The Oculus. It's a beautiful work of architectural art. But it was an enormous waste of money to many people, costing over $4,000,000,000 to build. Supposedly, it is a transit hub. Yes, you can reach many of New York City's subway lines here, as well as the PATH tubes. But it is more of a shopping mall than it is anything else.
If you look closely at the above picture, the Oculus is more of an upscale shopping mall than anything else. When one enters the building from one of the subway stations that reach its corners, one can't help but notice the beauty of the place. It is attractive. But then one notices how many stores are located in this building.
But why did I end up going here today?
To start, I've wanted to go to the 9/11 memorial and museum for a long while. But I refuse to pay full rate to go there, when I could go there for free after 5:30 pm on Mondays. So I tried to get tickets for today (I'm writing this on a Monday) and found that I was locked out. Thinking that it was first come, first serve (such as MoMA was on Friday Evenings before the pandemic), I decided to try to go to the museum.
To start, the Northern half of Metro North's Hudson line was impassable due to damage from abnormally heavy rains. Although I could take the train from Croton-Harmon station, I had no idea of the operational confusion that would exist when I returned to Grand Central Terminal. All I knew was that I was on a train which would make all local stops on the way to Grand Central - I'd make it to the memorial by 5:30 pm.
Arriving in Manhattan, I couldn't help but notice the heat. And it felt worse as soon as I entered the subway. As planned, I made it to the memorial shortly after 5:30, and found out that I had to get my tickets in advance. They went "on sale" at 7:30 am, and were "sold out" shortly afterward. This explains why I couldn't get tickets via the online portal.
My next stop was the Oculus. It looked sterile compared to the rest of the city's infrastructure. Did I mind being there? No. But I wouldn't go out of my way to see this place or to shop there. There was nothing there that I would buy, and most of the people I saw there were on their way to go to other places.
Finally, it was time for me to go home. When I reached Grand Central, I found out that trains running on both the Hudson and Harlem lines were affected by washouts. And again, I ended up on a train making all local stops. Arriving at Croton-Harmon, I considered myself lucky. All I had to do was walk to my car. Others had to get on buses like this to go to stations in Cortlandt, Peekskill, Beacon, and Poughkeepsie. No one knows when the tracks will be restored enough to support daily commuter travel to/from New York City.
Reaching my car, I noticed that the weather was now perfect for being outside. This was a perfect time to be wearing a nice flowing dress (which I was) and wish the daylight could have lasted a bit longer, so that I could finally enjoy some time outdoors. No one can control when the sun sets - and that is a good thing for us.
