City Planning Commission OKs tech hub for Union Square

[Tech hub endering via RAL Development]

The City Planning Commission unanimously voted yesterday in favor of the City's proposal to create a tech hub on 14th Street.

This was the latest stop in the approval process tour — the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). In March, CB3 voted in favor of a resolution supporting site specific rezoning and a special permit to allow the development, which, as Curbed noted yesterday, is now officially known as the Union Square Tech Training Center.

The project next heads to City Council for a vote that would allow for the 21-floor building to rise on the current site of the now-former PC Richard complex on 14th Street at Irving Place.

Plans for the 240,000-square-foot Tech Training Center include educational facilities, with scholarships "to make the tech industry more accessible to a wide range of New Yorkers." The building would also include space for fledgling companies as well as market-rate offices "to attract established, industry-leading corporations to the ecosystem," per a release from the city's Economic Development Corporation (EDC), which is lobbying for the tech hub. (Read more from them here.)

And the EDC released this new video on the Tech Training Center yesterday...



This zoning change concerns some area residents and preservationists, who fear a massive overdevelopment south of Union Square along Broadway, University Place and Fourth Avenue. While CB3 did vote for the tech hub, they also included an amendment in their resolution calling for zoning protection.

And as Patch noted yesterday:

[I]t is worth noting that newly elected Councilwoman Carlina Rivera expressed support for the tech hub during her campaign – only if the city agrees to the rezoning.

As the local councilmember, Rivera has a large say in the outcome of the project.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Behold Civic Hall, the high-tech future of Union Square — and NYC

Speaking out against a 'Silicon Alley' in this neighborhood

P.C. Richard puts up the moving signs on 14th Street; more Tech Hub debate to come

Preservationists: City schedules next public hearing on tech hub without any public notice

[Updated] Police searching for MAGA-hat-wearing suspect involved in Union Square assault

WANTED: Black male wearing a red hat and red shirt both with the words "Make America Great Again" , blue overalls, a black ¾ jacket, and jewelry around his neck. Wanted for assaulting a male on the 4 train platform in Union Square. Call #800577TIPS pic.twitter.com/FliEXrrxNZ

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 22, 2018

The NYPD is looking for a suspect (in the video above wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat) who reportedly shoved a man onto the 4 train tracks at Union Square Friday evening around 8.

According to The Daily Mail, the suspect, a black male, got into a verbal altercation on a 4 train with the victim, who is Hispanic. "Police say the black male made several remarks disparaging the Hispanic man's ethnicity, and the altercation spilled out onto the platform at Union Square." Police say the suspect punched the victim several times before pushing him to the tracks.

Several people waiting on the platform helped the man get off the tracks. The victim was treated for cuts to his head.

The suspect reportedly fled on an L train.

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 4/26
The Post reports that the suspect was arrested on Staten Island.

Sticky's bringing the chicken fingers to Union Square

A new outpost of Sticky's Finger Joint — "New York City's finest gourmet Chicken Finger restaurant" — is opening in a retail space in the Zeckendorf Towers along 14th Street between Irving Place and Fourth Avenue.

EVG regular Pinch, who shared the above photo, believes this space was previously a GameStop (which moved to another storefront a block or so away).

This will mark the fifth Sticky's location in NYC.

If you're new to Sticky's, then here's background via their website:

Created in 2012 by Paul Abrahamian and Jon Sherman, Sticky’s Finger Joint is New York’s first variety gourmet chicken finger restaurant. Sticky’s takes the classic chicken finger to an elevated level by not only locally sourcing ingredients and using farm raised, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, chicken, but also by putting unique, flavorful, and creative spins on this childhood favorite.

Being the butt of something

Via a crime story in Town & Village today:

A man arrested for selling loosies in Union Square wound up facing far more serious charges when he didn’t do a good enough job hiding his stash and almost 60 envelopes of heroin fell from his butt crack when he bent over to be searched, police said.

Chat 'N Chew reboot opens

[Photo by Harry Weiner from Saturday]

Chat 'N Chew 2.0 is now open on 16th Street just west of Union Square.

The comfort-food diner opened late last week. EVG reader Harry Weiner reports that there is a limited dinner menu only for now, but breakfast and lunch will be offered soon.

Harry also asked about two of his old favorites here — Thanksgiving on a Roll and Chinese Chicken Salad. Management said those items will be served. Here's the menu for now...


[Click on image for bigger view]

Chat 'N Chew first opened in 1994 before quietly closing in July 2014.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Chat 'N Chew looks closer to reopening on Union Square

Former TGI Friday's space on Union Square now a $31 million development site

[Photo by Daniel from January]

The TGI Friday's at 34 Union Square East and 16th Street shut down at the end of 2017, as we noted here.

