Fulton St — Local services in New York

This is the Hub of Hubs in the New York City Subway system. Sure more money was dumped into World Trade Center portion ($4 billion), but 1.4 billion dollars is nothing to sneeze at either. They are both connected in some labyrinthine way that I can't figure out, but Fulton Center is right at the epicenter of all 11 subway lines: 2-3-4-5-A-C-J-Z-N-R-W.

The hub is the long awaited connection of what used to be three independently owned subway systems: IRT - Inter-borough Rapid Transit, IND - Independent Subway, BMT - Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit. Since they were privately owned, it's an of course that they didn't design free transfers between their competitors. This created a logistical mess when all the lines were taken over by the municipal government. They tried their best but the platform signage still leaves a lot to be desired.

Here's where else I get confused.... The Fulton Center oculus is not THE Oculus. It's round, it lets in sunlight, but it's called the "Sky Reflector-Net", whereas The Oculus is that $4 billion dead whale bone monstrosity with majority of the shopping. Go figure. There's a few shops in the Fulton Center, the most notable is the Shake Shack, so it's not really a shopping destination. But with the ledge by the window wall on the first floor, it has a hell of a lot more impromptu seating than the wide open dead whale carcass.

I brought some tourist friends of mine here for a quick look-see. The cops at the turnstiles let us out and back in without paying the fare again, but that's not usual. At. All. But there's not much to see anyway. I was grasping at straws with what little time I had.

The Fulton Center is worth every dime in the long run and a very welcome addition...

The Fulton Street train station is amazing to walk through. The staff that work there are nice and helpful. And the train station always smells like delicious foods. But one thing that needs to change is the cops doing random search on unsuspecting people that they unfairly single out at the turnstiles. I was going home to the Bronx from a school that I attended in manhattan at the Fulton Street train station. I was about to get my metro card so I could pay and cross the turnstile when an officer came out of nowhere and told me that He needed to do a random search in my book bag. I was with my friend from class and we were around other people but the only person that was stopped and asked to do a random search was me. I think the reason why I was singled out was because of racial profiling. I have a purple book bag, I was wearing glasses, and the only thing that they found in my book bag was a math book and pencils. There was no need to stop me or try to intimidate me to do a random search. Here's a thought: Why don't the police working at the train station focus on the situations that are happening in real time instead of assuming and being paranoid about the people they're sworn to protect. They're starting to look like a paranoid, unhinged gang...

I like the way that they built this subway station. It's very big and also has restaurants where you can eat. I'm not sure if there are any restrooms. You can also cool off here in the Summer because they have the AC on. You can usually see folks sitting along the windows and just chillin. They also have security guards keeping watch.

What I do not like is a number of homeless or folks with clear mental issues using this place, to roam and hang out. They will usually come and sit near folks who are sitting by the windows trying to eat their food or just resting their legs for a moment. You need to be aware because when you are not watching they are WATCHING you! These days you have to be so careful.

They have a Shake Shack restaurant on the top level of this station. It's usually crowded. There is plenty of seating. Prices of their food are expensive, but folks do not seem to mind. I only buy fries there once in a while. The fries aew just okay. Nothing spectacular about them. I prefer Narhan's fries much better. I eat junk food only ONE in a while and when I do it tastes...