Annual Meeting Alert

What used to be the TD Bank at the corner of University and 11th will soon be a new outpost of the quickly expanding Blank Street Coffee Chain. OK, but isn’t better to support local businesses? Go to NewsBar instead.

From the park association: It’s crunch time in Union Square Park as the North End Project reaches 83 percent and enters into the final stretch. New granite curb has been installed along Union Square East, and crews are hard at work paving the east side and 16th Street transverse. Next, they will install the playground’s south perimeter fence once paving is complete. To recap, at this time the landscaping is finished and the park’s new trees, shrubbery and perennials are taking root. Most of the plazas having been reopened to the public and the Greenmarket is fully operational on site in time for their busy fall season. Pavilion restoration continues, though hampered by graffiti removal that has proven challenging, and the new restroom facility on the east side of the project area is nearing completion.

After a New York Post story complaining about druggies in the park, The Village Voice followed up to see if it’s really true. Their conclusion: “The piece smacks of sensationalism, so we have to ask: Is Union Square any worse than any other park in the city? Or is it simply a place we’ve all heard of, and probably been, that can symbolize the outrage? Cops have reportedly made 84 drug-related arrests in and around the park this year. But that’s hardly a return to the bad old edgy days that many of us can’t stop bemoaning the loss of, even if it is worse than recent years.”

Next week (September 24 to September 28), Material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors. Curtain wall installation on the upper floors will continue. Curtain wall installation on the lower floors will proceed along 5th ave inside the construction site. The crane that is on site will remain for the duration of curtain wall installation and will not affect pedestrian or automotive traffic.

The following week (October 1 to October 5) Material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors. Curtain wall installation will continue on all floors.

This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, September 22nd for superstructure related activities and curtain wall installation between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City. Con Ed is on site working on the building but is not in any of the streets.

The Villager reports:

State Supreme Court Justice Jane S. Solomon on Monday dismissed the lawsuit filed last year challenging the Department of Parks’ reconstruction of the pavilion at the north end of Union Square Park.

The dismissal means that the reconstruction of the pavilion, which is currently underway, can proceed and include the infrastructure for a seasonal restaurant.

Members of the Union Square Community Co-alition and NYC Park Advocates had sued to block the entire reconstruction of the north end of the park and the plaza north of the park, claiming that the city failed to comply with state environmental laws and city land-use procedure, and that preparing the pavilion for private use as a seasonal restaurant was an illegal alienation of public land.

Judge Solomon ruled on March 30 that all aspects of the rehabilitation project were in a category of actions that do not require any further environmental review than was already conducted by the Parks Department.

The judge ruled also that the alienation claim was “not ripe” because a final determination of the use of the pavilion is subject to further administrative action — namely a request for proposals, or R.F.P., from private concessionaires to operate a restaurant. At the same time, the judge found that the zoning and land-use procedure issues were also “not ripe” because they rest on allegations that the operation of a restaurant would relinquish control of the park.

Nevertheless, she held that the plaintiffs would have the right to file a lawsuit later in the process.

Solomon said that operating an eating establishment in the park is consistent with public purpose, noting that the area around the pavilion, now being converted into an expanded playground, was previously used as the outdoor restaurant Luna Park Cafe. But she also said that not all restaurants in city parks would necessarily be permissible.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe hailed the verdict, saying, “We are gratified at the court’s decision to allow us to continue the restoration of Union Square Park’s historic pavilion with public space and a seasonal concession. The pavilion is part of the Union Square Park’s north-end renovation, which includes a playground three times larger than previously, a restored plaza and many more trees.

Sad news from University Place, where the University Diner, one of the last of its kind, is closing today. One can only wonder what will appear in its place, not to mention what will appear at the corner of University and 13th and the corner of Broadway and 14th. The malling of the neighborhood continues.