Union Square has been experiencing some of the same suburbanization that’s been happening in other Manhattan neighborhoods: there’s a DSW, Filene’s Basement, Staples, Nordstrom Rack, Best Buy, and even a TGI Fridays. You could practically be in a mall in Connecticut, if it weren’t for the occasional heroin addict nodding off on a park bench.

There’s a new corporate presence coming to Union Square, taking over the space vacated by Tower Records, and in an effort to create “buzz” about the opening, the owners have put up a countdown clock on the construction site:

Wow, you say. What’s opening in just 28 days, 9 hours, 21 minutes, and a few seconds? I can’t wait, you say. Is it a Barney’s? A fabulous department store like Marks & Spencer, or an outpost of Bon Marche?

Well, no. It’s a CitiBank.

I know. You’re excited too. Shall I meet you there on opening day?