March News Roundup

March news highlights include businesses receiving notable shoutouts, new businesses opening, and a legacy business closing. Stay in the know with the latest Flatiron News.

Restaurants & Bars

• Mark’s Off Madison’s Estelle’s Chicken Soup landed a spot on Eater’s “15 Soul-Warming Soups to Ride Out the Rest of Winter in NYC” list (via Eater New York).
• Milu was named one of “15 Exciting New Restaurants Open in Manhattan” (via Eater New York).
• Shake Shack reduced its carbon footprint by testing cutlery and straws made from AirCarbon which has no synthetic plastics or glues (via NY1).
• A new Indian cuisine restaurant called SONA opened its doors at 36 East 20th Street. Priyanka Chopra Jonas serves as the eatery’s Creative Adviser (via New York Times).
• Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop, one of New York’s great remaining old-school diners, has closed (via New York Magazine). Learn more about the restaurant’s nostalgic appeal and legacy via New York Magazine.
• Atoboy, a Korean tasting cuisine, was mentioned in “25 Restaurants for Cozy Outdoor Dining in Manhattan” (via Eater New York).
• Eleven Madison Park’s Chef Daniel Humm launched EMP at Home for guests to experience the restaurant’s cuisine while they are still closed. Humm discusses the restaurant’s giving back initiative through Rethink Food as well (via Hamptons).
• Una Pizzeria and Morgestern’s Finest Ice Cream have partnered to create a limited-release collection of flavors featuring works of art. These flavors are available via a vending machine at Eataly Flatiron (via Forbes).

District Businesses

• Swingers, an entertainment venue blending mini-golf with eating, drinking, and dancing, will open in the Virgin Hotel at 1227 Broadway (via Real Estate Weekly).
• Michelin-star Chef Hiroki Odo founds an art gallery called THE GALLERY where American and Japanese artist can showcase their work along with Odo’s seasonal menu (via amNY).
• Rhone a men’s activewear company is set to open to a flagship store at 133 Fifth Ave (via WWD).
• Sonder plans to reopen the 64-unit Flatiron Hotel at 9 West 26th Street in April 2021. (via the Real Deal)
• Arc’teryx a company that sells outdoor clothing and climbing gear redesigned its interior space at 139 Fifth Avenue to a backcountry hut-inspired design (via Hyperflex).
• Spoke & Weal salon’s natural-hair specialists Alexandra Hiers was featured in an episode of Hair Me Out where Regina Harris talks about her hair transformation of “cinnamon hair color” (via Refinery 29).
• Harry Potter New York plans to open this summer in the Flatiron District (via Mugglenet).
• Clara Dalzeen, General Manager of Flatiron Wines & Spirits, a specialized shop in rare and allocated wines, was featured in the “There’s Unprecedented Access to Rare Wine—If You Know How to Find It” (via Winemag).
• The NoMad Hotel is temporarily shutting down for renovations starting April 2 (via Eater NY).
• Porro and Living Divani opened an apartment-style showroom at 135 Fifth Avenue on the 2nd Floor (via Wallpaper).
• INNSiDE by Meliá is an urban oasis hotel with an outdoor patio and restaurant for guests and pets! In partnership with Paw.com, INNSide will have stylish pet products such as PupRug pet beds and PupProtector throw blankets for its pet-friendly rooms (via Business Traveler).
• The ACE Hotel New York in NoMad plans to reopen soon (via Wall Street Journal).

Real Estate

• JLL Capital Markets has arranged $35.1 million in financing for the redevelopment of 41-47 East 21st Street on 21st Street between Park Avenue South and Broadway, transforming the parking facility into a class-A, climate-controlled self-storage facility (via NYREI).
• Madison Square Park Tower gets featured in “Most stylish houses in New York City” because of its 13,000 square fleet triplex (via CEO World Magazine).
• The Rose Hill apartment building is collaborating with the Fhitting Room, a boutique fitness studio focused on high-intensity interval training classes. Head instructor Eric Salvador will offer private sessions in the building’s gym when it opens this summer (via New York Post).
• The Flatiron Building’s limestone and the terracotta facade are being restored along with building renovations (via YIMBY New York).
• Ritz Carlton’s facade continues to be renovated on 1185 Broadway (via YIMBY New York).
• The Madison House an 805-foot-tall residential skyscraper at 126 Madison Avenue plans to soon finish up the podium (via YIMBY New York).
• The facade work on the 23-story office building at 1245 Broadway will be completed by end of the year (via YIMBY New York).
• The Haymarket Building, an office property at 135 West 29th Street, was purchased by the Kaufman Organization for $34.5 million (via Real Estate Weekly).

Around the Neighborhood

• The “Floral Heart Projects” by Kristina Libby came to the Flatiron Building to support and memorialize those impacted by COVID-19. Libby partnered with local florists to provide the arrangements and help design the project (via Time Out New York).
• Architect magazine interviewed Donald Friedman, an enginer specialist in structural historic buildings, about his latest book, The Structure of Skyscrapers in America 1871-1900: Their History and Preservation. The Flatiron Building construction methods are featured (via Architect).
• New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson officially announced his bid for the City Comptroller in Madison Square Park (via WCBS).
• Pinot W. Ichwandardi created a pixel art drawing of the Flatiron Building. He used a 1984-era Macintosh 128k and other retro tools to process “pixel knitting” to create the image. (via Cult of Mac)
• In May, “Ghost Forest” by Maya Lin will open along with neighborhood programming like Fotografiska hosting an exhibition with Lin’s process sketches of the installation and Cornell Lab of Ornithology having a soundscape of extinct and endangered animals (via The Architect’s Newspaper).

Header Photo Credit: Flatiron Wines & Spirits