After 2 Years of Restoration, the Astor Place Alamo Cube is Spinning Again
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And with the snip of the scissors, nearly seven years of traffic hinderance and headaches are gone, albeit ceremonially.
Indeed, the $16 million Astor Place/Cooper Square Reconstruction Project – a Bloomberg-era vision to transform the East Village – is finally complete. Its official inauguration was yesterday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony with local officials for the return of the Alamo Cube.
From the mailbag:
Commissioner Feniosky Peña-Mora of the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC), Commissioner Polly Trottenberg of the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT), Manhattan Borough Commissioner Bill Castro, of the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation (Parks), Deputy Manhattan Borough President, Matthew Washington, Councilmember Rosie Mendez, Senator Brad Hoylman, Assemblymember Deborah Glick and other community officials joined today at the new Alamo Plaza in the East Village to celebrate the completion of a community enhancement project that created two new pedestrian plazas and expanded and renovated two others, bringing 42,000 square feet of new pedestrian space to the neighborhood. The $21 million project was managed by the DDC for DOT and Parks.
The project also introduces larger sidewalks; 16,000-square-feet of planting areas with new trees and automated in-ground irrigation systems; 6,700-square-feet of permeable pavement and 2,100-square-feet of new curbside rain gardens for improved drainage and stormwater management; and over 100 new bike racks.
Also included was a full $180,000 renovation of The Alamo, the popular cube-shaped sculpture now in Alamo Plaza which is best known for its ability to spin on its axis. The sculpture was removed for construction in November 2014 and returned to its home, fully restored and resurfaced, on November 1 after a two-year absence.
“I am thrilled the Cube is back at Alamo Square and that we are celebrating upgrades to another pedestrian plaza in our city,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “Marking the heart of the East Village, Astor Place and this iconic artwork stand as a crossroads for thousands of New Yorkers.”
Next up is the return of Mosaic Man’s remaining decorative light poles.
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Cooper Square, January 2011
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