Curbed readers ask, Curbed readers answer. Want to be on either end? Your hookup is tips@curbed.com.
1) Tribeca-ish: "The large ground floor retail spaces on either side of the entrance of One Hudson Square [aka 75 Varick Street and pictured right] had for rent signs for as long as I can remember. Last week I saw they had been built out with plywood as if construction was going on inside. Please tell me it won't be another bank branch!"
2) Greenwich Village "Does anyone know what is happening on University Place to the former 'Wholesome Market' space? First they were doing some monster demolition, and now they are re-glazing the retail portion of the building. Is this to entice prospective tenants, or do they actually have a lease signed? With the new rugby store finally open, and the lemongrass across the street vacant, this block looks to change drastically in just a few months."
3) Harlem: "I know y'all tend to focus on the world below 14th Street, but there's some major construction projects going on here in Harlem World. [Okay, never heard of this place, but continue. -ed.] The one I'm really mystified about is on the corner of 5th Avenue and 120th, right across from Marcus Garvey Park. It's massive, block-long space adjacent to the Bethel Gospel Assembly. Used to be a parking lot where the church parked its buses, but now it's all boarded up and they've dug a MONSTER hole--obviously to lay a foundation of some sort. The posted permits, alas, don't say jack."