Boon US Trip (Jun 2015): Day 11

Our daily morning ritual => preparing food for the kids / showering the kids / Feeding the kids.

NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY

Wiki: "The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority,^[10] a subsidiary agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of the world's most used metro systems, and the metro system with the most stations and the most trackage. It offers rail service 24 hours per day and every day of the year.^[11]

The New York City Subway is the largest rapid transit system in the world by number of stations, with 469 stations in operation (422, if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations).^[1] Stations are located throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. While Staten Island does have a rail line, the Staten Island Railway, it is not officially considered part of the subway, due to its lack of any direct rail link with the subway system, so any passengers wishing to reach another borough must take a ferry or bus. The Port Authority Trans-Hudson and the AirTrain JFK, in Manhattan and Queens respectively, accept the subway's MetroCard but are not part of the subway; thus, free transfers are not allowed.

The system is also one of the world's longest. Overall, the system contains 233 miles (375 km) of routes,^[5]^[7]translating into 660 miles (1,060 km) of revenue track;^[7]^[8] and a total of 846 miles (1,362 km) including non-revenue trackage.^[7]

By annual ridership, the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit rail system in the United States and in theWestern world, as well as the seventh busiest rapid transit rail system in the world; the metro (subway) systems inBeijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Moscow, Tokyo, and Guangzhou record a higher annual ridership.^[12] In 2014, the subway delivered over 1.75 billion rides, averaging approximately 5.6 million daily rides on weekdays and a combined 5.9 million rides each weekend (3.2 million on Saturdays; 2.7 million on Sundays).^[1] Ridership continues to increase, and on September 23, 2014, more than 6.1 million people rode the subway system, establishing the highest single-day ridership since ridership was regularly monitored in 1985.^[13]^{[note 7]}

All services pass through Manhattan except for the G train, the Franklin Avenue Shuttle, and the Rockaway Park Shuttle. Large portions of the subway outside Manhattan are elevated, on embankments, or in open cuts, and a few stretches of track run at ground level. In total, 40% of track is not underground despite the "subway" moniker. Many lines and stations have both express and local services. These lines have three or four tracks. Normally, the outer two are used for local trains, while the inner one or two are used for express trains. Stations served by express trains are typically major transfer points or destinations."

How do the handicap take NY Subway?

https://www.google.com.sg/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=how%20do%20handicap%20take%20subway%3F

Tough!!

Old Network

Street View

ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER

Wiki:"One World Trade Center (also known as 1 World Trade Center, One WTC and 1 WTC; the current building was dubbed the "Freedom Tower" during initial basework) refers to the main building of the new World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City.^[12] It is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere, and the fifth-tallest in the world. The 104-story supertall structure shares a numeric name with the North Towerof the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. The building is bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street to the north,Fulton Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east.

Construction of below-ground utility relocations, footings, and foundations for the new building began on April 27, 2006. One World Trade Center became the tallest structure in New York City on April 30, 2012, when it surpassed the height of the Empire State Building. The tower's steel structure was topped out on August 30, 2012. On May 10, 2013, the final component of the skyscraper's spire was installed, making the building, including its spire, reach a total height of 1,776 feet (541 m). Its height in feet is a deliberate reference to the year when the United States Declaration of Independence was signed. The building opened on November 3, 2014.

On March 30, 2009, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the building would be officially known by its legal name of "One World Trade Center", rather than its colloquial name of "Freedom Tower". The building is 104 standard floors high, but the tower has only 94 actual stories.

The new World Trade Center complex will eventually include five high-rise office buildings built along Greenwich Street, as well as the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, located just south of One World Trade Center where the original Twin Towers stood. The construction of the new building is part of an effort to memorialize and rebuild following the destruction of the original World Trade Center complex."

One World Trade Center

It's a tough job to take a good photos.

911 Memorial & Museum

Wiki: "Two 1-acre (4,000 m²) pools with the largest man-made waterfalls in the United States comprise the footprints of the Twin Towers, symbolizing the loss of life and the physical void left by the attacks. The waterfalls are intended to mute the sounds of the city, making the site a contemplative sanctuary."

Keena was enjoying herself. =)

Lunch Time!!!

Keena was really having fun!

Lower Manhattan

"Where liberty is

there is my country"

- Benjamin Franklin

Skyline of Lower Manhattan

STATUE OF LIBERTY

Wiki: "The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, a French sculptor, was built by Gustave Eiffel and dedicated on October 28, 1886. It was a gift to the United States from the people of France.

The statue is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue is an icon of freedom and of the United States, and was a welcoming sight to immigrants arriving from abroad.

Bartholdi was inspired by French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye, who is said to have commented in 1865 that any monument raised to American independence would properly be a joint project of the French and American peoples. He may have been minded to honor the Union victory in the American Civil War and the end of slavery. Due to the troubled political situation in France, work on the statue did not commence until the early 1870s. In 1875, Laboulaye proposed that the French finance the statue and the Americans provide the site and build the pedestal. Bartholdi completed the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions.

The torch-bearing arm was displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, and in Madison Square Parkin Manhattan from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult, especially for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened due to lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World started a drive for donations to complete the project that attracted more than 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar. The statue was constructed in France, shipped overseas in crates, and assembled on the completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island. The statue's completion was marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland.

The statue was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the Department of War; since 1933 it has been maintained by the National Park Service. The statue was closed for renovation for much of 1938. In the early 1980s, it was found to have deteriorated to such an extent that a major restoration was required. While the statue was closed from 1984 to 1986, the torch and a large part of the internal structure were replaced. After theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001, it was closed for reasons of safety and security; the pedestal reopened in 2004 and the statue in 2009, with limits on the number of visitors allowed to ascend to the crown. The statue, including the pedestal and base, was closed for a year until October 28, 2012, so that a secondary staircase and other safety features could be installed; Liberty Island remained open. However, one day after the reopening, Liberty Island closed due to theeffects of Hurricane Sandy in New York; the statue and island opened again on July 4, 2013. Public access to the balcony surrounding the torch has been barred for safety reasons since 1916."

Took a tour to Statue of Liberty.

Previously when I was here, I could not afford the tour, so I took the free ferry to Staten Island.

Somehow, this trip was revisiting the sites that I could not afford to visit previously.

I love this photo.

Statue of Liberty overlooking Manhattan. =)

Close-up

Keena was having fun with my camera.

Twins

Street of New York

Love it!!!

WALL STREET

Wiki: "Wall Street is a 0.7-mile-long (1.1 km) street running eight blocks, roughly northwest to southeast, fromBroadway to South Street on the East River in the Financial District of lower Manhattan, New York City.^[2] Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, the American financial sector (even if financial firms are not physically located there), or signifying New York-based financial interests.^[3]

Anchored by Wall Street, New York City has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading financial center of the world,^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] and the city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.^[1]^[9] Several other major exchanges have or had headquarters in the Wall Street area, including the New York Mercantile Exchange, the New York Board of Trade, and the former American Stock Exchange."