Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York has a look back at the old Union Square Theater, which once stood on the site of the big (former) Virgin store building on 14th St. Interesting!
Can the Union Square area ever achieve zero waste? Many people and businesses are trying to make it happen.
Read about it here.
The northeast corner of Union Square has now been swept clean of its last small independent businesses as Tammany Hall preps for its big upgrade. One less deli, one less smoke shop. And so it goes.
The MTA is still chipping away at improvements on the L train, having announced a new escalator coming into service at the Union Square station to service the 19,000 pre-pandemic riders that shuffle on and off the platform every hour during the week.
This installation, designed to ease congestion through the busy interchange, follows elevators paired with a new entrance to the L train’s First Avenue station near Avenue A and switch replacements on the 4-5-6 near Union Square in recent months.
These improvements were funded by the MTA prior to the financial crisis they currently face due to COVID-19.
“This new escalator is another achievement for the larger L project team that, delivered that huge project early and below budget,” MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber said. “Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic we’re using innovative strategies to deliver customer improvements faster and at lower cost than ever before.”
Judy McClain, Chief of Operations Planning at New York City Transit, says that because the L train platform at this location is one of the most congested during pre-pandemic levels of ridership the escalator is one of the fastest in subway system; it can move up to 92 people per minute.
This wonderful interactive map lets you explore the history of most of the buildings in our neighborhood.
