Snow Removal, 14th St. at Union Square, 1908

TGI Fridays signage is now up on Union Square East.

Amazingly enough in these tough times, work is going ahead on the construction of ten floors of luxury duplex condos on the corner of 5th Ave. and 13th St, where the burned out deli once stood. To read more about the history of this spot, click here.

An urban planner who has been looking around for ways to make the city more pedestrian-friendly (and to open up more space for protesting) wrote “Union Square could be greatly enhanced by following through on a 2010 plan to pedestrianize Union Square West. Also pedestrianizing University Place would be a bold step that could link Union Square and Washington Square Park, merging two vital public spaces into a permanent platform for open expression.”

That would certainly change the neighborhood.

Next week (January 21 to January 25), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors inside the building as well as roof work. Additionally we will begin work on the new sidewalks around the building. The site will be closed for the holiday on Monday, the 21st.

The following week (January 28 to February 1), Material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors and roofs as well as sidewalk work.

This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, January 19th for interior and superstructure related activities between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City.

Ikea opens in Red Hook on June 18 and promoted that fact with pop-up apartment in Union Square. How do you feel about promotions such as this that sometimes take over the south end of the park. Do these advertisers pay for the privilege? And if so, who gets the money?

Looking east from across 5th Avenue down 13th St. All those lovely buildings are now the gaping pit of the New School construction site.