Category Archives: Flatiron District

City putting Flatiron evacuees in hotels

Fifth Ave looking south on Monday

Con Ed crew at work at the explosion site (Photo by Sabina Mollot)

By Sabina Mollot

As of Tuesday afternoon, the city said it is working with the Hotel Trade Council and Hotel Association of New York City to help displaced Flatiron residents, and that 10 families and one dog had so far been assisted.

Residents seeking a temporary room were advised to visit the reception center at the Clinton School at 10 East 15th Street, which has remained open. It’s open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. each day and according to the city, has seen 362 visitors since Thursday.

Hotel 17 in Stuyvesant Square, which now has an extended stay model and offers emergency housing, is one of the hotels housing evacuees, an employee there said. However, he said he couldn’t reveal how many individuals were staying there as a result of the blast.

Out of the 49 buildings evacuated for asbestos testing, 27 have been cleared for residents to return. Twelve contained some sort of debris that must be cleaned before they can be reoccupied.

Continue reading →

Advertisements

Air asbestos free, city says, but evacuated buildings still off limits

July26 Con Ed cleanup

A Con Ed crew cleaning up the street on Friday (Photo courtesy of Con Ed)

By Sabina Mollot

The air is asbestos-free, the city said, after testing samples following the steam pipe explosion, on Friday evening. While some debris samples contained asbestos, it’s unlikely people exposed will become ill since “asbestos-related illnesses usually develop after many years of exposure,” according to an update provided by the mayor’s office and the Office of Emergency Management. The city also said irritation to the eyes, nose and throat from debris is possible, and recommends anyone with those symptoms contact doctor.

Meanwhile, the city is still keeping people out of the “hot zone” in Flatiron.

While the area continues to be cleaned up, the hot zone boundaries include:

  • Fifth Avenue from 19th Street to 22nd Street (midway down the block on 19th Street and most of 20th and 21st streets on the west side).
  • The entire block on East 20th and 21st Streets and midway down the block on East 19th Street.

Neighborhood residents whose building have been evacuated (49 buildings in total) are still displaced. Forty-four buildings had their facades visually expected. However, none were cleared for residents to return home as of Friday at 5 p.m. as testing for asbestos continues. At this time, the city doesn’t have a number as to how many buildings have been contaminated. Once a determination is made, the buildings’ facades will be washed. Con Ed has appointed outside vendors for this project.

Continue reading →

After asbestos confirmed, investigation continues in Flatiron

July19 Expolsion info at 22nd Con Ed

Con Ed employees accepting bagged clothing at 22nd Street and Broadway (Photo courtesy of Con Ed)

By Sabina Mollot

In the wake of Thursday’s steam-pipe explosion, the city has confirmed the presence of asbestos. Sixteen inspectors from the Department of Environmental Protection have been tasked with investigating the presence of any asbestos in nearby buildings while the site of the explosion is also being monitored.

On Friday, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issued an air quality health advisory for the whole city through 11 p.m. The agency’s warning noted that active children and adults as well as anyone with respiratory problems reduce “prolonged or heavy exertion” outdoors.

The public is still being warned to stay away from the immediate area, where there are still emergency crews at work.

Continue reading →

Steam explosion in Flatiron shuts down nearby streets

Crowd is herded in Flatiron following explosion. (Photo by Sal Governale)
Explosion rips through a Flatiron Street. (Video still by Ray Pimentel)
Firefighters on a closed off street (Photo by Sal Governale)
Streets are closed off to traffic and pedestrians. (Photo by Sal Governale)
Streets are closed off to traffic and pedestrians. (Photo by Sal Governale)

By Sabina Mollot

Emergency responders are still trying to find out the cause behind an early morning explosion in the heart of the Flatiron District. The blast occurred at 6:40 a.m. on Fifth Avenue and 21st Street, sending a massive gray cloud shooting dozens of feet into the air and causing traffic shutdowns from 19th to 23rd Streets from Broadway to Sixth Avenue.

Eleven buildings were evacuated and surrounding streets were off limits to residents and workers until police began opening some streets at around 8:40 a.m., and office buildings began letting employees back inside. Town & Village’s block on West 22nd Street was one of those affected.

