No More Crane?

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.”

Our students have moved into the dormitory which is on the top eight floors with its own entrance. The first day of classes was August 26th and a new semester is now underway. It is anticipated that the academic portion of the building (first eight floors) will be completed in time for this year’s second semester. We will keep you posted. Some of you can see our green roof which is also an exciting addition.

Next week (September 9 to September 13), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on the academic floors inside the building.

The following week (September 16 to September 20), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on academic floors.

Soon to arrive on University Place: Mimi’s Frozen Yogurt. It’s Australian, and it’s fancy.

Union Square’s BlueWater Grill may be gone as of next fall because the landlord, the same guy who priced Union Square Cafe out of the neighborhood, is at it again.

BobaBox, located in our building, didn’t last too long.

A private middle school partially funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has released renderings of its planned interior — which is slated to open near Union Square this fall.

AltSchool, a private school that uses a technology-driven approach to design individualized lesson plans for students, has started building out its new school at 90 Fifth Ave. on the corner of 14th Street.

The school, which charges about $30,000 tuition per year, revolves around a Montessori-like curriculum and bills itself as a hybrid tech company and education startup. It’s the brainchild of a team of Silicon Valley types with a long history in companies like Google, where AltSchool CEO Max Ventilla worked for more than a decade.

The new space takes up an office-building floor previously occupied by The New School. It will be divided into two main areas — each of which have a classroom and group area space, as well as a larger communal area with a small kitchenette, a lunch area, and amphitheater-style seating.