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Parks & Recreation, the Union Square Partnership and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has unveiled a brand new fountain at the dog run in Union Square Park. The ASPCA donated $30,000 to the Union Square Partnership for the creation, installation, and future maintenance of the fountain, which can be used by both dogs and their owners. Drink up.
A major renovation is coming to the former Tammany Hall headquarters in Union Square where owners want to put a new glass dome over the landmarked building and demolish a theater to make way for retail and office space, the project’s architects said.
The historic structure at 44 Union Square East, built in 1929 to house the Democratic Party machine, will undergo a major overhaul that will restore the facade, gut the existing theater and add windows and glassier storefronts, according to BKSK Architects which is designing the project.
The most striking change will be a new 30-foot glass dome on top of the building, which will add about 27,000 square feet to the structure and will house office space, according to Harry Kendall, a partner at BKSK.
“Our effort is…to make it a more distinctive destination and presence on Union Square,” Kendall said. “We think we can make this building into something it never was.”
After hearing a presentation about the proposal this week, Community Board 5’s Landmarks Committee voted unanimously to reject it, saying the changes would be too drastic for an historic building that was just landmarked last year.
“While I like the way it looks — can you put something like this on a landmarked building?” said Edward Klimerman, a committee member. “It turns it into a different building.”
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as a landmark in June 2013, noting its references to early American architecture, including Colonial columns out front. The building’s design drew inspiration from the original Federal Hall in Lower Manhattan, where George Washington took his first oath of office.
From Eater.com:
The big former space of iconic Union Square diner the Coffee Shop will soon be split into four new retail spaces — three of which will be reserved for new restaurants, according to the property manager.
No leases have been signed yet, writes Eric Gural, executive managing director of Newmark Knight Frank, who would not comment on rumors that Chase Bank is a potential option to take over the space. Another source associated with the property confirmed that Chase Bank is in talks to take over the non-restaurant space, though he also said it is not final.
Brazilian-ish restaurant Coffee Shop, known for its fashionable staff and cultural gravitas via appearances on shows like Sex and the City, closed earlier this month after nearly 30 years at the corner of 16th Street and Union Square West. It was a trailblazer when it opened in 1990 and became a popular spot for celebrities, tourists, and locals seeking a place near the transit hub, particularly because its huge neon sign made it an easy landmark.
Owners said this summer that the restaurant had to close in part due to high rents, but Gural notes that there is still time on the restaurant lease, contesting that the departure was because of a rent hike.
Number one advocate of old New York Jeremiah Moss first posted the rumor that Chase Bank might replace Coffee Shop, calling it “yet another example of New York City soul snatching.” Besides the new tenancy, a tipster told him that the Coffee Shop sign might be redone to say “Chase”; Gural did not comment on this rumor. Incidentally, the tenant before Coffee Shop was an actual coffee shop called Chase, and Coffee Shop got its name from Chase’s neon sign, which it kept
Next week (April 1 to April 5), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors inside the building as well as roof work. We will be work on the new sidewalks around the building as well.
The following week (April 8 to April 12), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors and roofs as well as sidewalk work. By then end of this week we plan to have the rest of the sidewalk on 14th street complete. Additionally we plan to begin removing the sidewalk shed along 5th ave.
This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, March 30th for interior, superstructure, sidewalk, and hoist removal related activities between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City.
Next week (October 31 to November 4), Contractors will finish excavating and loading out material. Concrete foundation walls and slab on grade work will conclude as well as underground electrical and plumbing work. DOT approved street connections to underground utilities on Fifth Avenue will progress. Superstructure work will continue at cellar, 1st, and 2nd floor levels.
The following week (November 7 to November 11), we will continue superstructure concrete and slabs. Street utility connection work will continue. A sidewalk shed will be erected around the perimeter of the site, subject to DOB approval, to protect pedestrians from superstructure work.
This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, October 29 for foundation and 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, waterproofing and rebar for concrete placement and use of the crane and equipment to support all activities. We may pour a section of slab on grade concrete on Saturday. There will be no rock excavation or rock chopping.