Latest New School Construction Update

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.

Reps announce that Tortaria, the new Mexican sandwich shop and tequila bar at 94 University place and 12th Street, will open on Monday. The 65-seat space will serve tortas, taquitos, made-to-order guacamole, homemade salsas, hand-pressed tortillas, and a range of margaritas in a space that is the owners’ “reimagined take on the bodega.”

Sad to see Patsy’s Pizzeria leave University Place. For more than 15 years it was the most reliable pizza in the neighborhood. What will take its place?

Have you tried Union Fare yet? From the Times:

First came a cafe that becomes a wine bar in the evening. Stage 2 of this sprawling complex in part of the original Barnes & Noble bookstore is a restaurant. A very long bar opposite high-top tables leads to a dining room that is a study in recycling, decorated in reclaimed wood, with chairs strapped in rubber from discarded tires. There’s a raw bar and a charcuterie station. The chef, Yvan Lemoine, focuses on seasonal American fare. At his side, and supplying the cafe with baked goods, is Thiago Silva. His bakery will be in a food market, opening later, with pizza, burgers, salads, poké and Peruvian rotisserie chicken. 6 East 18th Street, 212-633-6003, unionfare.com.

7:00 AM    Morning Running Club with Paragon Sports (Fitness)
7:00 AM    Boot Camp with Circuit of Change (Fitness)
8:00 AM    Yoga with Jivamukti (Fitness)
10:00 AM  Yoga StoryTime with Karma Kids (Kids)
11:00 AM  Story time with OLIVIA (Kids)
11:15 AM  Barry G with Ramblin’ Davey (Kids)
12:00 PM  New School Jazz (Music)
6:00 PM    Zumba with Sifa (Dance)

It looks like a crepe joint called Vive Le Crepe will open on University near 13th in a former day spa. It joins an upcoming falafel place and the glam Italian place to come on the corner. That’s three chains filling spaces formerly operated by three local businesses. Times change.