Brace yourselves for a pivotal year ahead. And these 52 things in the neighborhood that are coming soon to a corner near you.

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A CROP OF NEW RESTAURANTS
Restaurants take a long time to gestate, so some of these were on last year’s “Reasons to Be Excited” list: the Japanese bar Icca at 20 Warren; the huge Sant Ambroeus at Brookfield Place; Market Lane, a food hall at the World Trade Center mall; and Buddha Bar in the old Megu, which will split the space with Assunta Roma.  Also Farra, a wine bar related to (and a few blocks down from) Atera; Torishin yakitori restaurant in the former Tribeca Treats shop  and Torch & Crown brewpub up on Vandam. The World Trade Center mall has a bunch of new outlets on the way for 2020: Sushi by Pescatore, grab-and-go sushi; Godiva Café, savory treats and distinctive creations from coffee drinks to chocolate classics; Taco Dumbo, the taqueria and cold-pressed juice margarita bar; Special Bowl, the newest food concept store created by Enoubowl, serving traditional Chinese cuisine; Sweetcatch Poke, authentic Hawaiian flavors; and Devon & Blakely, the second location at Westfield WTC in the South Concourse for grab-and-go sandwiches, made-to-order salads and a gourmet soups. Then there’s Paisley in the old Dylan Prime spot; Tiger Tiger in the former Nobu spot (which got kicked out of the old Bouley space by the upstairs neighbors); Alamo Drafthouse and Press Room at Fosun’s Plaza; the new restaurant TK in the Walker Hotel; Tacombi in Fidi; Mezcali on Maiden Lane; a new restaurant from Marc Forgione at the Brushstroke space; the giant food hall coming to 28 Liberty. And let’s not forget the expansion of Laughing Man into the space next door, the return of Thai Sliders to Fidi, the new Greek restaurant coming to the former North End Grill space from the owners of Harry’s Italian and finally, the new J&R Music Lounge by City Winery from Michael Dorf. And while no one is happy to see Ecco! go after 36+ years, in its place this spring will be a version of the Village stalwart, The Grey Dog.

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AND NEW WAYS TO WORK THAT FOOD OFF
We saw a ton of new fitness options open in 2018 — Nova Fitness, Rumble Boxing, Solidcore, The Ness, Reform Club, Outer Reach, SquashRx — but I can only think of one new one on the horizon: Shock Therapy in the bank building at 415 Broadway at Canal. But if recent history is a reliable guide, there will be others.

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THE AGE OF THE PRIVATE CLUB
First came The Wonder, a private hangs-space for families. Then there was the Nexus Club, the first in a future series of celebrity-owned private urban social clubs. On the horizon: Highcourt, a social and fitness club in more of a mid-price range aimed at the millennials with fitness studios, a restaurant and lecture series. It will occupy an entire building on Broadway south of Walker.

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SHOPPING
The game-changer for FiDi is the Whole Foods at 1 Wall Street, which is still on the horizon. The biggest change in shopping seems to have come from the age of the pop-up, and what I will call the Tribeca Design District, with the opening of Orior, Maker&Son and Egg Collective. Hard to say what will arrive next, but there are some prime retail spaces available…

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NEW BUILDINGS TO BE UNVEILED
The finishing touches are being put on 100 Franklin and 30 Warren (above). The curtain wall is nearly finished on 45 Park Place and 25 Park Row. Then there’s the cluster of new boutique hotels that are currently still holes in the ground or not even dug yet: 86 Warren, 21 Park Place, 456 Greenwich, 110-112 Liberty. The last of the old J&R buildings — 1 Park Row — started demolition last month. And don’t forget the ongoing saga at 11 Hubert and the recently resolved saga at Church and Lispenard.

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CULTURE HIGH AND LOW
Anish Kapoor’s silver blob is coming together bit by bit at 56 Leonard. There are 44 pieces in total and it should take a couple more months to finish.  The Tribeca Gallery District had several newcomers this year: just opened (and that I have yet to cover) Artists Space and Andrew Kreps Gallery and soon-to-arrive PPOW. The Alamo Drafthouse cineplex is still coming — it was supposed to open in 2019. And way off on the horizon is the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center….

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SEAPORT DISTRICT
The Pier 17 mall and the Seaport District are starting to gel. Open since summer: McNally Jackson bookstore (and bar!), Momofuku Group’s Bar Wayo, Malibu Farm, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s seafood extravaganza called The Fulton. Still to come: a venue from Andrew Carmellini (of Locanda Verde and Little Park) and the completion of the Tin Building (in 2021), the former fish market that is scheduled to have a huge seafood-themed marketplace that will also be run by Vongerichten.

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BOGARDUS PLAZA
It seems like it will never be finished, but the latest from the DoT, the agency building the plaza, is that the revamped Bogardus Plaza is aiming for a spring 2020 opening. Here’s hoping.

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HUDSON RIVER PARK UPDATES
Construction of Pier 26 is moving along, with much of the in-water work finished and the top of the pier moving forward quickly, scheduled to open this summer. (Post to come soon.) The estuarium and the playground for the upland area are in limbo for now. The Hudson River Park Trust is also replacing the ballfields at Pier 40 as of this moment.

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