Union Square, 1898

The Strand has evicted the two dozen homeless teens who were camping out overnight on its sidewalk by installing a sprinkler system that soaks the sidewalk all night long. Evil genius!

The lastest neighborhood store to shutter is Environment 33, the high-end home furnishings boutique on University at 10th. Seems like it was a bad time, economically speaking. to be in the business of selling expensive knicknacks.

It looks like our local BID wants to stretch its boundaries as improvements to Union Square and 14th St. continue to be planned.

With the forthcoming 15-month L train shutdown edging closer, the MTA and the city’s Department of Transportation have decided to convert Manhattan’s 14th Street into a busway three months ahead of the April 2019 shutdown.

The two agencies will launch the M14 Select Bus Service on January 6, 2019, in hopes that riders will give it a test-run before the actual shutdown begins. “By implementing the M14 SBS months before we start the L train tunnel repairs, we hope that customers will take the opportunity to try our buses and see how the 14th Street busway can factor into their commutes once we start work fixing the L train tunnel,” said New York City Transit President Andy Byford.

Between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m., 14th Street between Ninth and Third avenues eastbound and Third and Eighth Avenues westbound will be restricted to bus traffic only. The new SBS route will complement the current M14A and M14D buses and combined, the three routes will be able to handle roughly 84,000 passengers per day, notes amNY.

The SBS route will start off with five stops between First and Tenth avenues that match up with subway transfer points and will run every two minutes during morning and evening rush hours. After its initial launch, the SBS route will be extended east to the planned Stuyvesant Cove ferry terminal on the East River to accommodate ferry customers from Brooklyn. This is expected to happen shortly before the beginning on the shutdown.

Next week (January 30 to February 3), Superstructure work will continue at and 3rd, 4th and 5th floor levels.

The following week (February 6 to February 10), we will continue superstructure concrete and slabs on 4th and 5th floor levels.

This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, January 28th 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 this Saturday we will be disassembling the small crane and removing it from the site. During the demobilization 13th St. will be closed as well as some lanes on 5th Ave. Pedestrian traffic will also be temporarily closed on the east side of 5th ave. for safety.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns or questions. Thank you

Jane R. Crotty
Senior Vice President
George Arzt Communications, Inc.
123 William Street, 22nd Fl.
New York, NY 10038
T (212) 608-0333