09/21/18

The first train arriving at the newly opened WTC Cortlandt platform was met with cheers and excitement Saturday. I can't believe that the 17 years now it gonna stop here once again.

The renovated station features a marble mosaic titled Chorus by artist Ann Hamilton. Her artwork incorporates texts from the 1776 Declaration of Independence and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We worked really hard over the past three years to recreate this station in a very poignant, emotional, very emotional, very special place in New York. The artwork is spectacular, I think it's a fitting tribute to the people that died on that terrible day back in 2001.

The renovation started late because the city was working on the reconstruction of the above-ground area destroyed in a 2001 terrorist attack. But the project was finished in time to mark the 17th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack ever on American soil.

More than 2,700 people were killed and thousands were injured when two planes crashed in the center and toppled its twin towers. Walter Matuza's father was killed in the North Tower when Walter was only 10.

Really cool to be here and take a picture of the World Trade Center Sign. Transportation officials say WTC Cortlandt is more than a new subway station;

it's a symbol of New Yorkers resolve not just to restore but to improve the entire World Trade Center site. Zlatica Hoke, VOA News, Washington.