As for a bit of an update, at least some of the shop spaces are now being prepped for the retailers to eventually move in. I've heard/read several different things but it seems like August 16th is the day that a significant amount of shops will be open by.
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"The destructive effects of automobiles are much less a cause than a symptom of our incompetence at city building" - Jane Jacobs 1961ish
They're opening the East end of the Oculus hall and Dey Street connector tomorrow. This will allow for the first time, underground passage from World Financial Center (Brookfield Place) through to the Fulton Transit Center. The only remaining subway connections after tomorrow will be the WTC E Station (and Chambers Street A/C/2/3) and the Cortlandt Street 1 Station.
Here are some my pics from tonight of them preparing for a ceremony which I assume will be tomorrow morning.
Quote:
The Port Authority will host a thank you event tomorrow, May 26 at 2 p.m., at which the agency’s senior leadership will thank the thousands of dedicated union workers and other staff for their efforts to build the World Trade Center Transportation Hub.
The event also will mark the opening of the eastern portion of the Transportation Hub Oculus – the iconic centerpiece of the sprawling Santiago Calatrava designed transit facility – and the opening of the Dey Street Connection to Fulton Center. The connection will, for the first time, provide PATH riders with direct connections to nine New York City subway lines – 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, Z and R. Links to the E and No. 1 subway lines will be available in the coming months.
That's so cool that the skylights are open. I hope that becomes a regular thing when the weather's nice! It makes the whole thing really look so much more streamlined and sleek. It's a completely different experience when you see that the two halves are independently balanced with no bracing in the middle.
The only remaining subway connections after tomorrow will be the WTC E Station (and Chambers Street A/C/2/3) and the Cortlandt Street 1 Station.
If you want to get technical, there are also two additional connections to the southbound platform from the upper concourse level (a larger one by the Oculus and a smaller one at the end of the South Concourse). These should open within the year, if not within the season.