Town & Village driver Ray Pimentel was in his truck with stacks of this newspaper on his way to the office when he heard the massive “Boom!” nearby. Pimentel said had he not been caught at a red light on Sixth Avenue, “I would have been right in the hole in front of Chase Bank (on Fifth Avenue). I’m alive because of five seconds.”

He stopped his truck in the middle of Fifth Avenue and waited there for the Fire Department, which he said arrived in about seven minutes. Oddly, the blast didn’t smell too strong at that time.

“It was like cooking gas, you know like when you’re doing a barbecue, clean, not too bad,” he recalled.

Continue reading →

Installation on Flatiron Pedestrian Plaza debuts for the holidays

On Monday night, the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership (BID) celebrated the launch of “23 Nights of Flatiron Cheer,” an upcoming series of free events at the pedestrian plaza with the unveiling of “Flatiron Reflection,” an architectural installation. The installation was created by the firm Future Expansion, the winner of a design competition held by local nonprofit Van Alen. (Pictured L-R) Nicholas McDermott and Deirdre McDermott of Future Expansion; Jessica Lax, Van Alen Institute; Emily Colasacco, NYC DOT Art; Isabel Meisner, Van Alen Institute; Jennifer Brown, Flatiron BID; Jorge Parreira, New Motor; Kurt Cavanaugh, Flatiron BID; Amanda Eldridge, GMS; David Messineo and Stephanie Darna, New Motor

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

The weather was appropriately windy and wintry for the kickoff of the Flatiron BID’s annual holiday festivities, known as the “23 Days of Flatiron Cheer” on Monday.

The series, offering free performances, fitness sessions, prizes and hot beverage giveaways, officially begins on December 1, but the launch this week gave a preview of the offerings to come and also served as the debut of the newest art installation on the north Flatiron Plaza, “Flatiron Reflections.”

Continue reading →

Heroes honored at Veterans Day Parade

 

Colonel Buzz Aldrin with Mayor Bill de Blasio
Mayor Bill de Blasio with Public Advocate Tish James and Borough President Gale Brewer

Photos by Sabina Mollot

By Sabina Mollot

Though the temperature hovered in the 20s, patriotic New Yorkers and those who traveled to the city on Saturday made up a steady stream of spectators during the Veterans Day Parade.

As always, the event began at Madison Square Park, where the mayor and military officials gave remarks as did this year’s grand marshal, Buzz Aldrin.

Continue reading →

Cops looking for man who’s been robbing cabbies in Manhattan

By Sabina Mollot

Cops are looking for a man who’s spent his summer robbing cab drivers in Flatiron, Greenwich Village and midtown Manhattan.

The man apparently rides up to the taxis on his bike and snatches cash from the drivers’ shirt pockets after reaching through their windows. In one recent incident, the mugger also punched a 46-year-old cabbie before snatching $200 from him. This was on Thursday, July 27 at Waverly Place and Christopher Street, where police found a stolen bike he left behind.

A few days later, on Monday, July 31 at 6:30 p.m., police said the man swiped $70 from a 66-year-old cabbie at East 21st Street and Park Avenue South. He then fled on his bike.

Continue reading →

Police arrest subway groping suspect

mar2-police

Groping suspect, identified as David Cruz

By Sabina Mollot

A homeless man was arrested Wednesday night for allegedly groping two women on the subway in Flatiron.

The man, identified as 33-year-old David Cruz, wore a Santa hat and rose colored glasses during the incidents, which both took place around the same time.

Cops say Cruz has a lengthy rap sheet with 17 arrests, running from minor crimes like turnstile hopping and petty larceny to more serious ones like assault, burglary, sale of marijuana and tampering with evidence.

On the evening of February 8, police said Cruz grabbed a 32-year-old woman’s butt as she waited on the platform at the 23rd Street R/W station. Then he allegedly hung around before doing the same thing to a 34-year-old woman on his way up the stairs to the street. The victims reported the incidents separately at later times.

Cruz has been charged with two counts of forcible touching.

