(NEW YORK, NY) — If you thought this business-savvy neighborhood was bustling before, you should check it out now. Since the World Trade Center memorial and museum were opened in Sept. 2011, the neighborhood has welcomed millions of new tourists and visitors.
Since the white Oculus (the architecturally eye-capturing white “winged” arched structure) was built millions have flocked to come see it. With this new insurgence of visitors, however, came newer malls, restaurants, and sights to see in this once tighter-knit space.
The area is now a hub not only for outside visitors, but an area for New Yorkers to indulge in upscale shopping and eating while avoiding Time Square’s flashy TV’s and jam-packed traffic.
Here are some new and cool things to see and do in the transformed neighborhood:
Westfield Westfield World Trade Center
The Westfield Westfield is basically an upscale mall. It is within the Oculus and features businesses like Cole Haan, Stuart Weitzman, Aldo, and H&M. One of the most popular restaurants in the Oculus, Eataly, features gourmet Italian food and dessert with a separate shopping area which covers shelves and walls with jars and bags of pasta, olives, olive oil, and anything else Italian. The beautiful seating attracts many of the area’s visitors.
The Fulton Center
Below the shopping center is the transportation hub, Fulton Center. Newly renovated in Nov. 2014, the steel-designed subway station is stylish, modern, and actually fun to walk through as it features photography throughout its modern walls.
Fearless Girl
Although controversial, “Fearless Girl,” is a statue symbolizing women’s increasing emergence in senior leadership of companies. The statue was placed by the Charging Bull in Mar. 2017, but has since been relocated to the front of the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 2018.
South Street Seaport Pier 17
Re-opened in the summer of 2018, South Street Seaport has completely renovated its mall since Hurricane Sandy’s destruction of the area. Now the seaside glass-clad structure boasts a roof-top bar, stores and new eateries. Those who knew the Seaport of before will be amazed with its years long transformation.
Latest Talks and News
There is now a call by a group from the district called the “Financial District Association,” to “amsterdize” the district, which would call forth the removal of roadways and implementing more parks. The Association was created to fight the new traffic in the district due to the insurgence of thousands of more newcomers and visitors into the region. While this would be an effective solution that would support many more visitors and better living for those in the district, Mayor DeBlasio is against it. But with the mayor leaving in two years, and the city’s Department of Transportation supporting some of it, according to StreetsBlog NYC, some of these exciting new changes might be put into place in the near future.
