Sad news from University Place, where the University Diner, one of the last of its kind, is closing today. One can only wonder what will appear in its place, not to mention what will appear at the corner of University and 13th and the corner of Broadway and 14th. The malling of the neighborhood continues.
The great kitchen store Broadway Panhandler on East 8th St. will be closing this spring. Too bad because the store has a long history in the city going back to its original location on Broome Street in Soho. Watch for closing sales.
The retail retreat continues, with the departure of Bolton’s from the corner of Union Square and University. This is a high-traffic area. It’ll be interesting to see what comes next.
The USP says: “We want to hear from you! Our 2025 Community Opinion Survey is now live. Share your feedback, ideas, and opinions to help shape the future of the Union Square-14th Street District. Your responses help us understand the community’s priorities and how we can better serve you. The survey closes 5:00 PM on Thursday, September 18th, 2025 — take it today!”
Next week (June 4 to June 5), Superstructure work will continue at the 18th floor level. The superstructure concrete work will be completed on the building buy the end of the month. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic.
The following week (June 11 to June 15), we will be working on the machine room levels on the 18th floor. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic. The crane on site will be demobilized and removed from site at the end of June.
This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, June 2nd for superstructure related activities between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City. To control noise levels within the site, work activities will be limited to the placement of formwork and concrete, plumbing and electrical work, rebar for concrete placement, using the crane and equipment to support all activities. Safety horns are used, and required by law, to coordinate lifting with the crane and to alert the workers of the danger overhead. We have directed the operators to limit the use of horns to one short sounding and to use the crane later in the day so as to avoid any excess noise.
A Queens man is hoping to turn sleeping on the streets into big bucks for the homeless.
Yusef Ramelize, a 33-year-old graphic designer, will leave his Ozone Park apartment Sunday and take up residence in Union Square Park. He won’t shower and he won’t have shelter during his “Homeless for One Week” project.
“My reasoning for doing this is to inspire people to make sacrifices within their own lives,” Ramelize said of his project, now in its second year.
He raised $3,635 in March 2009 and donated it to the Coalition for the Homeless. This year’s beneficiary will be the Food Bank of New York.
Ramelize will hand out flyers and keep a videotaped diary of his experiences in order to help elicit donations on his website, homelessforoneweek.com.
“It’s really about me pushing myself to see how much of a sacrifice I’m willing to make every year to get the word out,” Ramelize said.
Ramelize chose Union Square to pay homage to his biggest inspiration, Mohandas Gandhi, who is immortalized with a statue on the west side of the park.
“That’s one of the reasons I did it here,” Ramelize admits. “He wanted to bring peace around him, and he was willing to sacrifice his life.”
As if braving the elements for seven days wasn’t enough, the slender Ramelize will also be fasting from sunrise to sunset for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The sausage spot on University between 12th and 13th is about to become Bambootori, a Japanese yakitori joint.