Before It Was the New School

Looking ahead to the upcoming holidays, the New School construction site will be closed on Saturdays, December 24 and December 31st, also on Mondays, December 26th and January 2nd. Next week (December 26 to December 30), Superstructure and concrete work will continue at 2nd and 3rd floor levels. Sidewalk sheds will continue being erected around the perimeter of the site. The roof protection at USC Condo courtyard is finished.The following week (January 2 to January 6), we will continue superstructure concrete and slabs on 2nd and 3rd floor levels.

In Union Square Park, the 16th Street transverse and eastern plaza are now open to pedestrians, complete with additional park benches along the north sides of the transverse. New asphalt pavers and crushed bluestone allow the stately elm trees along the transverse to thrive while removing the previous trip hazard, and the entrance to the center lawn is now accessible to wheelchairs. The park’s new and expanded 15,000-square-foot play space is nearing completion with Parks Department final site inspections scheduled in the next few weeks. Soon, area kids will have endless hours of fun in this creative, colorful and beautifully landscaped play space designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. The North End Project is 91% complete and the remainder of the project, including new restroom facilities and the Pavilion, are expected to be finished by the end of the year.

Here is a tour of several landmark cast-iron buildings in the neighborhood, including two on our block.

From the NY Post:

University Place is about to get a new, fun restaurant: the first New York outpost of Vapiano, a German-based chain of some 30 casual Italian eateries, which will open soon at 113 University at 13th Street. A Newmark Knight Frank team including Jeffrey Roseman repped the tenant and a Newmark team also repped the landlord, the Amalgamated Lithographers Union. Vapiano has locations in six other US cities. In Manhattan, it will have about 7,000 square feet on two levels in a long-vacant space. The asking rent was $200 per square foot. The chain, which calls itself a “fuel stop for grown-ups,” serves inexpensive antipasti, salads, pasta and pizza prepared on-site as customers watch. (Many dishes are priced under $10, according to Vapiano’s Web site). The new place also promises a full bar and “lively happy-hour scene.” Roseman chuckled, “It’s been described as a fast-casual cross between Mario Batali and Chipotle with uber-style.”

Have a look at Vapiano.

Tacos will soon arrive at the northern end of Union Square when the very popular Los Tacos No. 1 opens its ninth location, this one at the corner of Park Ave. South and 17th St.

Here is the summer newsletter from the New School giving all sorts of info about the new building. Let them eat cake!