is there a downside?

union square is the start and finish line of my working day. in the mornings i am usually avoiding puddles resting on the asphalt and hippie types setting up tents for the farmers market. in the evenings i am frequently dodging skateboarders, nyu students, hipsters and other partakers of loitering. recently my jaunt through the square has had to navigate one additional obstacle - construction on the pavilion (PHOTO HERE)

in short, the plans are to improve the facilities in and surrounding the pavilion. of note, the renovations include the addition of a privately operated cafe. consequently, the construction is being done through a public-private partnership.

to be perfectly honest, this struck me as a good thing and i did not give it second thought. the pavilion is not inviting in the slightest. an overdue need for a face lift is complemented by the mental road block it creates. the white pillars visually and physically cut me off from the lush niceties of the park.

also of note, when the weather turns nice, the former pavilion has in the past been turned into an outdoor bar - luna park. luna park was generally frequented by summer banking interns and other yuppie types. construction zone pavilion equals no luna park equals no yuppies. another win in my mind.

however, some seem to disagree. i began to see protest signs and ribbons attached to the fence sealing off the construction zone. i also began to read quotes such as

“today we are calling on the city to abandon its support for the union square partnership’s irresponsible restaurant plan and begin construction immediately on the desperately needed playground”

i can honestly say that this is the first time i have seen "irresponsible" and "playground" in the same sentence. the authorities also took notice as well ...

about a month ago a new york supreme court - which as all law & order fans know is the lower new york state court - temporarily suspended construction. construction has since resumed but not on the pavilion itself. this mostly due to the nature of the cafe.

as the main catalyst to cease and desist order for mike mulligan and his steam shovel, the opposition raised concerns for need for more playground space as the top priority. but the tones of the discussion imply that there is more in question here.

the opposition to this is also being driven by the public-private partnership that is behind the construction. I get the sense that they feel that public priorities would dictate things other than a cafe would be created in such a place.

on top of all of that - as if the man were not evil or conservative enough - the construction is going to result in the removal and ultimate replacement of some very old trees in the park.

although I will be the first to state displeasure at the tree hacking that will need to occur (NB - these shady spots encourage ned reading and coffee consumption on summer saturdays), i think that overall the space is gaining quite a lot from the venture. more playground space and a cafe that - like shake shack - could become an important attraction to the area. as it is in their own best interest, the cafe operators can become advocates for additional activity and safety within the park.

the renovation - at least in what i have seen - looks like it will open up the space and encourage more north-south traffic. This will only help to connect the northern end of the park to its southern woodland friends to the south.

if the city and the tax payers benefit from a partnership with private donations, then who's to say we lose? A need is being addressed, meets a number of constituents wants, and is at less cost to the big apple. i do still call dibs on a shady seat this summer.

various links on the issue:
http://www.unionsquarenyc.org/documents/NorthEndBrochureFinal.pdf
http://www.plannyc.org/project-101-Union-Square-Redesign
http://www.thevillager.com/villager_189/opponentspileonunionsq.html