Is Union Sq. Park Getting Druggy Again?

After a New York Post story complaining about druggies in the park, The Village Voice followed up to see if it’s really true. Their conclusion: “The piece smacks of sensationalism, so we have to ask: Is Union Square any worse than any other park in the city? Or is it simply a place we’ve all heard of, and probably been, that can symbolize the outrage? Cops have reportedly made 84 drug-related arrests in and around the park this year. But that’s hardly a return to the bad old edgy days that many of us can’t stop bemoaning the loss of, even if it is worse than recent years.”

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    In response to community concerns about the time in the evening we end our concrete placing, DOB has granted our request to start placing our concrete at 6am, which will allow us to finish this work earlier in the evening. We have 8 more instances like this until we finish our superstructure in early June.

    Therefore next week (April 16 to April 20), Superstructure work will continue at the 13th and 14th floor levels. Wednesday, April 18th, we will have an identical pour with a 6 am start time and similar end time, weather permitting. 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 (April 23 to April 27), we will continue superstructure concrete and slabs on the 15th and 16th floor levels. 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.

    This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, April 14st 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.

    In addition to the normal work on the job site, the 14th St. Con Ed Vault utility connection street work will continue per DOT Permit granted for weekends only.

  • Lastest New School Construction Update

    Next week (November 14 to November 18), DOT approved street connections to underground utilities on Fifth Avenue and 13th street will continue. Superstructure work will continue at cellar, 1st, and 2nd floor levels. A street crane will be moved into position early on Wednesday the 11/16 on 13th street to place structural steel in the building and should be out by the end of the day, weather pending.

    The following week (November 21 to November 25), we will continue superstructure concrete and slabs. Street utility connection work will continue. Sidewalk sheds will continue being erected around the perimeter of the site. The project will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, 11/24, and open for work on 11/25.

    This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, November 12th for superstructure related activities between the work hours of 9AM and 5PM as permitted by the City. To control noise levels within the site, work activities will be limited to the placement of formwork, plumbing and electrical work, rebar for concrete placement and use of 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.

  • Latest New School Construction Update

    Next week (July 9 to July 13), Mechanical equipment and work will continue at the 17th and 18th floor levels. Curtain wall will continue to be installed on the building. 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 (July 16 to July 20), we will be working on the machine room levels on the 17th and 18th floors. Curtain wall will continue to be installed on the building. 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.

    This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, July 7th for superstructure activities as well as the demobilization of the crane from the site. In order to facilitate this effort we will be closing 13th street for the day to pedestrian and automotive traffic. Site work will begin at 6AM as permitted by the City. To control noise levels within the site, work activities will be limited to working on the mechanical systems of the building and using the crane and equipment to support 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.

  • Too Close for Comfort

    The New York Post reports this robbery just one block away:

    A woman who left her Union Square apartment to check in on a 102-year-old neighbor returned to find a well-dressed burglar grabbing $50,000 worth of her jewelry, cops said yesterday.

    The thief — decked out in a black suit and tie — had sneaked into an apartment building on University Place at 3 p.m. Monday and was prowling around for an unlocked door when he hit the jackpot at Linda Kaplan’s home, sources said.

    As the thief was stashing bling in a canvas bag, Kaplan, 76, walked in.

    She demanded to know what he was doing, and he responded, “I’m with the Fire Department,” according to cops.

    When Kaplan demanded to see ID, the 6-foot-2 bandit threw her down.

    “He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me to the ground,” Kaplan said. “I grabbed his legs. I tried to stop him from leaving.

    “Once he knocked me down, I started screaming for help.”

    Among those who ran to her aid was a painter working in an apartment upstairs. Minutes earlier, the thief had poked his head in that unit but fled when he saw the worker.

    Cops said the bandit operated like an “office creeper,” a well-dressed thief who looks for laptop computers or purses at unoccupied office desks.