“Love Armor”, a nationwide collaborative art project, will be on exhibition at the Brenda Taylor Gallery, 511 W. 25th St., NYC from May 14 until June 30th.
The Opening Reception is on Thursday, May 14th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. I would love to greet my neighbors there that evening. All are welcome!
One great way to enjoy dining discounts all around town: Blackboard Eats. Sign up for free and you get occasional e-mails offering 30% off your *total* bill. No strings attached. It’s a great deal and a great way to try new places. Here in this neighborhood, Fredi Sandwich Shop and Low Country have been prior participants.
Here’s a fascinating history of our very close neighbor.
We’ve had Thai restaurants as downstairs neighbors before, and now a new one may be coming to replace Corkbuzz at 13 East 13th. A liquor license application has been filed by Varith, a “family-run” Thai restaurant that has a highly regarded sister operation called Valla Table in Hell’s Kitchen run by Chuck Valla, who was a private chef prior to opening this first place in 2021. Looks good.
According to this NY Times story:
The city’s Department of Transportation has declared its pedestrian plaza on the north side of Union Square, the fourth such major street revamping along Broadway, an out-and-out success, despite some early qualms from residents.
The redesign, implemented about a year ago, banned most cars from the block of Broadway north of Union Square, between 17th and 18th Streets, and closed a traffic lane on Union Square North. Tables and chairs were placed on the closed-off areas, and the neighborhood’s green market was able to expand.
The idea was to simplify a particularly tricky intersection where a confusing jumble of traffic signals and two-directional car lanes had resulted in a string of pedestrian injuries.
But the plan initially met stiff opposition from residents and businesses in the area, who complained about traffic jams on residential streets and problems for delivery trucks. A raucous community board meeting resulted in outcry and a mass walkout from protesters.
One year later, the city’s traffic engineers say that the improvements, for cars and pedestrians alike, have been palpable. (Here’s a pdf link to the report.) And no businesses or store managers appear to have registered complaints with local officials.
Radar samples found that about 12 percent of cars on Broadway between 20th and 19th Streets were now exceeding the 30 mile-per-hour speed limit, down from 28 percent of cars before the changes. Pedestrians can navigate a shorter crosswalk at the north end of Union Square, and they are waiting a shorter time for a “walk” signal.
Bicycle riders, who benefited from an additional protected lane along East 17th Street, also appear to be enjoying the changes: the agency found a 16 percent jump in cyclists in the area on weekdays, and a 33 percent increase on weekends.
Still, automobile drivers now appear to be avoiding the stretch of Broadway south of Madison Square, where the street was reduced to a single lane of car traffic and the direct car connection through Union Square was severed.
The number of cars traveling on that stretch has dropped by about half since the plaza was installed, the report said. Some of those drivers may be choosing to take Fifth Avenue or Park Avenue South for southbound trips through the area, slightly slowing those routes. The average speed of taxis along Fifth Avenue fell slightly after the plaza was installed, and southbound trips on Park Avenue South took longer.
But the Transportation Department noted that average speed along West 18th Street, where residents were most fearful of jam-ups, rose by about 14 percent, to 7 m.p.h. from 6 m.p.h. And average speeds on Park Avenue South stayed relatively unchanged.
The Union Square Partnership, the neighborhood’s economic development group, conducted a door-to-door survey of area businesses, and 60 percent of those who responded said they were happy with the new traffic configuration. About 35 percent had no opinion.
Still to be determined: some illegal left turns at the always-dangerous perpendicular intersection of Union Square West and 14th Street. (Initially, the agency had hoped to close off parts of Union Square West entirely, but some businesses objected.) The city said it was working on new street adjustments to tackle the problem.
Next week (July 1 to July 5), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors inside the building. We will be working on the new sidewalk around the building on 13th st. Additionally we will be working on the roofs of the building. There will be no work on July 4th holiday.
The following week (July 8 to July 12), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors as well as sidewalk work.
The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation reports:
At a meeting for affected property owners last night, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unveiled two small study areas for potential proposed historic districts in the East Village — one on Tompkins Square North and one centered along Second Avenue between Houston St. and St. Marks. This is a preliminary step in their consideration of these districts; the next step will be a public presentation and hearing before Community Board #3’s Landmarks Subcommittee on Thursday, May 12 at 6 pm at BRC, 30 Delancey Street, btw. Chrystie and Forsyth Streets.