CreditNina Westervelt for The New York Times
At the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, a glossy ode to spending was in full display on Tuesday, as shoppers spent the day celebrating the grand opening of Westfield World Trade Center, and V.I.P. guests ended the night with a dinner of caprese salads and pan-seared halibut at Eataly's downtown outpost.
Inside the mall's main hall, the Santiago Calatrava-designed Oculus, which looks a bit like the rib cage of a very large, very glamorous dinosaur, the scene nearly felt like a throwback to a time when malls ruled America, except with smartphones and increased security.
After earlier performances, including one by Leslie Odom Jr. of "Hamilton" fame, the mood was lighthearted by the time John Legend ascended a stage wearing a crisp tuxedo by John Varvatos, one of the 40-plus boutiques in the luxury mall.
A barricaded V.I.P. circle included the "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King and Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York.
Fans squeezed themselves near curved railings and barricades to hear Mr. Legend's set, which included songs like "Green Light" and "All of Me." Attendees strained to record Mr. Legend on their smartphones, riding up the escalators backward, too busy capturing footage to sing along. And police officers prowled about with assault rifles, scanning the crowd with binocula rs.
After the show, those inside the V.I.P. circle were guided through the labyrinthine food court to dinner. Mr. Legend had his own privacy perimeter, enforced by a phalanx of handlers.
Ms. King, who wore a yellow Piazza Sempione shift dress and citrus-hued Manolos, sat near the windows that overlook the 9/11 memorial. "It really doesn't matter where you live in the city of New York," she said. "We all know what this represents."
She added: "We know what this structure means to the area. We remember, but we're paying tribute."
As guests, dressed in Chanel pearls and Erdem dresses, descended on the open bar and ate pork sliders and tuna crudo, Daniel A. Nigro, commissioner of the New York City fire department, stood a safe distance away from the crush with his wife, Lynn.
Mr. Nigro, who was named commissioner in 2014, was standing at the base of the South Tower on Sept. 11, 2001, when the second plane hit, and assumed command of rescue operations in the months following the attacks, which killed 343 firefighters.
Now standing in Eataly, the focal point of what Westfield is calling the "New New York Place to Be," Mr. Nigro, dressed in a Hugo Boss suit, welcomed the next phase.
"Adding something to this 17 acres is importan t," he said. "It feels good that something is here again, that people are here again and people are smiling and enjoying themselves again."
Continue reading the main story
No comments:
Post a Comment