Earlier we reported that the decidedly low-midmarket Burlington Coat Factory, a leading national off-price retail chain, had announced it would open a new flagship store in the space formerly occupied by Filene’s on 14th St. Two months later, no sign of activity and no word when the store will actually arrive.
University Place already has two high-end ice cream shops, now we get a third. Gentile Gelataria actually has a very long history going way back to the old country.
The New York Times has the details on copper thieves who are systematically stripping the facade of the old Zen Palate on Union Sq. West, which has been vacant for over a year. Is this the beginning of the end?
Here’s the pretty big news about upcoming traffic redesign and new pedestrian areas in and around Union Square:
A plan to reshuffle traffic around Union Square and add a new pedestrian plaza nearby has been given the final green light after months of contentious debate.
Community Board 5 voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Department of Transportation’s plan for the square despite continuing cries from a group of vocal residents who say the changes will only make traffic in the congested neighborhood worse.
The revised plan, which the DOT will begin implementing in the coming months, will restrict traffic to one-way westbound on E. 17th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South.
Broadway will be narrowed to one lane from 17th to 23rd streets, and a new pedestrian plaza will be added to the east side of Broadway between 17th and 18th streets. The exact design of the plaza, including whether or not it will have tables and chairs like Herald Square and Times Square, is still up for debate.
To improve traffic on Park Avenue South, southbound cars will be prohibited from turning left at 18th Street, while northbound cars will be banned from turning left onto 19th and 23rd streets, among other restrictions.
Numerous dedicated turning lanes will also be added, in addition to new protected bike lanes and revised parking schemes.
The DOT’s Ryan Russo said the department hopes the plan will make the stretch more pedestrian-friendly, less chaotic and cut accidents in half.
Nonetheless, a handful of residents continued to complain that they’ve been left out of the decision process and haven’t been given enough time to consider the changes.
“I think this plan is being rushed to the extreme and rammed down neighbors’ throats,” lawyer Milton Meyers, 63, a 20-year resident of 18th Street and Irving Place, told the standing room-only crowd at the CB5 meeting Thursday.
Artist Silvia Kolbowski, who has collected more than 300 neighborhood signatures opposing the plan, accused the DOT of caring less about improving safety than pushing through another pedestrian plaza as part of a larger city plan.
“If the issue was safety at the crossings, then surely this plan is overblown,” said Kolbowski, 56, who has lived on East 18th Street at Park Avenue South for a decade. The plan, she said, will create “nothing but chaos.”
While such opinions were overwhelming when the idea was first presented back in April, opposition has faded as the DOT has made revisions, including dropping an initial plan to completely shut down Broadway to traffic between E. 17th to 18th streets at certain times of the day.
Numerous organizations, including representatives from New York University, the Union Square Green Market, the Union Square Partnership, and Transportation Alternatives have now joined in support of the plan.
“This neighborhood has a chance to have some significant safety improvements that other neighborhoods are clamoring for,” dance instructor, Detta Ahl, 31, who lives in Morningside Heights but frequently cycles in the area, told the audience.
The plan was ultimately adopted on a ‘pilot’ basis, with a provision that the DOT return in three and six months after implementation to report on the results.
In honor of Climate Week, a coalition of scientists and activists reset the digital clock with red numbers seen on the side of a building in Union Square and changed it into a “ClimateClock.” The numbers now count down the years, days, hours, minutes and seconds the Earth has left to take action to stop global warming from going over 1.5°C more than the pre-industrial levels.
According to the organization, who aims to put the countdown clock in cities across the world, the clock’s calculation is based on the world’s current rates of emissions and the amount of CO2 that can still be released into the atmosphere. The clock simply counts down to when the “carbon budget” runs out. If the world manages to lower its emissions, more time will be left on the clock.
The clock is based on the carbon clock made by the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) which uses data from the recent IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, ClimateClock says.
The artists responsible for putting up the clock in Manhattan told the New York Times in an interview that the display will be up until the end of Climate Week, Sept. 27. Artists Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd also told the paper that they created a mobile Climate Clock for Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg last year before her appearance at the UN Climate Action Summit.
With the backdrop of recent wildfires and hurricanes, which scientists say show how climate change is magnifying the extremes in weather, protests for climate action are expected all over the world on Friday.
It looks like our local BID wants to stretch its boundaries as improvements to Union Square and 14th St. continue to be planned.
Dear Board Members, Residents, & Building Staff,
While we are enjoying the nice rain-free weather lately, New York experienced truly little rainfall in October. In fact, it is the second-longest dry spell we have seen in 155 years. This means we are potentially facing water shortages if either the weather does not change and/or we do not cut back on water usage. This past Saturday, Mayor Adams asked city agencies to implement “water savings plans” and suggested that New Yorkers consider cutting back at the tap. While his announcement does not mandate any restrictions on water use, we want to be mindful of the situation. And as we manage hundreds of properties in the five boroughs, we feel it is important to pass along this message. For New Yorkers living in AKAM managed properties interested in doing their part, please consider the following water-saving measures:
In the Bathroom:
In the Laundry Room/ Kitchen:
Outside:
Other: