Cityscape: Christopher Bonanos
New York magazine|February 13 - 26, 2023
Why Is the Floor of the Oculus Crumbling? Seven years in, the marble slabs are chipping and flaking. It didn't have to be this way.
Cityscape: Christopher Bonanos

LOOK UP WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH the World Trade Center Oculus, and you can forgive almost everything: the $4 billion bill as the rest of the transit system starved, the skylight that was supposed to open but doesn't because the rubber seal ripped, the underperforming mall with its dumpy little kiosks selling dumpy little souvenirs. Enter that hall, and it does what Santiago Calatrava said it would. Your eye is drawn up the marble walls and the white ribs, and you are reminded of the nave of a great cathedral. You can experience, as a commuter, a moment's uplift.

Cast your eye downward, though, and you're back in busted-up New York.

The white slabs making up the floor of the concourse are chipped and flaked at the edges. Corners are broken, and thousands of scuffing soles have ground dirt into the rough spots, blackening them. Some slabs have been replaced, and they're whiter and shinier than the rest. The building opened only seven years ago, in March 2016, and the rest of it still looks crisp and new. The floor does not.

Grand Central Terminal just turned 110, and its Tennessee-marble floor is arguably in better shape.

I asked the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey about the replacement work, some of which I saw going on last year. Its representatives offered a statement: "Normal wear and tear of the Oculus floor is being addressed by systematically repairing and/or replacing damaged tiles," adding that work had stopped for the holidays and "will resume later this year." Calatrava's office declined to comment. Neither would talk in any detail about the beat-up floor.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 13 - 26, 2023-Ausgabe von New York magazine.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 13 - 26, 2023-Ausgabe von New York magazine.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS NEW YORK MAGAZINEAlle anzeigen
Trapped in Time
New York magazine

Trapped in Time

A woman relives the same day in a stunning Danish novel.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Polyphonic City
New York magazine

Polyphonic City

A SOFT, SHIMMERING beauty permeates the images of Mumbai that open Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light. For all the nighttime bustle on display-the heave of people, the constant activity and chaos-Kapadia shoots with a flair for the illusory.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Lear at the Fountain of Youth
New York magazine

Lear at the Fountain of Youth

Kenneth Branagh's production is nipped, tucked, and facile.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
A Belfast Lad Goes Home
New York magazine

A Belfast Lad Goes Home

After playing some iconic Americans, Anthony Boyle is a beloved IRA commander in a riveting new series about the Troubles.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
The Pluck of the Irish
New York magazine

The Pluck of the Irish

Artists from the Indiana-size island continue to dominate popular culture. Online, they've gained a rep as the \"good Europeans.\"

time-read
8 Minuten  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Houston's on Houston
New York magazine

Houston's on Houston

The Corner Store is like an upscale chain for downtown scene-chasers.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
A Brownstone That's Pink Inside
New York magazine

A Brownstone That's Pink Inside

Artist Vivian Reiss's Murray Hill house of whimsy.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
These Jeans Made Me Gay
New York magazine

These Jeans Made Me Gay

The Citizens of Humanity Horseshoe pants complete my queer style.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes
New York magazine

Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes

Less than six months after her Gagosian sölu show, the artist JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLAND lost her gallery and all her money and was preparing for an exhibition with two the biggest living American artists.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
New York magazine

WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?

Deli Meat Is Rotten

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024