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It is the ventilation building for the Holland Tunnel on the New York side; it's located directly above the tunnel, near the Manhattan portal. It's not accessible directly via the street. It sits out on a long pier in the river, with a gate at the pier head. The public isn't allowed on the pier, but the gate sits along the Hudson River Greenway, a very big and very-highly-trafficked park. (With plenty of tourists) It is common for both misinformed law-enforcement types and infrastructure agency employees (outside of the legal system) to hassle people for taking photos of infrastructure - construction sites, ventilation towers, power substations, sensitive landmarks, subway areas, aqueduct facilities, etc. As a matter of fact, since the WTC is itself treated as a VERY sensitive and vulnerable site, it seems weird for a PA employee to tell you to take pictures of it instead. The site is a fortress! And yes, these people issuing warnings and making threats are all wrong. You can stand in a public place and take a photograph anytime, there are very few restrictions on this. It's also fairly safe; there aren't any reasonable vulnerabilities to public infrastructure that a single photograph from a public park can uncover. (If there is such a vulnerability, it's not a reasonable one; it should be mitigated through security hardening, not by hassling park-goers) |