{"id":232314,"date":"2025-09-16T22:15:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T22:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/232314\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T22:15:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T22:15:20","slug":"union-square-is-one-of-nycs-most-exciting-neighborhoods-right-now-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/232314\/","title":{"rendered":"Union Square is one of NYC\u2019s most exciting neighborhoods right now\u2014here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emerging from the NQRW train at 14th Street, Union Square<\/a> presents a smorgasbord for the senses. The smell of patchouli\u00a0sold by street vendors, the stoic silence of people playing chess, the \u201cgood luck\u201d and \u201cbad luck\u201d spots drawn in chalk on the sidewalk to navigate. This slice of Manhattan where midtown turns into downtown has been an important area to New Yorkers for decades\u2014and these days, it\u2019s one of the\u00a0most exciting neighborhoods in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not only is it an area\u00a0bucking dismal\u00a0national trends (businesses are actually opening and flourishing here), it\u2019s also a place where an urban farm sprouts on the concrete every week. It\u2019s where esteemed chefs shop for produce alongside us mere mortals and where renowned authors come to launch their books. It’s where\u00a0Time Out Market<\/a> decided to launch its second New York outpost. This is Union Square, and here\u2019s why we think this buzzy, bustling neighborhood is worth exploring.<\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED: The ultimate guide to Union Square<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Crowds
\nPhotograph: By Ryan DeBerardinis \/ Shutterstock <\/p>\n

It\u2019s bustling<\/p>\n

This neighborhood\u2019s coolness factor isn\u2019t just our opinion. Instead, more than 75,000 residents and 60,000 students who call the area home would agree. As for work, monthly worker visits to Union Square reached a post-pandemic high of 444,000 in October 2024, according to a new report from the Union Square Partnership. That\u2019s even higher than in January 2020 before the pandemic began, and you can feel the renewed energy the second you step out of the subway station.<\/p>\n

\"Stalls
\nPhotograph: By Alizada Studios \/ Shutterstock <\/p>\n

It\u2019s got the best\u00a0and biggest<\/p>\n

The Union Square Greenmarket<\/a> has been a fixture in NYC since 1976. What started as just a few vendors has grown into a sprawling market offering produce, honey, wine, cheese, meats, jams, flowers and sweet treats. It\u2019s so beloved that Food & Wine<\/a> just ranked the greenmarket as No. 1 on their list of must-visit farmers\u2019 markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another type of market\u2014in this case, the Union Square holiday market\u2014also has a long history in NYC. In fact, it\u2019s the oldest holiday market in the city\u2014and a study by\u00a0Yelp<\/a>\u00a0calls it\u00a0the best in America. The European-style market is so popular that it typically draws\u00a0two million visitors each holiday season\u00a0to shop from more than 100 unique vendors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And\u00a0any day of the year, you can visit this last massive offering: The biggest bookstore in Manhattan<\/a>. The iconic Union Square Barnes & Noble\u00a0is home to four floors of books, including a large children\u2019s section, a magazine stand and a coffee shop. Plus, it\u2019s known for its author talks and events<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Time
\nPhotograph: Time Out Union Square | Taqueria El Chato <\/p>\n

Business is booming\u00a0<\/p>\n

It’s undeniable that some things have changed around NYC since the pandemic. Maybe your favorite boutique closed or your bodega reduced its hours. And you\u2019ve likely heard the doom-and-gloom about commercial vacancy rates and retail challenges. But Union Square is bucking those trends.\u00a0The district\u2019s ground-floor occupancy reached 88.5% as of this summer, and its\u00a0office availability is one of the lowest of Manhattan (a 10.9% vacancy rate compared to 17.2% for the borough), per the 2025 Union Square Commercial Market Report.<\/p>\n

Plus, 53 businesses opened in the past 12 months (that\u2019s 10 more than the prior year), many of them restaurants and bars. What\u2019s more 26 new businesses are\u00a0coming\u00a0soon, including Time Out Market Union Square<\/a>, Uniqlo, Ulta Beauty, Reformation and Nakara. That means even more places to add to your NYC food bucket list<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These new businesses are adding to the long list of already-beloved local shops (like Fishs Eddy, The Strand and Forbidden Planet) and restaurants (including Cafe Zaffri, Mission Ceviche and Union Square Cafe).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"New
\nPhotograph: By Ryan DeBerardinis \/ Shutterstock <\/p>\n

There\u2019s well-connected\u00a0transit\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to get to Union Square from just about anywhere in the city thanks to its well-connected bus and subway options. We\u2019re not alone in thinking that. The\u00a014th Street-Union Square subway station is experiencing an average increase of 7,000 daily riders ending at the station, according to the Union Square Partnership.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the fourth busiest subway station in New York City (22.9 million riders in 2024), the 14th Street-Union Square subway station is now serving 12% more daily riders (65,000) on average than the previous year, the partnership\u2019s report stated.<\/p>\n

\"the
\nPhotograph: Courtesy of W Union Square <\/p>\n

There\u2019s\u00a0room for visitors\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even if\u00a0you\u2019re not among the thousands who live in the area, there\u2019s a place for you to stay in Union Square. Hotel room inventory increased by 15% with the opening of The Twenty Two and the W New York – Union Square<\/a>\u2019s renovation. The newly reopened W Hotel has returned after a two-year, $100 million glow-up, reclaiming its role as the brand\u2019s global flagship and showing off\u00a0its signature brand of cheeky luxury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Emerging from the NQRW train at 14th Street, Union Square presents a smorgasbord for the senses. The smell…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":232315,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,46694,10336,15291,18634,125175,15290,10784,10782,18625,10785,18626,10783,18627,37720,405,403,10337,5226,5225,5228,5227,1072,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-232314","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-audience-good-for-pets","10":"tag-categories-things-to-do","11":"tag-dating-good-for-date-night","12":"tag-family-kids-good-for-kids","13":"tag-global-kickers-best-cities","14":"tag-good-for-good-for-couples","15":"tag-good-for-good-for-going-in-a-group","16":"tag-good-for-good-for-going-solo","17":"tag-good-for-good-for-going-with-friends","18":"tag-good-for-good-for-locals","19":"tag-good-for-good-for-taking-parents","20":"tag-good-for-good-for-tourists","21":"tag-good-for-vibe-beautiful","22":"tag-good-for-vibe-quirky","23":"tag-new-york","24":"tag-new-york-city","25":"tag-news-city-life","26":"tag-newyork","27":"tag-newyorkcity","28":"tag-ny","29":"tag-nyc","30":"tag-things-to-do","31":"tag-united-states","32":"tag-united-states-of-america","33":"tag-unitedstates","34":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","35":"tag-us","36":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}