纽约世贸中心13年后重新开业

After years of costly delays and political infighting, the crown jewel of the new World Trade Center complex will finally be open for business Monday, welcoming its first wave of workers.

About 175 employees from anchor tenant and publishing giant Condé Nast — whose employees include Vanity Fair’s Graydon Carter, Vogue’s Anna Wintour and the New Yorker’s David Remnick — will move into offices on floors 20 through 44 of the 104-floor “Freedom Tower,” officially 1 World Trade Center.

Although they won’t have access to the 1,776-foot skyscraper’s breathtaking 102nd-floor observation deck before it opens in the spring, the new tenants are happy to be part of lower Manhattan’s latest chapter.

“Condé Nast is proud to be a part of this important moment of renewal for the city of New York,” said Condé Nast spokeswoman Patti Rockenwagner.

“We are excited about contributing to the vitality of this community for years to come.”

Rockenwagner said the 3,400 staffers who are slated to move will not relocate all at once. The company is planning to move in stages from its Times Square offices with plans to fill its new home by the end of February.

New Yorkers and tourists celebrated another milestone in the area’s remarkable comeback.

“It’s a beautiful thing,’’ said a construction worker Sunday at the WTC site, where he has toiled or 12 years. “People were depressed from before. Now, they are more happy that they see a positive change.’’

Krisy Steelman, 35, who was visiting from Georgia, said the tower’s opening is important for the entire country.

“I think everyone will be excited about that,” Steelman said. “It symbolizes growth, renewal, a fresh start, the unity of our country and what we’re able to do. I’m glad we live in a county where if something bad happens, we are able to make it better.”

Also new to the neighborhood is a battalion of added police officers. Nearly 50 Port Authority cops patrolled the area in the days before 9/11. That number has since doubled, with plans for up to 200 by the time all the signed tenants move in.

The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, which cost $3.9 billion to build, was originally scheduled to open in 2006, but cost overruns and political infighting caused several delays.

Condé Nast was one of the first major tenants to sign a lease. Other tenants include the General Services Administration and the advertising firm Kids Creative.

Although the Port Authority, which owns the tower, has hailed the opening, only 60 percent of the building has been leased, which has observers worried.

But some New Yorkers said you can’t put a price on freedom.

“It’s incredible that it’s back in business,” said Ilene Danuff, 55, of Chelsea, who works in advertising. “We brush ourselves off and move on. It shows that it’s a resilient city with resilient people, and I’m happy to be in New York.”

在历经多年代价高昂的延期和政治博弈之后，美国纽约“王冠明珠”建筑新世贸中心终于于本周一正式投入运营，迎来了首批进驻员工。

首批进驻的主要租户中包括出版行业的巨头康泰纳仕集团（Condé Nast），该集团约有175名职员在此办公，其中就有康泰纳仕集团旗下著名杂志《名利场》主编格莱登·卡特（Graydon Carter），流行杂志《时尚》主编安娜·温图尔（ Anna Wintour）和《纽约客》著名编辑大卫·瑞姆尼克（David Remnick），他们承租下了有“自由大厦”之称的世贸中心一号楼的20层到44层。

新世贸中心高1776英尺（约541米），尽管位于102层的观光区预计明年春天开放。尽管尚不足踏足观光区，入驻的租户们对于能够成为曼哈顿下城新历史的书写者仍相当激动。

“能够见证并参与纽约再度崛起的重要时刻，《名利场》为此而自豪。”该杂志发言人帕蒂·罗肯瓦格纳（Patti Rockenwagner）如是说。

“在未来的岁月里，我们乐于为这里注入源源不断的生机与活力。”

帕蒂同时提到还有3400名员工也会迁至此处，不过会分批从时代广场移至此地办公，预计在二月份末尾结束迁移。

《纽约客》杂志同观光者们一同庆祝了这座举世瞩目的建筑的回归。 “它真的很美，”一名辛勤奋斗了十二年的建筑工人在世贸中心的网站上如此留言，“人们为从前感到难过，现在看到这样一个积极的改变，他们会相当开心。”

35岁的克里斯蒂·斯蒂尔曼（Krisy Steelman）特意从佐治亚州奔赴此地参观，她说，新世贸的再度起航，对全美都具有无比重要的意义。

“所有人都为此激动，这意味着成长和复苏，这是新起点，是万众一心众志成城。纵使灾难曾临，我们却能把它变得更好，这就是我们的国家，我为此自豪。”

这个街区另一改变是警察配备的增加。在9·11事件发生之前，约有50名港务局警官在此地巡逻，之后巡警数目就翻倍了。等到全部人员进驻之后，警察数量将会达到200人。

这座西半球最高建筑总共耗资39亿美元，本预计于2006年正式对外开放，但由于超过预期投资及一些政治原因，一直拖到了今天。

康泰纳仕集团是新世贸中心的首批租户之一，其他租户包括美国联邦行政管理总署和广告公司Kids Creative。

不过令观察家忧心的是，虽然业主港务局对这次开放十分欢迎，但新楼入驻率仅达到百分之六十也是不争的事实。

但一些纽约人表示自由是无价的。

来自切尔西的广告从业者伊岚·达讷夫（Ilene Danuff）说，“它的回归本身就是壮举，我们的撤离和回归是这座城市坚强的明证，这座城市中的人拥有着强大的自我恢复力，我如此有幸可以身在纽约。”