For sale signs via Eastern Consolidated were up right away though we never saw the listing... which is now live here:

... a development site that offers a ±26,000-square-foot zoning floor area for a mixed-use building on the last remaining corner development site on Union Square Park. The property is currently improved with a vacant, ±6,500 square foot, two-story commercial building. With ±19,500 square feet of unused development rights, the property offers 26-feet of frontage on Union Square East and 125-feet of frontage on 16th Street.

And an aerial photo looking at Union Square via Eastern Consolidated ... to see how the site stacks up against its neighbors... just imagine another ±19,500 square feet on top...



Dennis Riese, the chairman of the board and CEO of The Riese Organization, reportedly bought this building for $15.3 million at the end of 2009. The TGI Friday's opened in June 2010.

Countdown to the State of the Union this evening

An EVG reader shared the above photo from Union Square today...

Here's another angle via Instagram and @iluntasuna_dc ... workers were in the process of removing the President Trump inflatable from George Washington's right arm...

The remains of the Union Square Holiday Market

The Union Square Holiday Market ended its 6-week run last night at 8 ... and as these photos by EVG reader Harry Weiner show, the place was quickly torn apart for the season ...

Chat 'N Chew looks closer to reopening on Union Square

EVG reader Harry Weiner shared this photo from Monday... showing Chat 'N Chew looking as if it never closed three-plus years ago on 16th Street just west of Union Square.

Per Harry: "If you peer inside, it looks eerily the same as the old one."

The homespun restaurant has a new Instagram account (as of Sept. 30) with one post...

Coming Soon

A post shared by Chat 'N Chew (@chatnchewny) on Sep 30, 2017 at 4:10am PDT

On their landing page: "NEW ACCOUNT! A Union Square staple is coming back! Check back for updates on an opening date! Looking forward to see old friends & making new ones!"

Apparently they have been teasing a return in their front window dating back to the summer. Now it looks as if they're ready to open complete with holiday decorations.

Anyway, the comfort-food diner first opened in 1994 before quietly closing in July 2014, as Jeremiah Moss first reported. The owners were to revamp the space that fall as a pop-up concept Little Sal's Italiano.

The operating owner, Andrew Silverman, was also behind a variety of concept-y places, such as Steak Frites and News Bar.

[Updated] NYPD searching for driver involved in deadly Union Square hit and run

Police are looking for the driver of a Jeep Renegade who critically injured a pedestrian early this morning while making an illegal turn on 14th Street and Fourth Avenue.

Surveillance video shows the SUV heading east on 14th Street "before swinging an illegal left turn onto Union Square East" around 1 a.m., the Post reports. The video shows the vehicle continuing on after momentarily slowing down.

The 34-year-old victim suffered trauma to his body, and is in critical condition at Bellevue, according to NY1.

Here's the video via Town & Village...



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 5:30 p.m.

The pedestrian, Brooklyn resident Adrian Blanc, died from his injuries. He was walking within the crosswalk, police said.

Updated 11/16

Blanc was the executive chef at Hill & Bay, the restaurant on Second Avenue across from the Kips Bay theater.

Eater has statement from Hill & Bay's parent company: "Adrian was immensely talented. He was a dedicated worker and devoted family member. He was incredibly kind and loving. He had a heart of gold and he genuinely cared about all of his co-workers."

Blanc was set to be married in December.

Police found the Jeep Renegade — which was a Zipcar rental — but the driver is still at large.

Kellogg’s NYC, will be slinging cereal at an all-day breakfast café on Union Square next month

We can’t wait to welcome you to our new home right in the heart of Union Square! We’ll be opening on December 7th and look forward to seeing you then! . . . And we’re hiring a pastry cook! If you’re interested in joining our team, shoot us a message here!

A post shared by Kellogg's NYC (@kelloggsnyc) on Nov 9, 2017 at 5:45am PST

In case you missed this announcement the other day (Thursday!) ... Kellogg's NYC Café is opening its "immersive new brick-and-mortar cereal café and experience" on Dec. 7 near the Barnes & Noble on Union Square.

A few details from the news release:

Anchored by an open-concept kitchen where guests can watch as cereal creations are being made, visitors will be able to select items off the menu or create their unique flavorful combos – including a DIY cereal creation station with ingredients fresh from the Union Square farmer's market.

Aside from bowls of cereal with a choice of milk, the menu includes milkshakes, Pop Tarts and ice cream sundaes.

