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IT'S BACK: The Astor Place Cube Is Being Reinstalled Today
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 1, 2016
Modified Nov 1, 2016
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 1, 2016
Modified Nov 1, 2016
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It's been yarnbombed, damaged, forced into marriage, and turned into a Halloween costume, but something even better has happened today to The Alamo, a.k.a. the Astor Place Cube—it's finally been put back where it belongs.
After two years in storage for much-needed repairs, The Cube—which we consider one of the more fascinating pieces of public art in the city— is being reinstalled at Astor Place today. It was removed for construction and cleaning in the fall of 2014; then it was supposed to come back in June...and then was delayed until August...and then nothing.
But our urban public art nightmare is finally at an end. Daniel Leibel, a spokesperson for the Department of Design and Construction, chalked up the long-awaited return to "logistics" that went beyond the cube. "We're not just doing the cube, there was an expansion of four major plazas: The Alamo plaza, the subway plaza, Peter Cooper triangle and the village plaza," he explained. "And of course in collaboration in construction, balancing everything and making sure we have all the permits and we let the community know [what's going on], it takes time."
He added that the DDC was only responsible for when the Alamo returned, "We just got the call this morning that it was coming back."
We'll update the post once the Cube is fully installed, but the real joy will come when a whole new generation of hammered NYU students gets to discover its unique charms at 3 a.m. on a restless fall evening.
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alamo
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astor place
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the cube
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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