On 50th anniversary, FDNY remembers the 23rd Street fire

 

Firefighters at the scene of the fire (courtesy of FDNY)
Firefighters attempt to extinguish the blaze (courtesy of FDNY)
Fire fighters rush into the Wonder Drug store.
Fire officials and Christine Priore, daughter of a fallen fireman, at a wreath laying ceremony (ceremony photos by Sabina Mollot)
FDNY members at a ceremony
FDNY officials at the ceremony
Some of the crowd at the ceremony
FDNY bagpipers at the Flatiron Plaza
Alicia and Christine Priore, whose father was Lieutenant Joseph Priore

By Sabina Mollot

Fifty years ago on Monday, October 17, twelve firefighters lost their lives battling a blaze in Flatiron, making the date the deadliest the department would ever know until 9/11.

The fire, which was hidden at first due to illegal building alterations, had prevented firefighters from knowing just what a dangerous situation they were in for.

On Monday, dozens of fire officials and rank and file, along with family members of the fallen firemen, gathered at the Flatiron Plaza for a remembrance ceremony and then a wreath laying at the site of the fire at the corner of 23rd Street and Broadway. Today, it’s home to a high-rise residential building with a plaque alongside it memorializing the deceased firemen.

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro spoke at the ceremony about how the 1966 fire is still a big part of training for firefighters today.

“Every probationary firefighter learns about this in the academy; 23rd Street has been the subject of countless drills,” the commissioner said. “This was the department’s darkest tragedy… and remained so until 9/11.”

Continue reading →

Local sites to be explored in Open House New York

Church of the Transfiguration at 1 East 29th Street (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

Church of the Transfiguration at 1 East 29th Street (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Open House New York, an annual event that encourages conversations about architecture, public spaces and urban life, will be taking place throughout the city this weekend. Buildings and parks throughout the five boroughs will be participating and a handful of local institutions are opening their doors to the public, with no entrance fees at these participating sites.

Most of the open access sites offering tours this weekend are buildings, including historic landmarks and skyscrapers, but one unexpected offering includes the greenmarket at Union Square. The site serves as an info hub for the event all day on Saturday but is also featured as a site in itself. There will be a behind-the-scenes tour with GrowNYC, the non-profit organization that runs the greenmarket, at 10 a.m. on Saturday to meet some of the farmers who serve as regular vendors that bring fresh produce to New Yorkers.

Continue reading →

Free tech classes returning to Flatiron in June

Outdoor summer program also includes fitness classes and games

Attendees at a tech class held last summer on the Flatiron Plaza (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

Attendees at a tech class held last summer on the Flatiron Plaza (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Public programming in the Flatiron Plazas will be back for the summer this June with free tech classes, fitness sessions, board games, crafting and other activities. The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) is launching the series with an event on the summer solstice, June 20, in partnership with the Museum of Mathematics, which is located on East 26th Street just north of Madison Square Park, and programming will officially begin the next day, running through August 11 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The kickoff event, held on the longest day of the year, will be a chance for the public to participate in some math-related fun. MoMath and the BID, with the help of willing volunteers, will construct a polyhedron comprised of 12 ten-pointed stars in the north public plaza. The angles on all the stars will correspond with the angle made by the sun at its highest peak at noon on the day of the solstice.

Continue reading →

Flatiron residents want neighborhood history recognized in plaza redesign

Flatiron residents and business owners at the plaza planning workshop (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

Flatiron residents and business owners at the plaza planning workshop (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Community residents and business owners in the Flatiron District are hoping to highlight the history of the neighborhood and provide more space for public activities at the neighborhood’s pedestrian plazas.

They got to share their suggestions at a recent community workshop hosted by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District on the future of the plazas, which stretch from 23rd to 25th Streets along Fifth Avenue and Broadway.

The workshop was held last month at the Porcelanosa building on 25th Street.

One attendee was neighborhood resident Jeanne Braun, who said the history of the area should be emphasized.

“It should be made to look like a historic district,” she said.

Continue reading →

New installation offers passersby a kaleidoscope view of Flatiron

“Nova,” a new installation at the Flatiron Pedestrian Plaza, as viewed from the inside of the structure (Photo by Sabina Mollot)

“Nova,” a new installation at the Flatiron Pedestrian Plaza, as viewed from the inside of the structure (Photo by Sabina Mollot)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

A new interactive art installation on the Flatiron’s north public plaza debuted last Wednesday evening, kicking off the holiday festivities in the neighborhood.