The Commercial Observer reported that the Café will span 5,000 square feet on the second floor (above the AT&T store) at 31 E. 17th St.

Kellogg's previously operated a pop-up cafe from July 2016 to this past August in Times Square, as the Observer noted.

'Crystal' days in Union Square

[Photo looking west via @UnionSquareNY]

In case you didn't already see this... back on Friday, the NYC Parks Department and the Union Square Partnership, in partnership with Marlborough Gallery, unveiled sculptor Dale Chihuly's Rose Crystal Tower in Union Square Park (in the southeast corner).

Here's more via the Parks Department website:

The Rose Crystal Tower stands 31-feet tall and is composed of Polyvitro crystals and steel. Polyvitrois the artist’s term for a plastic material which he casts into individual chunks which resemble glass, but are lighter and more resilient. Chihuly used Polyvitro crystals in the artist’s landmark exhibition, Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem 2000.

The tower is part of the 50th anniversary of the Parks Department's Art in the Parks program.

And here's another angle from Friday (photo by Liz Ligon for Union Square Partnership) to get a feel for where this thing is ...



The piece will be on display through October 2018.

You can read more about it at Town & Village.

Safely dispose of your harmful household products tomorrow (Sunday!) in Union Square

This SAFE Disposal Event is happening tomorrow (Sunday!) in the north plaza in Union Square from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Per the NYC.gov site:

The NYC Department of Sanitation is holding a series of SAFE Disposal Events (Solvents, Automotive, Flammable, Electronics) to provide NYC residents with a one-stop method to get rid of harmful household products.

Materials accepted include common household products such as auto fluids, batteries, electronics, strong cleaners, medications, paint and more.

The blanding of Union Square West

Bloomberg files an article on the escalating rents on Union Square West that are forcing restaurants such as the Blue Water Grill and Republic to close or relocate.

Some passages from the piece...

Rising rents and real estate turnover are hardly new phenomena, but Union Square West, along with other desirable residential areas of New York ... have seen their rents become so prohibitive that most of their restaurants — with the exception of chains, or flagship “loss-leaders” — are forced to move elsewhere.

And!

“When rents go up, it makes the viability of restaurants harder,” said Stephen Sunderland, the senior managing director of Optimal Spaces, a tenant broker in the city. “You have to think of restaurants as artists, or neighborhood pioneers,” he explained. “They come into a neighborhood, it becomes hip, and that’s the source of their demise,” he said. “They create the trends that undo them.”

A rally for rezoning protections along Broadway and University Place

[Rendering of Civic Hall on 14th Street]

Back in February, Mayor de Blasio unveiled the city's plans for the site that P.C. Richard (and Son!) has leased the past 20-plus years at 124 E. 14th St. at Irving Place... the rendering above shows the proposed 20-floor Civic Hall — "a tech-focused work and event space" — anchoring the space. The Hall will "provide space for tech worker training, education, start-ups and convening."

Aside from Civic Hall, there are several mega projects in the works south of here along Broadway (see what's coming to the former Blatt Billiards here) and University Place (see what's coming to the former Bowlmor Lanes site here).

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) has been campaigning to cap building heights in the corridor between University Place and Broadway. They have an ally now in City Councilmember Rosie Mendez. Here's what she had to say about the situation to DNAinfo:

"For years, I have advocated and requested a contextual rezoning of University Place. This proposed PC Richards Silicon Alley tech hub will impact residents in the area residing in the adjacent buildings, which are currently under great pressure by developers.

"I would consider supporting the Tech Hub if, and only if, we can amend the zoning resolution to provide protections and relief to the surrounding community."

Tomorrow afternoon at 3, the GVSHP is hosting a rally and press conference on 11th Street and Broadway to discuss the proposed tech hub and zoning south of Union Square...



The tech-hub project still needs to navigate the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure process, which will require City Council approval. As DNAinfo pointed out, the council generally defers to the local council member, meaning Mendez potentially has veto power over the Civic Hall project. (In the event this carries past her term, GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman said that he has already reached out to the candidates running for the Mendez Council seat.)

A spokesperson for the mayor's office expressed disappointment in the preservationists' mission to leverage a zoning change.

Per DNAinfo:

"Its purpose is to provide a gateway for real New Yorkers — kids from our high schools, public housing and immigrant communities — to get training and a good paying job in tech. It is disappointing certain groups would use that project as a pawn to change unrelated zoning blocks away.”

