Fashion Night Out: September 10

In response to community concerns about the time in the evening we end our concrete placing, DOB has granted our request to start placing our concrete at 6am, which will allow us to finish this work earlier in the evening. We have 10 more instances like this until we finish our superstructure in early June.

Therefore next week (April 2 to April 6), Superstructure work will continue at the 9th and 10th floor levels. Wednesday, April 4th, we will have an identical pour with a 6 am start time and similar end time, weather permitting. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic.

The following week (April 9 to April 13), we will continue superstructure concrete and slabs on the 10th and 11th floor levels. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic.

This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, March 31st 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 on the job site, the 14th St. Con Ed Vault utility connection street work will continue per DOT Permit granted for weekends only.

Brit chain Pret A Manger had moved into the former Tisserie space at 857 Broadway (at 17th Street), and now comes official word that when it opens for a test run this Friday, it will give away 3,000 free sandwiches starting at 12:15 p.m. — provided you snag one of the flyers that will be given away at the Union Square subway entrances between 8 a.m. and 9:25 a.m. that morning. Pret is calling this the “Guinea Pig Day” for what will be their U.S. flagship (the store features a fresh design and free Wi-Fi), but for better or worse, cuy won’t be served — instead, Pret is sourcing food directly from Greenmarket vendors. The location opens fully on June 22.

A Queens man is hoping to turn sleeping on the streets into big bucks for the homeless.

Yusef Ramelize, a 33-year-old graphic designer, will leave his Ozone Park apartment Sunday and take up residence in Union Square Park. He won’t shower and he won’t have shelter during his “Homeless for One Week” project.

“My reasoning for doing this is to inspire people to make sacrifices within their own lives,” Ramelize said of his project, now in its second year.

He raised $3,635 in March 2009 and donated it to the Coalition for the Homeless. This year’s beneficiary will be the Food Bank of New York.

Ramelize will hand out flyers and keep a videotaped diary of his experiences in order to help elicit donations on his website, homelessforoneweek.com.

“It’s really about me pushing myself to see how much of a sacrifice I’m willing to make every year to get the word out,” Ramelize said.

Ramelize chose Union Square to pay homage to his biggest inspiration, Mohandas Gandhi, who is immortalized with a statue on the west side of the park.

“That’s one of the reasons I did it here,” Ramelize admits. “He wanted to bring peace around him, and he was willing to sacrifice his life.”

As if braving the elements for seven days wasn’t enough, the slender Ramelize will also be fasting from sunrise to sunset for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

A fascinating photo of the good old days. The view is north up Union Square East to Park Ave. South, then known as 4th Avenue. Note that the George Washington statue used to reside at the intersection of 14th St. and 4th Ave.

Here’s the official word on how the renovations are going:

Spring weather has brought with it a flurry of activity in Union Square Park, both in the new playground and at the construction site.  Parents and kids have been taking full advantage of the warm sunny days by swinging, climbing and sliding their way out of the winter doldrums.  The Partnership’s new landscape efforts, including more than 260 ornamental shrubs and 650 perennials, will soon be underway, as well as the creation of additional seating opportunities in the center lawn, in front of the new Pavilion entrance and around the James Fountain (a/k/a Mother & Child).

In construction news, structural work on the Pavilion columns and ceiling beams has finished at last, and the protective plywood barriers have been removed from the front of the building, exposing the beautifully restored neo-classical interior to passersby.  As the Pavilion elevator is installed and tested, interior lighting fixtures, gates and handrails round out the final touches of building restoration work.

Park visitors can soon make use of the restroom facilities as they, too, near completion.  Last week, eco-resin panels were mounted above the granite walls to enclose the building, allowing the final plumbing fixtures to be installed.  Once complete, the Parks Department will work closely with the Department of Buildings to inspect all systems in order to open the facilities for the busy summer season.