The official opening ceremony for the Fulton Transit Center took place on Sunday, November 9th hosted by architect and television host, Danny Forster. We heard from many of the key people who made this center a possibility, including MTA Chairman and CEO, Thomas Prendergast; U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler; NYS Assembly Speaker, Sheldon Silver; Manhattan Borough president, Gail Brewer; Community Board president, Catherine McVay Hughes; Downtown Alliance president, Jessica Lappin; MTA Capital Construction president, Dr. Michael Horodniceanu and NYC Transit president, Carmen Bianco.
“The opening of the Fulton Center and the Day Street Concourse is a day that many of us have been waiting for a very long time and it’s also the keeping of a promise made by the city, state and federal government working together,” said Community Board president Catherine McVay Hughes. “After going through the old subway system it was almost like a rat maze, this is a welcome addition to our community and one that has been called for, for a very long time.”
Downtown Alliance president Jessica Lappin added, “It’s a significant investment into the experience of coming into and out of downtown, we’re thrilled about it and we think it’s going to usher in a new golden era of transit downtown. This is where the city began, it’s where all subways came together, except they really didn’t come together, they were purposefully difficult to connect to dating back to when they were all privately owned and competed with one another, so it’s wonderful to connect them and make it much more enjoyable and easier to get to and from downtown.”
There’s an opening that lets light in from the dramatic sky light oculus down to the underground subway tracks and today that circle got affectionately referred to as the “circle of light.” Everyone agreed that this center would become Manhattan’s newest, most accessible, landmark and the most talked about, new transit hub. The “circle of light” will become a brand new meeting place.
There was also a tremendous amount of pride surrounding Sunday’s event in the downtown area and many references were made to the rebuilding of the area post 9/11.
“This represents an act of faith in New York City’s recovery,” said U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler. “Who would have thought we would recover from 911 the way we have?”
After 9/11, many naysayers said downtown would never come back and said that people were leaving in droves, but now, as Speaker Sheldon Silver pointed out, young families are moving into the area in droves, proving that this is the most exciting area to work, live and raise families. Downtown Manhattan is now the fastest growing area in New York.
Senator Schumer said, “This center is a big investment and a shot of adrenaline for downtown Manhattan.”
-Nicola Harrison Ruiz*
*Nicola Harrison Ruiz is the Men’s Fashion & Lifestyle Editor at DOWNTOWN Magazine. She is also the founder of Harrison Style – a men’s style consulting business. If you want to take your style up a notch or figure out what to wear at your nest big event, you can find her at http://www.harrison-style.com
