Beer Garden Returns

Next week (January 9 to January 13), Superstructure work will continue at and 2nd , 3rd and 4th floor levels. The sidewalk shed along 14th Street has been opened and we will begin working on the side walk shed along 5th ave.

The following week (January 16 to January 20), we will continue superstructure concrete and slabs on 2nd , 3rd and 4th floor levels. The weekend of Saturday 1/14/12 we will be installing a new crane that will service the site for the duration of the job.

This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, January 7th, 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.

Communication network City24/7 launched its first “SmartScreens” booths today at ten locations around Union Square. The 32-inch touch screens are affixed to phone booths, and provide users with location-based local news, transit updates, current events, and entertainment listings like restaurants and shops for free. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the system is also providing information on volunteer opportunities. Over the next few months, a total of 250 screens will be installed throughout the city. The ATM-strength screens can withstand extreme weather, and they include back-up batteries if power is lost. City24/7 is responsible for the installation and upkeep for the booths, which also have free wifi.

Partea, an arcade with bubble tea and fried chicken sandwiches, opened in Flushing, Queens back in September 2020. Now, the team has expanded across the water to Manhattan, with a new outpost at 220 E. 14th Street, near Third Avenue, in Union Square. Like in Queens, certain meal combos come with “surprise” plushie toys, and there’s a snack menu to pick from that includes Taiwanese sausages, cuttlefish balls, and spicy wings. The Union Square location is currently open, and a grand opening party is planned for August 18. Meanwhile, the team is already plotting a west coast expansion, with Parteas planned for West Covina and Little Tokyo, in Los Angeles. Partea Union Square will stay open most nights until 11 p.m.

Here are the details.

Something has gone wrong in Union Square Park this summer. Complaints about illegal behavior, drug use, and vagrancy have led to a 320% increase in police citations. Now the police are patrolling much mor aggressively, as are hired security teams from the Union Square BID.