Mark your calendars for October 6, when beer drinking comes to Union Square Park at Torch and Crown in the northern plaza.
Here’s an update on Union Square reconstruction:
Work is progressing quickly to repave the 16th Street transverse. Crews are laying a new concrete base to better support the asphalt pavers for this heavily-trafficked portion of the park. Special care is being taken to preserve the root systems of the elm trees that bisect the pathway, and access to the center lawn for the disabled will be part of the final design. Repaving is expected to be completed by Labor Day.
The center and east play areas are also moving along, with equipment installation nearly complete for both sections. The enormous Big Mountain play feature, fabricated by a silo manufacturer on Long Island, was welded together on site last week. The bulk of the remaining work will encompass retaining wall, decorative fence and bench installation, and final landscaping. In other construction news, Pavilion roof waterproofing, flashing and cornice work continues, as does new plaster work on the interior ceiling. Concrete and paver installation on the east plaza was recently finished, and excavation will soon begin on the east sidewalk south of the 16th Street transverse.
More changes are afoot for 14th St. in the coming years. Find out about the potential plans here.
The next place to get expensive sandwiches and drinks will be Pura Vida Miami, which will open its next NYC location at 5th Ave. and 15th St.
Check out Qi on the north side of 14th between 5th and 6th. It’s a Thai restaurant that comes with lots of philosophy about spiritual centeredness and such. You can eat, and you can enrich your spirit, or qi (pronounced “chee”). May be a little bit upscale for this block. We’ll see.
Sal Anthony’s Italian restaurant, which recently took over the space of that unremarkable Mexican spot on East 13th St. (which used to be the original Crunch gym), has closed.
Next week (May 20 to May 24), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors inside the building. We will be working on the new sidewalks around the building and installing new curbs and will be removing the sidewalk shed along 13th st. Additionally we will be working on the roofs of the building.
The following week (May 27 to May 31), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors as well as sidewalk work.
This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, May 18th for interior, roof, and sidewalk activities between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City.