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doglywolf t1_j24ogwg wrote

Reply to comment by Vince_BK in Is this new or am I just oblivious? by GoHuskies1984

Nah - they turned path down A BUNCH and made them submit a ton of design attempts for the signage .

But those are the same geniuses at oculus that installed low traffic importeed Italian marble floors that need constant maintenance that looks exactly the same as high traffic gazed marble at 1/ 20th the cost.

There a documentary floating around i think on youtube about how bad some of the design choices and expenses were there .

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j24qch1 wrote

It’s not so much bad design as it is corporate interests. The whole project was real estate and construction grifters profiting off 9/11. The design choices were just tools to maximize profit.

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doglywolf t1_j25ezf0 wrote

sad but true . Why take a 5% kick back on 10million in cost when you can take a 5% kickback on 100 million in cost at no expense to you and just the tax payer and help make a buddy richer

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drkensaccount t1_j24s8ki wrote

When the Port Authority is the voice of reason, you know you've come to a dark place.

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ddhboy t1_j2539pd wrote

I mean, Port Authority owns the whole property, Westfield just manages the Oculus, I doubt they have veto rights over signage. This is an extra-dumb interdepartmental squabble.

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drkensaccount t1_j25taar wrote

Port Authority owns it, but Silverman has 99 year lease, so it's essentially his. Westfield manages it, but things get extra complicated as the 9/11 memorial committee (or whatever they're called) is the one with veto power. It's like building something with built in historic building designation. I also don't think Westfield has anything to with the PATH station.

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ahabneck t1_j2510jz wrote

The white floors? Slipped on them more than once

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doglywolf t1_j2539vf wrote

Yes they are imported Italian marble that requires a crew constantly on duty to maintain even over night because they aren't made for high traffic .

The develops were set on imported Italian marble just so they can say " imported Italian marble" . It was against many of the builders and designers recommendations . One of the papers even did a write up on it years ago about how one of the leads was indirectly tied to the supplier as well and how the flooring cost 20x what it should have cost.

They even compared the high traffic coated marble and almost no one could visually tell the difference so the higher end stuff was just pure arrogance and indulgence

They need to be cleaned and waxed 10x more often the high tariff marble would of needed to be that would not of faded .

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j25sahw wrote

Yea, the flooring thing is an insane boondoggle that someone should be in jail over. It's constantly being repaired/maintained, and that will be done for many years, if not in perpetuity because the whole point of the structure was to get landmark status right at 30 years old. It's already almost 1/3 of the way there. Once that hits, no chance on being allowed to replace it.

And it's not like they didn't know this. Marble is a little stronger than chalk. It's a very soft material. Hence it's used to carve statues because it's a nice medium to work with and still polishes up.

Using it in a place built on pylons over multiple train tracks in the middle of a decade long construction project where it would be subject to small vibrations in perpetuity was stupid. The structure is going to expand/contract due to temperature below the structure as well. Foot traffic is just an extra problem.

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doglywolf t1_j25tkro wrote

ITs criminal but its par for the course with these things. Some brother in law /cousin / buddy of someone that makes these decisions got rich and kicked back a huge check to a politician that approved the needlessly high budget for it. It so heavy it needs to be reset every year to level it as well.

The is a marble yard in PA with the same looking material for 1/20 the cost of the import

It cost almost 100,000 a year in maintenance that's in addition to the accident maintenance needed form leaks and construction in the area .

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That also doesn't account for the teams of 6 people working 8 hour shifts JUST to maintain the floor daily 24/7 . Because of how much extra work it takes to keep those floors looking good over high traffic version that more scuff resistant.

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That 18 - 30 people counting weekend staff on salary JUST to maintain the floor. If its not it can actually stain if they let the coating wear down that would need an acid wash to restore the color before reapplying the wax.

It just not a material made for the volume for foot traffic it has.

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Over $350 a square foot to fix as well.

They could still probably replace it with high traffic composite marble that would look almost EXACTLY the same or even straight industrial poly plates with marble façade and no one but them would know the difference and end up saving money in the long run.

But no has to be certified imported Italian marble for some reason.

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podkayne3000 t1_j255byx wrote

Whenever I go there, I try to appreciate the fact that it’s now almost pure white, when, not too far in the future, it will probably be dark, dusty gray.

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