Powerful women reshape the landscape
At a time when six women have already declared
their candidacy for president of the United
States in 2020 and Congress boasts a record
number of female representatives, it’s undeniably the
year of the woman. Locally, nowhere is this more true
than in Union Square.
From destination retailers and cutting-edge Off-
Broadway theaters, to small businesses and large city
enterprises, women are in positions of power and are
dramatically changing the landscape of the Union
Square-14th St. community. One only needs to walk
through the bustling neighborhood to experience an
urban success story. Thanks to numerous projects
spearheaded by women, the future is bright.
“A dynamic group of women is driving the positive
change in our community on virtually every level,” said
Jennifer E. Falk, executive director of the Union Square
Partnership, herself a leading woman in the district.
“Women work together to get things done.”
Since 2007, Falk has led successful efforts to transform
and modernize the district, including not only
championing the visionary $20 million renovation of
Union Square Park’s north end, but also mapping out a
sustainable future for the vital commercial, residential
and transportation hub. Falk effortlessly recounts the
contributions of a long list of women to the growth and
dynamism that defi ne the area today.
Lori and Susan Buchbinder, co-principals of Buchbinder
& Warren, at 1 Union Square West, a real
estate brokerage and management company, took over
the business co-founded by their father, Norman Buchbinder,
after his death in 2007. An area pioneer who
helped found USP, he instilled in his daughters a commitment
to the community. Each year they present the
Norman Buchbinder Community Leadership Award to
someone who exemplifi es his passion, community leadership
and vision for change.
“Union Square is very much a part of our DNA and
the Union Square Partnership is an extended family to
us,” Lori Buchbinder said. “It’s made us a destination
for New Yorkers and visitors. We have retail tenants and
employees and offi ce tenants who want to visit Union
Square. That’s why we are very active in the Partnership
— we know the importance of collaboration.”
Women are at the forefront of Union Square’s rich
cultural scene. Tony Award-winning producer Daryl
Roth has been bringing groundbreaking theater productions
to the Off-Broadway Daryl Roth Theatre, at
101 E. 15th St., since 1996. Women’s issues are in the
spotlight this year with “Gloria: A Life,” a play about
the life of women’s-rights activist Gloria Steinem,
which ended in March, and “Accidentally Brave,” a
one-woman play now running about a wife’s efforts to
cope with stunning news about her husband.
Suzanne Appel, a USP board member, joined the
Vineyard Theater, at 108 E. 15th St., in 2017 and is
bringing new perspective to the Off-Broadway theater.
Her counterpart, Toni Marie Davis, chief operating offi
cer/general manager of the Classic Stage Company,
at 131 E. 13th St., is in the running for a 2019 Drama
League Award for the theater’s revival of the musical
“Carmen Jones.” This season she’s bringing “Macbeth”
and Stephen Sondheim’s “Assassins” to the stage.
Another district cultural draw, The Strand Book
Store, at Broadway and E. 12th St., is owned by Nancy
Bass Wyden, who has run the literary destination since
2017. Visitors spend hours at The Strand browsing
through books old and new, people watching and attending
As Rosemary Paparo spoke, Lori Buchbinder, listened, second from right, at the dedication of
Norman Buchbinder Way. Lori and her sister Susan are co-principals of the real estate company
founded by their father, while Paparo is its director of management. Also at the event was
Councilmember Margaret Chin, fourth from right.
events in the store’s Rare Book Room, featuring
conversations with cultural icons and new literary
talents.
Women are also adding their culinary passion and
expertise to the district’s vibrant food scene. Katherine
Moore, general sales manager of USQ Wine &
Spirits, at 140 Fourth Ave., and a USP board member,
brings years of knowledge to her work selling a wellcurated
list of wines in the store’s relaxed atmosphere
and has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years. Like
The Strand, the store holds special events and tastings
that give visitors from around the city another reason
to spend time here.
“I’ve watched the transformation from a neighborhood
dark and deserted by 6 p.m. to a vibrant destination
neighborhood populated by a multigenerational
bevy of shoppers, diners and energetic participants in
programmed activities,” Moore said. “The evolution of
sanitation services and public-safety coordination with
law enforcement provided by the Union Square Partnership
are the prime reasons for this new status.”
As executive director of the 14th Street Y, Rabbi Shira
Koch Epstein has been a leading voice in the district
for the past fi ve years. She brings an expansive array of
inclusive cultural and educational programming to the
community, from preschool classes to fi tness programs
for seniors, and is leading an effort to develop a new
and improved facility for the vital community center
to call home.
Jessica Lawrence Quinn, who has more than a decade
of management experience in New York’s growing
technology sector, joined Civic Hall, a nonprofi t
focused on advancing the use of technology for public
good, in 2017. As chief operating offi cer, she is on the
frontlines of one of Union Square’s most ambitious
projects, the cutting-edge Union Square Tech Center
a.k.a. “Tech Hub,” coming to 124 E. 14th St. Civic Hall
will be the anchor tenant, with a large-scale digital
training center, conference space and extensive community
programming.
Frances A. Resheske, senior vice president of corporate
affairs at Con Edison, headquartered at 4 Irving
Place, is continuing the legacy of Charles Luce, founding
chairman of USP, and carrying on the tradition of
working to bring community and private resources together
to maintain and enhance the neighborhood.
COURTESY UNION SQUARE PARTNERSHIP
“The neighborhood is welcoming and fi lled with cultural
opportunities and terrifi c businesses, and much
of it is due to the tireless work of the Partnership,”
Resheske said. “Con Edison has been proud to call
Union Square the home of our headquarters, and we
remain very committed to seeing the community grow
and fl ourish.”
With her fi rst year behind her representing District
2 on the New York City Council, Carlina Rivera is constantly
out in the Union Square neighborhood and “her
energy level hasn’t let up,” said USP’s Falk. Rivera, who
is co-chairperson of the Council’s Women’s Caucus,
led the district’s fi rst inclusion in the Council’s participatory
budgeting process to determine which community
projects the Council would fund with a $1 million
allocation for capital spending. She kicked off the effort
on Union Square’s South Plaza.
Lynne P. Brown, president and co-chairperson of
USP’s board, is senior vice president for university relations
and public affairs at New York University, and
uses her extensive experience as a nonprofi t leader to
help drive USP’s community-building activities.
“I fi rst traveled from Washington Square to Union
Square in the mid-1990s to learn more about this
neighborhood to the north to see if it would be a good
location for some of N.Y.U.’s facilities, including dorms
and offi ces,” Brown said. “The rest is history, as they
say, and 25 years later, Union Square has transformed
into one of the most vibrant, energetic — and delicious
— destinations. It is the best place in the city to buy
food, eat, exercise, shop and, of course, see young people.
N.Y.U. alone now has thousands of students living
in and enjoying the neighborhood. Union Square was a
game-changer for N.Y.U., and we are excited to be part
of its exciting future.”
Rosemary Paparo, Buchbinder & Warren’s director
of management, whose team of account executives
manage more than 100 Manhattan properties, joined
the company in 1977 and lives and works in the neighborhood.
She said the fact that women are succeeding
in the Union Square community is no surprise.
“Lori and Susan Buchbinder and I were brought
up the same way,” she said. “We were raised not to
question the fact that we could carry on and excel as
well as any man. There was never a question that we
would be held back.”
20 May 2, 2019 TVG Schneps Media