Week in Review

1. Building Code Overhauled After 40 Years

Click Images for Slideshow

Heuichul Kim

Heuichul Kim Whole Foods in Tribeca will be open on July 9, 2008. 07022008

The Department of Buildings's revised Building Code came into effect, instituting new regulations for administration, enforcement, and construction safety, according to Brownstoner.com. Some of the provisions — the first major changes to the code since 1968 — are effective immediately, while others will not be mandated for another year. The revised codes, known as the NYC Construction Codes, comprise the Building Code, Fuel Gas Code, Mechanical Code, and Plumbing Code, according to the Department of Buildings, and include requirements for sprinklers and smoke detectors in more building types, additional site safety managers, and permits for scaffolding. The codes will also provide fee rebates for green design.

2. Ikea Shuttle Used as Mass Transit

Red Hook commuters are using Ikea's free shuttle service as a mass transit option, the Daily News reported. The free service offers coach-style buses and connects the neighborhood — which lacks a subway station — to Court Street and the nearby Fourth Avenue and Smith and Ninth streets stations. It also provides a free water taxi to downtown Manhattan. Nearly half of the service's passengers do not set foot inside of the big-box retailer, and many riders use the Ikea bus to reach a local methadone clinic, according to the article. Spokesmen for the Swedish furniture giant say they are happy to provide free transport options to shoppers and residents alike.

3. Union Square Protesters Issue Fake Press Release

Activists issued a phony press release saying the Union Square Partnership had abandoned its plan to convert the Union Square Pavilion into a year-round restaurant, the Real Deal reported. They also created a Web site, unionsquarepartnership.org, which mimics the partnership's official site, unionsquarenyc.org. Although the site was not attributed to a specific individual or group, the site's hyperlinks lead to petitions against the Union Square deal and to the Web page of Reverend Billy, the leader of an activist group known as the Church of Stop Shopping. The Union Square restaurant is part of the area's $21 million renovation plan, and would be housed in the park's 78-year-old pavilion. The Union Square Community Coalition sued the Union Square Partnership and the parks department in May. The partnership's renovation plan is being fought out in the courts.

4. TriBeCa Whole Foods Opens

Whole Foods yesterday opened its doors in TriBeCa on the corner of Greenwich and Warren streets. The 69,000-square-foot market is situated two blocks from the former World Trade Center site. Residents and retail brokers said the opening is a vote of confidence for the neighborhood, The New York Sun reported. The opening of Whole Foods reflects the growing residential population in the neighborhood, as well as the area's affluence. An estimated 17,800 people moved into Lower Manhattan in the six years following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, according to a survey by the Alliance for Downtown, which also estimates that the average household income below Chambers Street is $242,000 a year.