News

December News Roundup

Jan 4, 2021

December’s news highlighted festive restaurant dishes and spots on year-end ‘best of’ lists along with commercial property renovations and sales. The 2020 Flatiron Public Plaza holiday installation, Point of Action, was also widely featured. Stay up-to-date with the latest Flatiron District News.

Restaurants & Bars

Shake Shack unveiled three new menu items topped with a one-of-a-kind organic black truffle sauce at its Upper West Side & Madison Square Park locations (via Eater New York).
Eleven Madison Park offered delivery to the East End and other NYC suburbs (via Wall Street Journal) and they were featured on the Champions’ League World’s Best Wine List 2020 (via Spears).
ilili‘s Philippe Massoud shared that secret behind Lebanese White Coffee by stating, “From a cultural point of view, it’s something that we finished the meal with usually after you’ve eaten a big meal. And we normally spend two, three, four hours at the table eating, so it’s Thanksgiving every day” (via Well + Good).
Critic Ryan Sutton finds wicked good pineapple buns, rice bowls, and crispy duck at the Milu (via Eater New York).
Mark’s Off Madison was featured in ‘The State of the Bagel’ (via The New Yorker), the best Hannukah latkes roundup (via Eater New York), and in Eater’s Best NYC Restaurant Meals roundup for their roasted chicken (via Eater New York).

District Businesses

The opening of Harry Potter New York, next the iconic Flatiron Building, has been delayed due to the pandemic but the store’s online shop is now open and offering new products (via Forbes).
At both The James New York NoMad and The James New York Soho, guests can partake in the unique Four Bodies Wellness program (via Live Trading News).
The NoMad Hotel is offering the “NoMad Feast” in empty suites, featuring such dishes as its signature black truffle-stuffed chicken (via Bloomberg). The Hotel was also featured in the Post’s spectacular staycation roundup (via NY Post).
Two Flatiron-based startups were in the news in December. Glosslab, a waterless nail salon, raised $3 million in seed funding with plans to increase the number of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce in 2021 (via Glossy). Attentive raised $340 million through 2020. The company’s software is used by e-commerce retailers to send customers promotions through text messages (via Crain’s NY Business).
Life Time opened a 37,000-square-foot fitness center at 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue (via New York Business Journal).

Real Estate

Spectrum NY1 featured the iconic Flatiron Building’s massive transformation in the heart of the neighborhood at 23rd Street, Broadway, and Fifth Avenue (via Spectrum NY1).
In addition to NYC’s outstanding talent and funding, the city is rich with life science real estate offerings across the five boroughs. For example, as part of NYCEDC’s LifeSci NYC, the City’s $500 million investment in life sciences, local investment firm Deerfield Management is redeveloping a 12-story building in Flatiron at 345 Park Avenue South (via Fierce Biotech).
Thor Equities Group sold the 17,600-square-foot, six-story 164 Fifth Avenue retail building for $40 million. The fully leased property is home to Alo Yoga and a new vegan restaurant concept called SUTRA (via Commercial Observer).
Home Depot extended its lease for 120,000 square at Williams Equities’ 28-40 West 23rd Street, cementing its reign in the Chelsea and Flatiron area for around another 15 years (via Commercial Observer).

Around the Neighborhood

More than a century ago, the first public Christmas tree lighting in New York City took place in Madison Square Park. That 108-year tradition continues to this day and is commemorated year round. When all of the holiday lights go dark and the giant Christmas trees come down, Madison Square Park keeps the spirit of the season alive with the Star of Hope, a fixture of the park that marks the site of the first tree lighting (via Untapped Cities).
This holiday season, the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership launched “Gifts for the Greater Good,” a community initiative with the goal of supporting local retailers while giving joy to New York City families who are experiencing homelessness (via Patch).
Studio Cooke John’s Point of Action, on display on the Flatiron Public Plazas from November 23rd through January 1st, was featured in many notable public art roundups this month including Untapped Cities, Time Out New York & amNY.