Looking at the incoming Capital One Café on Union Square

EVG reader Max reminded us the other day that a Capital One branch is in the works for the southwest corner of Broadway and 14th Street... and not just any bank branch.

As Crain's first reported last May:

Capital One has come up with an alternative to the staid retail bank branch. It will launch a concept in Union Square, at 853 Broadway, on the building's ground, basement and mezzanine levels. The entrance will feature a large café operated by Peet's Coffee. The space upstairs will differ from a typical retail bank branch. Capital One will create a large work lounge, where customers can camp out and use free Wi-Fi.

Anyway, we walked by the corner on Sunday... there isn't any visible signage up yet... so not much to see at the moment...



There hasn't been any official word on an opening date. It could be a little while longer. Looks as if some of the necessary permits weren't approved by the city until this past December.

There's another Capital One Café on Third Avenue and 58th Street ... as well as in other cities.

This prime corner has been sitting vacant since Shoe Mania abruptly shut down in July 2012.

'Farm To Food Bank' Monday at Union Square

Via the EVG inbox...

Food Bank For New York City will host its first annual “Farm To Food Bank” Food Drive, in partnership with GrowNYC’s Union Square Greenmarket, to help support the 1.5 million New Yorkers who rely on Food Bank For New York City and its citywide network of charities.

Food Bank is asking New Yorkers who stop by Union Square Greenmarket to shop for their families, to buy a little extra and donate some fresh fruit and vegetables to Food Bank to help ensure that all New Yorkers have access to healthy nutritious meals.

Last year, Food Bank For New York City distributed 18 million pounds of fresh produce to New Yorker in need.

When: Monday, Sept. 21
9 A.M. – 6 P.M.

Union Square getting a bank branch-coffee shop combo because why not

So here's what is in the works for the southwest corner 14th Street and Broadway via Crain's ...

Capital One has come up with an alternative to the staid retail bank branch. It will launch a concept in Union Square, at 853 Broadway, on the building's ground, basement and mezzanine levels. The entrance will feature a large café operated by Peet's Coffee. The space upstairs will differ from a typical retail bank branch. Capital One will create a large work lounge, where customers can camp out and use free Wi-Fi.

Capital One, which operates several similar cafes across the country, is also eyeing a location on Lafayette Street near the Puck Building for another branch.

[Updated] Police hunt for suspect in Union Square hammer attacks

The NYPD has released a sketch of a suspect accused of two hammer attacks in and around Union Square last evening between 7:36 and 7:46.

According to NBC 4 New York, one of the victims was sitting on a bench in Union Square "when she saw the suspect looking at her, police said. When she looked back, he took out a silver hammer and struck her."

The second victim on West 17th Street didn't see the hammer but felt the impact, per NBC 4.

The women, ages 28 and 33, were taken to Lenox Hill HealthPlex with minor injuries, and have been treated and released. The man is also suspected of a third attack on a 20-year-old man earlier in the day on Sixth Avenue and 35th Street.

The NYPD released the above sketch, describing the suspect as having a medium build and wearing a black waist length jacket with a black backpack, dark-colored baseball hat, dark jeans, and black sneakers.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

Updated 1:04 p.m.

The Wall Street Journal has more details about the attacks:

A 28-year-old East Village woman leaving Union Square Park was struck by a man who she said had been sitting across from her on a bench in Union Square moments earlier, a law-enforcement official said.

She told police that the suspect had been smoking Newport cigarettes, the official said. The woman said that as she left the park, she was hit on the head from behind by the man with a hammer.

Updated 5/13

The NYPD has released a photo of the suspect...



Updated 11:17 a.m.

According to DNAinfo, the police shot the suspect as he tried to attack an officer with a hammer near Port Authority this morning. No word just yet on the condition of the victim.

At the NYC Cannabis Parade

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was in Union Square yesterday for the annual event … in which an estimated 400 people (that number via the Post) marched down Broadway from 32nd Street to Union Square for an afternoon of festivities…








[Hello Dana Beal]

















From the Post:

[T]he cops adopted a tacit all-toke, no-action policy.

“We have zero arrests, and we don’t plan on having any,” one sergeant told a Post reporter.

Advocates praised the cops’ mellow take on toking as the latest sign New York was inching toward decriminalization.

Last month, Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson warned the NYPD in a memo obtained by The Post that his office would no longer prosecute people caught possessing — or even smoking — marijuana in public.

Tonight on Union Square, a rally for Freddie Gray

Several readers passed along this information ... via the rally's Facebook event page...

We call on New Yorkers from across the five boroughs, #BlackLivesMatter activists and organizations as well as all organizations that stand for social, economic, and racial justice to rally at Union Square this Wednesday at 6pm.