“Nova” by SOFTlab was the winning submission in the second annual Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition, held by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) and Van Alen Institute, that called for proposals from design firms for a temporary holiday installation.

SOFTlab, which also happens to be a local firm located on West 27th Street directly north, worked with materials from 3M to create the crystalline installation that acts as a sort of observatory for historical sites in the neighborhood. Viewing scopes positioned in different directions allow passerby to see the Flatiron Building, Met Life clock tower, Empire State Building and other landmarks through a kaleidoscopic lens and LEDs that activate within the structure enhance the effect.

Continue reading →

Sex offender busted at 30th St. shelter, Man arrested for ‘accidental’ shooting

SEX OFFENDER BUSTED AT 30TH ST. SHELTER

FOR FAILING TO MENTION ADDRESS CHANGE

Police arrested 45-year-old Carlos Leon for an unclassified felony inside the 30th Street Men’s Shelter at 400 East 30th Street last Monday at 8 a.m. Police said that Leon is a registered New York State level 2 sex offender.

He was convicted of attempted sex abuse in the first degree by forcible compulsion on January 28, 2003 for sexual contact with an 11-year-old girl in 2000. After he was notified of his duties on March 8, 2013 and March 13, 2003, police said that he failed to notify the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services sex offender monitoring unit of a change of address within 10 days.

MAN ARRESTED FOR ACCIDENTAL ‘SHOOTING’

Police arrested 37-year-old Charles Dunwoody for assault and possession of a weapon last Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. at the 13th Precinct. Police said that Dunwoody was involved in a shootout with another person who wasn’t arrested that resulted in a woman receiving a gunshot graze wound to her inner right calf.

WOMAN FOUND DEAD ON EAST 28TH

Police responded to a 911 call at 224 East 28th Street on Saturday at 10:05 a.m. Upon arrival, officers discovered a 27-year-old woman who was unconscious and unresponsive with no apparent signs of trauma. EMS responded and pronounced her deceased at the scene. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. Identity of the deceased is pending family notification. The investigation is ongoing.

TEEN BUSTED FOR SECOND AVENUE BURGLARY

Police arrested a teenager in front of 444 Second Avenue for burglary, possession of stolen property and possession of marijuana last Saturday at 2:28 a.m. Police said that the boy and another person who wasn’t arrested entered the residential building and stole property while the victim was still inside the apartment.

When the victim saw the intruders, they ran outside the building where two more people who weren’t arrested were waiting. Police tracked down one of the suspects using video surveillance and he was in possession of a stolen iPad from the burglary and was also in possession of a glass pipe containing marijuana.

‘PERV’ ARRESTED AT

UNION SQUARE SUBWAY STATION

Police arrested 35-year-old Mohamed Ibrahim for sexual abuse inside the Union Square subway station last Saturday at 12:10 p.m. Police said that Ibrahim was observed rubbing his groin on the victim’s buttocks on an uptown 5 train. Police said that Ibrahim and the victim did not know each other.

MAN NABBED FOR ‘ASSAULT’ AT BAG SHOP

Police arrested 23-year-old Jesse Rivera for assault in front of Broadway Bags at 1179 Broadway last Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Rivera got into an argument with an employee at the store and allegedly punched the victim in the face. Police said that he also slammed the victim’s left arm into a glass case in the store, causing serious physical injury and pain. EMS removed the victim to Bellevue Hospital.

TEEN BUSTED FOR PHONE THEFT

Police arrested a teenager for grand larceny and possession of stolen property last Wednesday at 4:41 p.m. inside Good Shepherd Services at 337 East 17th Street. Police said that the teen grabbed a social worker’s phone from her hand without permission while the social worker was using it. The teen then fled the scene but was later arrested.

