Are you as disoriented as we are when we trek around Astor Place? It's like, how can we even tell it's Astor Place without the Cube, you know?

Luckily, according to Bedford and Bowery the Cube will soon make its return. 

It's been more than a year since the Cube was hoisted from the ground, dropped in a box, and driven away on a flatbed. 

On Halloween, a guy dressed like a human Cube and hung out in Astor Place all day, but that wasn't really enough.

Aside from our complete disorientation about where the Cube is, plus confusion about crosswalks-- where it's okay to walk and where it's extremely dangerous to walk in Astor Place --we've just been despondent about the loss of an important landmark.

Luckily, excavation of the future Astor Plaza re-started this week. The city says the construction, which began in 2013, should be finished by the spring.

So where is the Cube residing while we patiently await its return? Apparently, in New Jersey. Why has it taken so long for the Cube to return to us?

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In the spring, work at the Cube site was put on hold because the MTA hadn't approved construction above the Astor Place Subway Station.

An MTA spokesperson said those plans were rejected because it would have required additional engineering. 

Then, in October, Department of Design and Construction contractors submitted revised drawings. These, the MTA spokesperson said, "eliminated that portion of the work from their contract."

As a result, the MTA lifted the Stop Work Order that had put Astor Place construction at a standstill.

Monday, after a long, drawn-out wait, shovels finally hit pavement. Now, we should have a new, sparkly plaza by spring complete with a restored, repainted Cube.

How about the current fate of the Cube?

"[The Cube is] currently being restored in a conservation facility in New Jersey... Pending conservators work, and completion of the plazas, the Cube will then be re-installed back to its rightful place," said Shavone Williams, public information officer at the DDC.

So what's going on at Cooper Square? Well, sidewalks are being widened, new lampposts have been installed, and there are plans in place for more landscaping. For now, things are moving along swimmingly.

We hope everything at Astor Place continues on pace, so our dreams of having the Cube home can come true before we're, like, 80.

Check out Can You Guess How Much the Island of Manhattan Is Actually Worth. 

[via Bedford and Bowery] [Feature Image Courtesy Instagram]