People of Baltimore have taken to the streets day after day for justice for Freddie Gray and for Black lives across the country but now that the National Guard has been called in and a curfew set, we must stand in solidarity with the people of Baltimore. The media will continue to paint the people of Baltimore as rioters and looters but people forget that the City and Police of Baltimore loot and destroy Black and Brown communities of Baltimore every day of the year.

Rally at Union Square at 6pm on the North Side of the Square (on 17th street) to show the people of Baltimore that we stand in solidarity with them and with their resistance because their resistance is for justice and their justice is our justice.

Union Square tonight

Thousands of protestors have taken to NYC streets again tonight to protest yesterday's grand jury decision not to indict the NYPD officer involved in the Eric Garner chokehold case.

A march to 1 Police Plaza started at 5 p.m. from Union Square.

Photos by James and Karla Murray.

Meanwhile...

@ChristRobbins at Gothamist is among the many reporters providing live updates.

Among many tweets…

#EricGarner protests continue in force. Follow @joejackson, @bkesling, @ZushaElinson on streets coast to coast. http://t.co/Xxg8YtMuS2

— Pervaiz Shallwani (@Pervaizistan) December 5, 2014

And the livestream…

NYPD arrives full force ahead of tonight's Eric Garner rally on Union Square

The NYPD arrived en masse this afternoon along Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue (where they have been camped out the past 10 or so days) between East 10th Street and East 14th Street...













Another night of protests are expected around the city in the wake of yesterday's grand jury decision not to indict the NYPD officer involved in the Eric Garner chokehold case.

One rally begins at the north side of Union Square at 5 ... with a march down to 1 Police Plaza.

Photos via EVG reader Robert F.

Noted

@evgrieve Nyc is prepared for the 30% chance of rain in Union Square! pic.twitter.com/KLD4pnDhYM

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) November 7, 2014

[Updated] You may THINK BIG in Union Square through October

[Photo via @UnionSquareNYC]

Sculptor Jim Rennert's 12-foot THINK BIG sculpture arrived Wednesday on Union Square. And today, you can meet Rennert from 10 a.m.-noon at the site of the work — the southeastern triangle at Union Square East, between 14th and 15th Streets.

Per the press materials:

The monumental bronze businessman stands at over 12-feet tall gazing up at the Manhattan skyline, considering the endless possibilities that lay ahead. Rennert encourages visitors to consider his message that anyone can achieve their dreams and goals if they 'think big.'"

The sculpture will be up through October.

Updated 1:47 p.m.

So far, the early word on THINK BIG has been fairly negative, at least here in the comments and on Facebook... Here, East Village resident Courtney Lee Adams Jr. shared her feelings about the sculpture ...



"I think this is an enormous mistake."

Solar-paneled cell phone charging stations return to Union Square (and other places)

From the EVG inbox ...

The Union Square Partnership is again partnering with AT&T, Pensa and Goal Zero to bring back the popular solar-paneled cell phone charging stations. This year, they will have 3 charging stations in the seating areas. The first station will be located in the West Side Seating Area within Union Square Park, the second in the Pedestrian Plaza on Broadway and 17th Street, and the third charging station will be located at the James Fountain area (“Mother and Child” Statue).

The program grew out of Superstorm Sandy when New Yorkers who had lost power for days flocked to city centers to recharge electronic devices.

You can go here to learn more about the Street Charge program and stuff.

Watch the NYPD arrest a man for being too loud on a bicycle

During the last monthly Critical Mass ride, the NYPD scooter patrol arrested cyclist Mellow Yellow on East 14th Street at Union Square... he spent the next 24 hours in jail. The NYPD apparently asked him to turn down the music on his bike... and you can watch what transpires in this video that just arrived on YouTube...



This comes at a time when activists have been calling for safer streets throughout the city ... to date this year, eight children under 8 years old have been killed by automobiles in New York City. (Watch a video about this here.)

Noted

I read about this last week... but just saw it for myself tonight... last Thursday, Uniqlo opened a pop-up shop selling puffy jackets and non-puffy parkas in the Union Square subway station ... part of a new MTA program to bring businesses into vacant retail subway spaces.

From the official MTA news release:

The shops will receive month-to-month leases from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for small retail spaces that are temporarily vacant while the agency is arranging long-term leases.

And!

The pop-up store initiative allows small entrepreneurs, online businesses and established corporations to rent space in generally “as-is” condition to provide high visibility exposure for products or services where the emphasis is on displaying merchandise as much as actually conducting on-site transactions. In some cases, retail customers would be encouraged to make their purchases online or at larger stores off site.

And!

“Pop-up stores will provide a fresh and beneficial element to our stations while also improving the image and desirability of retail space in the subway,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast. “This is another example of the MTA working to make better use of its real estate portfolio and improving the subway environment for customers at the same time.”

The store will be open through the December holidays...

Soooo... what kind of pop-up shop would you like to see from the MTA in the future? (To get you thinking about it...) Egg shop? Zine store?

Tonight: Union Square's first nighttime farmers market

From the EVG inbox...