Previously on EV Grieve:
Behold Civic Hall, the high-tech future of Union Square — and NYC (30 comments)

A look at the scene from yesterday's manhole explosions on 12th Street and Broadway

Crews from Con Ed and Verizon along with some personnel from the FDNY and NYPD remain at the site of yesterday morning's manhole explosions on Broadway at 12th Street

The streets have reopened ... the sidewalk on the east side of Broadway near the Strand is closed...



A scene from yesterday morning...

3 manholes were smoking, 2 blew from pressure & fire. No injuries to civilians -#FDNY Dep Chief Bob Carroll pic.twitter.com/PMbvJx6OrU

— FDNY (@FDNY) March 31, 2017

Per the Daily News:

The blasts were likely caused by damage from salt laid down during winter snowstorms and washed into the underground system by Friday morning’s rainstorm.

No one was injured and a Con Ed spokesman said there was no disruption in service.

The corner businesses were open ... the Bean and Pret a Manger ...



The Strand, which was not open for the day at the time of the blasts, lost several windows. They will be back open today.

👋🏻We will be open for business today!👋🏻 Come see us at noon 👀

— Strand Book Store (@strandbookstore) April 1, 2017

A mock presidential funeral for Presidents' Day weekend; plus a new NYC Protests site

Several hundred protestors took part yesterday in a New Orleans-style mock funeral for the American presidency... the group started in Washington Square Park... and made their way to Union Square, where Derek Berg took these photos...











Per the Facebook invite: "Join us for wailing, honoring, remembering, grieving, marching, singing, chanting, and demanding the rebirth of a Presidency dedicated to the service of all peoples and 'sacred fire of liberty' that President George Washington swore to uphold."

“We’ve allowed a barely functional idiot reality-TV show star to lead one of the once-great, proud political parties of this country,” funeral organizer Jay W. Walker told Newsday.

On the topic of protests ... this arrived recently in the EVG inbox...

A new tool, NYC Protests, makes it easy to discover, engage with and join the many protests, rallies and marches happening in and around New York City to resist Trump.

With public displays of resistance proving to be a major factor in the resistance to President Trump’s agenda, NYC now has an easy, simple tool that allows thousands of activist-minded residents to join the fight. The newly launched site — www.nycprotests.com — has user-friendly calendars and alerts that make engaging with NYC’s protests easier than ever.

The site is free, easy to follow and optimized for the way we consume info today, with desktop and mobile optimized versions of the website, plus an active Twitter, Facebook and mailing list.

“In the days following the Women’s March, we saw hundreds of posts on social media from New Yorkers asking how they could find more protests, rallies and marches,” says NYC Protests’ Brooklyn-based founder, who has chosen to remain anonymous for employment reasons. “So we created an easy, simple tool for New Yorkers to stay engaged with the resistance.”

The eerie splendor of an abandoned Union Square Holiday Market

The annual Holiday Market was up and running from Nov. 17 through Dec. 24... EVG reader Harry Weiner shared these photos from yesterday, showing the empty structures waiting for removal for another season...

At the 2016 NYC Cannabis Parade

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was in Union Square yesterday for the annual parade.

Here's more from a report today in Crain's:

Known until a few years ago as “Cures Not Wars,” and now as the NYC Cannabis Parade, New York’s annual rally in support of legalization has been held in various forms since the early 1970s. This year, the event culminated in a gathering at Union Square. As blunts and pipes were passed around, speakers attempted to educate the crowd about the Marijuana Taxation and Regulation Act (S. 1747/A. 3089A) that is currently stalled in the state legislature.

“We’ve been doing this for four decades. If we don’t get involved and do the hard work, it’s not going to go anywhere,” said Doug Greene, legislative director of Empire State NORML, the New York chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “Just coming here and listening to me speak and getting high is not going to change anything.”

Some would say the fact that the NYPD did not seem interested in arresting anyone who was getting high at the event was a major shift in and of itself. Although the NYPD cut its marijuana arrests in half last year, 16,590 people were still cuffed for low-level marijuana possession, about 88% of whom were black or Latino.

New York has launched a medical-marijuana program, with one of the dispensaries located nearby on East 14th Street. Dennis Levy, a lifelong marijuana legalization advocate, called the New York program "frustrating and flawed."

Capital One Café opens July 11 on Union Square

[The same photo we posted yesterday]

In a thrilling post yesterday, we noted the faint progress at 853 Broadway at East 14th Street... where a combo Capital One-Peet's Coffee-den of slackwork space with Wi-Fi is coming soon.

How soon? An EVG reader shared a letter from Capital One...



...which notes that the new location will open on July 11. The letter also states that the Capital One branch at 21 University Place at Eighth Street will close after the business day on July 8. (As we recall, that space was most recently a BBQ restaurant.)

H/T Josh