complex on 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. The property, owned and managed by Tishman Realty, is currently undergoing a $60 million renovation. The 42nd Street shop is expected to open in 2022.
The Target takeover continues

Uncategorized

David Rockwell-designed food hall to open at Manhattan West complex

Rendering courtesy of Brookfield Properties

December 4, 2019

David Rockwell-designed food hall to open at Manhattan West complex

A new food hall designed by David Rockwell is coming to Manhattan's West Side. Brookfield Properties announced on Tuesday plans to open a 40,000-square-foot venue at Manhattan West, a six-building development currently under construction that includes space for office, residential, retail, and a hotel between 9th and 10th Avenues. Dubbed "Citizens" and run by hospitality company sbe, the concept includes two full-service restaurants, multiple bars, and a fast-casual market.
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Food & Dining

MAP: The best spots to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Map via Google Maps/Macy’s

November 25, 2019

MAP: The best spots to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade