Steve Cuozzo

6 days ago | nypost.com | Steve Cuozzo

The next unwelcome upheaval coming to Manhattan’s streets has nothing to do with congestion pricing. The Department of Transportation’s latest strike against motorists is a “proposal” to turn 34th Street, from Third Avenue to Ninth Avenue, into a “busway.”There are quotation marks around “proposal” because the scheme is certain to be a done deal by August. The DOT always gets its way, never mind a rubber-stamp City Hall review.

1 week ago | nypost.com | Steve Cuozzo

Booted Bryant Park Grill operator Michael Weinstein accused the nonprofit that manages the New York City park of age discrimination for dumping him in favor of famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, according to a new court filing. Weinstein’s Ark Restaurants has leased the handsome, glass-enclosed grill for 30 years from the Bryant Park Corporation. With $25 million in annual revenue, it’s one of the nation’s highest-grossing eateries.

1 week ago | nypost.com | Steve Cuozzo

Midtown has its pre-pandemic swagger back — and People’s Exhibit No. 1 is Santi (11 E. 53d St.), the buzzing new modern-Italian restaurant from celebrated chef Michael White. Its nexus of corporate power, great pasta and fun people-watching make it the area’s hottest scene since White’s Marea opened in prehistoric 2009. After splitting with the Altamarea group in 2021 due to disagreements over the company’s direction, White has spent most of his time launching new venues in Florida.

1 week ago | nypost.com | Steve Cuozzo

Fast-casual food spots are fast conquering Midtown to fill long-empty storefronts — buoyed by more office workers returning to their desks five days a week. The boom includes not only familiar names such as Pret a Manger and Sweetgreen, but also brands new to New York. “Coming soon” signs just went up in the windows of 40 W. 53rd St. for Farmer J, a UK-based, health-focused chain with 11 locations in London and expanding to the U.S. for the first time.

2 weeks ago | nypost.com | Steve Cuozzo

A tax credit viewed as crucial to saving Downtown was renewed, and a new incentive to lure companies to the Big Apple from out of state established for the first time, in a down-to-the wire vote by the state Senate late Wednesday. The cliffhanger extension of the state’s Relocation Employment Assistance Programs, known as REAP and LM-REAP, came despite opposition by lawmakers who regarded them as needless giveaways by the city.