Monday, January 2, 2023

On Astor Place, a yearn to spin again

Unless you haven't walked through Astor Place in the past 13 or so months, then you likely know that the cube (aka Alamo) has been out of commission during this time. (First noted here.) 

The city removed the barricades from around the cube in late April 2022. At the time, we were told that the spinning mechanism for the 1,800-pound cube, which manually rotates around a pole hidden in its center, was not working. A DOT spokesperson previously told us that they didn't have a timeline for repairing the spinning component.

The Post had a follow-up on this yesterday. A spokesperson basically said the same thing, that the "DOT is planning a repair to restore the Cube to its original, spinning condition." And: "We'd love to see it so people can spin it again. That's what Tony wanted — he wanted it to be enjoyed and not to be put in a cradle."

Tony Rosenthal's sculpture first arrived here in November 1967. 

Previously on EV Grieve:
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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 3, 2023 at 11:42 AM

    There was a story about this on NBC 4NY last night.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 3, 2023 at 4:12 PM

    Allowing (encouraging even) random members of the public to indiscriminately spin any object of this size and weight is asking for trouble IMHO

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2023 at 5:47 AM

    It’s currently not spinning? I swear to god I saw people hanging by the cube spinning it just last Summer. Even around early Fall.

    ReplyDelete
  4. GrieveJanuary 4, 2023 at 6:47 AM

    It's impossible to spin the cube at the moment with the brackets fused in place.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2023 at 9:37 AM

    @4:12PM Been spinning without incident since 1968.

    ReplyDelete

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