As MTA and Westfield Litigate, Fulton Center Deteriorates
Local leaders are pushing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to rehabilitate a local symbol of recovery that has declined into an eyesore. The Fulton Center transit hub (at Broadway and Fulton Street) was erected by the MTA in the years following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, ultimately opening in November 2014 (seven years behind schedule), at a cost of $1.4 billion ($650 million over budget). But even with this troubled history, the Fulton Center inspired considerable praise in its early years, owing primarily to the soaring domed oculus, 53 feet in diameter and lined with reflective, diamond-shaped aluminum panels that allow natural light to flood into the central atrium and penetrate several stories below street level.
In recent years, however, the Fulton Center has devolved from a source of civic pride to what is widely regarded as a blemish on the local streetscape. A large plate glass window near the main entrance (at Broadway and Fulton Street) that was shattered by vandals several years ago still has not been fully repaired. Exterior, illuminated signs above entrances at John Street, Fulton Street, and Broadway, have burned-out lights. An illuminated art installation featuring more than 10,000 lights on 16 panels mounted in windows along several thousand square feet of the Fulton Center’s Broadway facade is broken, with entire panels unlit. And many interior light fixtures have gone dark.
At the January 7 meeting of Community Board 1’s Transportation Committee, Board member Rosa Chang said, “the issue is that at its core, the Fulton Center is in such disrepair that it invites the disuse. It is insane to me that they can’t even change the light bulbs.”
“There are basic maintenance needs that are not being met,” Ms. Chang continued. “It’s an embarrassment, but it’s also a safety issue.” She noted that exterior scaffolding at the landmarked Corbin Building on John Street, which is adjacent to and part of the Fulton Center, has been in place – without any apparent progress on the facade work that these sidewalk sheds are meant to enable – for more than six years, while restrooms within the complex, which are supposed to be available for public use, have been closed for almost as long.
Complicating any plan to repair the Fulton Center is ongoing litigation between the MTA and Westfield Group, a shopping mall operator that in 2013 signed a 20-year lease to manage the retail spaces within the complex. In 2024, Westfield sought to exit this lease, alleging that the MTA had allowed Fulton Center to degenerate into a blighted, unsafe environment that drove prospective customers away. As this lawsuit proceeds, the MTA and Westfield allege that the other is responsible for maintenance and security.
At its January 27 monthly meeting, CB1 enacted a resolution urging the MTA “to make the Fulton Center safer and more welcoming to the hundreds of thousands of commuters and visitors,” by fixing and upgrading lights throughout the complex, reopening the restrooms, repairing all damaged signage, replacing broken windows, and completing facade work on the Corbin Building to expedite the removal of sidewalk scaffolding.