The Fulton Street Transit Center is different, because it has a very large, relatively expensive element—the new building at Fulton & Broadway—that does not serve a transit purpose. You could still make good arguments for the structure. After all, there are reasons why Grand Central Terminal is a treasured public landmark, but the current Penn Station is not. But when the project is over budget and keeps getting scaled back, it’s a reflection on the judgment of the people who concocted it in the first place.

Why does everything have to be built to such excess? If these projects were designed to be functional and somewhat visually attractive, but not cathedral-like, the MTA could save a boatload of money. Leave the cathedral-building to the Port Authority at the WTC PATH station. It can be argued that this is an important, historic site in which visitors and tourists will take the time to pause, appreciate, look around, and reflect on where they are and what once happened there. All you’ll find at Fulton Street are commuters who only care about not missing the train.

If I insured that job, I would have shut it down several times now…thank god I dont.

Personally, I was always in favor of the project, but we’re now at a difficult inflection point. Since the demolitions are all completed, there’s now no choice but to build a transit terminal on that site. The real tragedy would be if the new building turns out just as banal as the ones it replaced.