Union Square Night Market and Birthday Party!
Union Square Greenmarket — 17th Street & Union Square West
Tonight, 4-8

Join us for this very special one-time event!

On Wednesday, July 17th, the Union Square Greenmarket turns 37 years old, and to celebrate we will have farmers selling their farm fresh produce, meats, and cheeses, while sharing a space with a curated roster of restaurants serving prepared foods.

Along with all of the delicious food served that evening, there will be programming for families, live music by The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn and Jude Roberts, as well as a Brooklyn Beer Bar Featuring Brooklyn Greenmarket Wheat served in the pavilion.

All of your favorite Wednesday Greenmarket farmers will be in attendance, along with these restaurants selling individual dishes, desserts and beverages:

Back Forty/Back Forty West
Brooklyn Brewery serving Greenmarket Wheat Beer
Chop't Salad
Craft/Craftbar
Hearth/Terroir
Monument Lane
P&H Soda
Rouge Tomate
Telepan
The Fourth
Tocqueville Restaurant
Union Square Cafe
'Wichcraft

And you can go here to register for a pass where you get $1 off each dish or something.

At the Trayvon Martin rally in Union Square this evening

(Stencils by @artofandres)



Photos by Shannon O'Toole. (The photos are from the second of the two rallies in Union Square today to protest George Zimmerman's acquittal ... and show support for the slain teen Trayvon Martin.)

Goggla has photos here from Union Square.

Updated.

union square rally #TrayvonMartin pic.twitter.com/NMtIWHD4UT

— Macey J. Foronda (@maceyjforonda) July 14, 2013

After the Union Square rally, those in attendance marched down Broadway... and worked their way though the East Village... one estimate on Twitter put the march at three-to-four blocks long...

Longest sustained chant: "Trayvon is dead. Zimmerman is free. That's what we call democracy." #TrayvonMartin pic.twitter.com/Ih0jgoziZK

— Ryan Devereaux (@rdevro) July 14, 2013

... the protestors eventually headed north up First Avenue... where they amassed in Times Square.

Gothamist has more on the rallies here.

Peaceful Rally for Trayvon Martin this afternoon in Union Square

From @kevin_powell: PEACEFUL RALLY FOR TRAYVON SUNDAY in New York. 2pm. Union Square, Manhattan. 14th/Broadway. Bring signs, your voices.

— VibeMagazine (@VibeMagazine) July 14, 2013

And last night, nearly 50 people gathered for a demonstration in Union Square after hearing the news that George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the February 2012 deadly shooting of Trayvon Martin. According to the Daily News, the NYPD cleared Union Square around 2 a.m. (the group reportedly arrived around midnight).

July 4th on Union Square — 1876

[Click on image to enlarge]

A Centennial celebration, followed by epic lines for the restrooms at the nearby Starbucks.

From the NYPL Digital Gallery.

Today in posts about 80-foot grills that can slow-smoke 2,000 pounds of meat in Union Square

From the EV Grieve inbox...

HISTORY BRINGS CROSS-COUNTRY COOKOUT TO UNION SQUARE IN NEW YORK CITY ON JUNE 25

World’s Largest Smoker and Grill on Wheels to Serve Up Texas BBQ to New Yorkers

WHAT: The HISTORY® Cross-Country Cookout welcomes New Yorkers

The 80-foot long Ultimate Smoker and Grill, designed and operated by grill-master Trace “Rib Whisperer” Arnold, is the size of a tanker and is hauled by a semi. In the unique smoker chamber, Arnold can slow-smoke more than 2,000 pounds of meat. Hidden beneath the 20-foot hydraulic lid is a wood-fired grill with the capacity to cook 1,000 hotdogs, 500 hamburgers or 200 16 oz. steaks at once.

HISTORY fans passing by Union Square on June 25 are welcome to visit the HISTORY Cross-Country Cookout to sample the Rib Whisperer’s tasty hickory-smoked and jalapeno cheddar sausage and play backyard games like cornhole and ladder golf to win HISTORY merchandise and prizes.

Members from Soldier’s Wish, a not-for-profit organization that grants wishes to soldiers, veterans and their families as a way to honor them for their bravery and sacrifice to our country, will also be on-site discussing their initiatives and how military members can get involved.

When: Tuesday, June 25: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

And how was your commute?

A scene this late afternoon at the Union Square 4/5/6 titled Man Urinates on Subway Tracks ... via @manhattan_matt

Oh, and good. There's video.

[Updated] Report: Skateboarder dies after collision with truck at Union Square

A 24-year-old skateboarder died today after he swerved into the path of a truck at Union Square, according to a report via the Daily News.

Per the report, he was riding with traffic along Broadway when "he suddenly turned in front of the moving delivery truck" at East 17th Street.

BoweryBoogie has more details here, including a rather graphic photo.

Updated 3:26 p.m.

Gothamist has more details here.