Union Square Foot Traffic Jumps, Office Availability Plunges
The neighborhood is Manhattan’s tightest in terms of availability
By Larry Getlen July 15, 2025 4:48 pm
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The numbers of visitors to key areas of Manhattan’s Union Square increased markedly over the past year, according to a new report from the Union Square Partnership, a business improvement district. That’s especially true for people using public transportation.
The report noted that the 14th Street-Union Square subway station, the city’s fourth busiest with 22.9 million riders in 2024, now serves 12 percent more average daily riders than last year, an increase of 7,000 riders per day. In addition, the M14-SBS bus line, which ferries people down 14th Street, is showing a year-over-year ridership increase of 15 percent.
These increases are being felt on the ground and in offices throughout the neighborhood around Union Square, as average monthly worker visits are up 18 percent over 12 months prior, having reached a post-pandemic high of 444,000, according to the report.
The Union Square area’s growth is being felt in other sectors. Fifty-three new businesses have opened in the area over the past 12 months — 10 more than last year — including 26 new sit-down restaurants, double the amount that opened over the previous year. Union Square’s office availability rate is the lowest in Manhattan at 10.9 percent, according to the report, and hotel room inventory is up 15 percent, due in part to the introduction of the luxury hotel the Twenty Two and the renovation of the W New York.
Julie Stein, executive director of the Union Square Partnership, credits the growth in part to the rise of Union Square as a tech hub.
“The data from the past 12 months represents how Union Square is not only solidifying its role as a major hub for tech and innovation, but is also strengthening its position as a premier destination for hospitality and tourism in New York City,” Stein said in a statement.
Larry Getlen can be reached at lgetlen@commercialobserver.com.
