Are you thinking the photos are propaganda? I don’t think they are.
No. That was someone else’s implication, that the second photo was AI. And that may be.
I was simply pointing out that Columbus Circle remains somewhat busy, although the homeless are gone. Assuming the photo is not AI, that suggests that it was taken very early in the morning.
I hadn’t been inside Union Station for years; I’ve been on the metro lines underneath, but I’ve not had reasons to surface there. I recently took Amtrak to NYC and back, my first time on Amtrak in ten years. I was impressed at how good Union Station looked in the wee hours. It wasn’t just that it was clean, well-lit and felt safe; it was surprisingly busy for that time of day.