TEENS BUSTED FOR

‘BREAKDANCING’ ON L TRAIN

An eighteen-year-old and two other teenagers for reckless endangerment at the corner of Union Square East and East 14th Street last Friday at 8:42 p.m. Police said the teens were breakdancing and performing acrobatic moves aboard a moving L train, creating a reckless condition of substantial risk of serious physical injury to himself and others without permission or authority to do so.

ASSAULT ON EAST 16TH STREET

Police arrested 34-year-old Kyle Sweeney for assault in front of 114 East 16th Street last Friday at 12:11 a.m. Police said that Sweeney punched the victim in the face, causing bleeding and swelling to his upper lip. No further information was available about how the dispute started.

MAN ARRESTED FOR

‘TRESPASSING’ AT MCDONALD’S

Police arrested 26-year-old Louis Smith for criminal trespass inside the McDonald’s at 39 Union Square West last Thursday at 11:30 p.m. An employee told Smith to leave the establishment multiple times but allegedly refused. Police said that they also told him numerous times that he couldn’t stay inside the building based on their rules and policies and he allegedly put up a fight while being detained in handcuffs. Smith was also charged with resisting arrest.

MAN BUSTED FOR ‘URINATING’

AT BROADWAY AND WEST 28TH

Police arrested 56-year-old Ronald Braga for an unclassified violation on the corner of Broadway and West 28th Street last Friday at 6:42 a.m. Police said that Braga was urinating on a public sidewalk in plain view and he allegedly did not possess a valid ID.

MAN NABBED FOR ‘TRESPASSING’

IN EAST 28TH ST. BUILDING

Police arrested 25-year-old Troy Davidson for criminal trespass and possession of marijuana inside 224 East 28th Street last Saturday at 12:40 a.m. Police said that Davidson was trespassing on the 19th floor stairwell inside the building but he is not a resident there. Police said that he wasn’t an invited guest of anyone in the building and did not have legitimate business there. He was in possession of alleged marijuana that was in his right front jacket pocket.

‘DISORDERLY’ MAN ARRESTED

AT THIRD AND EAST 23RD

Police arrested 27-year-old James Glogovski for disorderly conduct at the corner of Third Avenue and East 23rd Street last Saturday at 4:15 a.m. Police responded to the location because of a report of theft of service. Glogovski was intoxicated and sleeping in the back of a cab and did not respond to repeated attempts to wake up and pay the fare. When he finally awoke, he allegedly became verbally abusive with officers. Police said that he refused to step out of the street onto the sidewalk and began to escalate his “disorderly” behavior. He allegedly flailed his arms and refused to comply with repeated requests by officers.

MAN BUSTED FOR ‘STOLEN’ DEBIT CARD

Police arrested 46-year-old Oscar Diaz last Thursday at 5:05 p.m. inside the 13th Precinct for grand larceny. Police said that Diaz took the victim’s debit card and used it to make a purchase at Bath and Body Works.

MAN ARRESTED FOR ‘DAMAGED’ MIRROR

Police arrested 28-year-old Leon Jacobs for criminal mischief at the corner of Park Avenue South and East 17th Street last Tuesday at 12:05 p.m. Police said that Jacobs got into an argument with the victim and allegedly smacked the driver’s side window of the car, causing damage to the mirror.

 

Flatiron plazas to be redeveloped

The city is seeking community input on the redesign at an upcoming workshop. (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

The city is seeking community input on the redesign at an upcoming workshop. (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

The Flatiron pedestrian plazas and Worth Square (just north of the plazas) will be redeveloped, The Flatiron Partnership and New York City Department of Transportation have announced, and the city will be seeking input from the community at a public workshop on November 10.

Flatiron Partnership Executive Director Jennifer Brown said that development of the plazas has been theoretical for a while, but earlier this year there was enough funding through the city to officially start the design process and consider options for more permanent fixtures for the spaces.

Brown said that the plazas, which stretch along Broadway from East 21st to 23rd Street and north of 23rd Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue adjacent to Madison Square Park, have been the way they are since 2008 using temporary materials like the epoxy gravel surface that is starting to wear out and the temporary granite blocks that protect the spaces from street traffic. The workshop, which will be held in the Porcelanosa building at 202 Fifth Avenue from 6 to 8:30 p.m., is geared towards getting input from the public about different design elements.

Continue reading →