Washington Square Park Renovations

Any "chess tourists" who might be visiting New York City this holiday season should take the famous chess tables in the Southwest corner of Washington Square Park (site of Waitzkin's epiphany and training and the Amp Can's triumph) off their list of places to stop.  The chess tables were removed in early October when the overall park renovation moved to that quadrant.  A KCC regular informs me that the place looks like a disaster zone, but a recent article he sent from Curbed, NY ("Teary Destructoporn: Washington Square Park Mounds, RIP") says that the removal is not permanent and "Games of skill will also return, and wits will be tested once again all along Washington Square South," likely by the summer.  You can follow news of the reconstruction's progress at the Washington Square Park blog.