City Living: Union Square

By PATRICK VEREL | STAFF WRITER

January 12, 2006

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Union Square was a junction for commerce, politics and transit in the earliest days of the city's history, and after falling into disrepair in the 1970s, the area has made a full comeback. Four-star hotels, restaurants and clubs call it home, a famed farmer's market has been joined by a new Whole Foods store, and newly restored playgrounds and a dog run make the area friendly for families too. Leonard Steinberg, a real estate broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman, said the area's central location makes it extremely attractive.

"It's so unbelievably convenient, he said. "I think anyone who's ever looked in Manhattan and has looked for a place that's easy to get to will appreciate it."

That kind of convenience doesn't come cheap. A 500-square-foot studio in 1 Union Square South rents for $3,295 a month, and Norman Buchbinder of Buchbinder & Warren estimated studios in walking distance of the park at $1,500 to $2,200 a month and one-bedroom apartments at $2,200 to $2,500.

What's Selling

You can find all manner of goods and services around Union Square, but as a meeting place and transportation hub, it has little room for housing. Plans are in the works for a new residential building on the corner of 14th Street and University Place. The main housing stock can be found at 1 Union Square South, a luxury rental property, and Zeckendorf Towers, a 631-unit condo development at 1 Irving Place.

Here are some recent sales and rentals:

SALES: A 3,500-square-foot penthouse on 18th Street, with a terrace and a view of the park: $3.5 million

A one-bedroom, two-bathroom 1,250 square foot apartment at 12th Street and 4th Avenue, $1.4 million

RENTALS: A 460-square-foot studio on Irving Place, $2,200 a month

A one-bedroom , two-bathroom 1,250 square foot loft at 12th Street and 4th Avenue, $4,995 a month

Find It

Union Square Park is bounded to the south by 14th Street, the west by Union Square West (Broadway), to the north by 17th Street and the east by Union Square East (Park Avenue South).

What's with the numbers?

Gaze from the park to the South for even an instant, and you'll be confronted by one of the more puzzling pieces of public art in New YorkThe Metronome. Since husband and wife team Andrew Ginzel and Kristin Jones installed it in 1999, the steam spouting digital clock piece has puzzled many visitor wondering what the numbers mean. The answer is the six numbers on the left display how much time has passed since midnight, and the six on the right, when read backwards, show how is left until the following midnight. Time, it is said, is unknowable.

What to see

-Stroll through Union Square Park. It's only 3.5 acres of land, but the park, which was once a potter's field, has earned its place as a National Historic Landmark, thanks to its role in the rise of the American labor movement. Statues of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Marquis de Lafayette and Mohandas Gandhi call it home, and over the last 170 years, it has been the scene of countless parades, protests and political rallies. The park was the site of an impromptu mass vigil on Sept. 11, 2001.

-Listen to music at Irving Plaza. Johnny Cash played there, and so did Korn. This two-level club has a capacity of about 1,000, and has some of the best sight lines of any rock club around.

-See an off-Broadway show. Union Square Theatre, Daryl Roth Theatre, Vineyard Theatre and Century Center for the Performing Arts are all half a block east of the park, and eight more theaters are within easy walking distance. The acclaimed Thom Pain (based on nothing), is currently playing at the DR2, the former annex of the Union Square Savings Bank.

Where to shop

-DSW, Bargain-hunters love this discount shoe store. 40 E. 14th St. (212) 674-2146