Shake Shack Fans Root for Second Outpost at Union Square

No sooner was the $17.8 million renovation of Union Square Park approved than attention turned to which restaurateur will occupy a refurbished pavilion on the park’s north end.Yesterday, Manhattan’s Community Board 5 approved the plan after a nearly three-hour debate. By the end of year the city expects to put out a request for proposals for the operation of a seasonal cafe in the pavilion between April and October.Since 1994, a restaurant and bar named Luna Park has operated on the south end of the pavilion during the summer months. The redesign approved yesterday would phase out the Luna Park site and place a restaurant inside an upgraded pavilion.The renovation also would nearly triple the amount of space devoted to playgrounds, add new bathrooms, and upgrade the area that houses the park’s famous weekly farmer’s market. It will be paid for by the city and at least $6 million from the area’s busi ness improvement district, Union Square Partnership.The restaurateur Danny Meyer will serve as co-chairman of the Union Square Partnership, leading some to wonder whether he would bring a replica of the Shake Shack, a wildly popular outdoor hamburger joint in MadisonSquare, to Union Square. Mr. Meyer also owns Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, and Tabla, among others.Yesterday, Mr. Meyer would not completely rule out someday moving into the park, but he said his relationship with the owner of Luna Park, and the proximity of a Shake Shack six blocks away, made it unlikely.“The odds of it are pretty darn low. I’m happy with what we have Madison Square Park. It’s way too close,” Mr. Meyer told The New York Sun.The Union Square Park plan was widely criticized by residents, park advocates, and elected leaders who disliked the idea of selling off parkland for commercial use. Others were angered that debate over the restaurant slowed the process of bringing a badly needed renovation to the park.Some members of the community board are eager for the addition to the park. The Parks Department has said the restaurant would liven up the park’s north end, which they said looks rundown when the farmer’s market is not operating. They said the concession is also likely to deposit about $5 million a year into the city’s general fund through rent payments and taxes.Yesterday, Mr. Meyer defended plans to improve the park’s restaurant facilities, saying that as a business owner and a resident of the area, the Luna Park has helped to add a “sense of life and vitality” to the neighborhood.Still, he said he would prefer if some of the proceeds from the concession be donated directly back into the park rather than to the city’s general fund.

Shake Shack Fans Root for Second Outpost at Union Square

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