The Arizona 9/11 Memorial Commission chose this design.

Bloomberg, Pataki hold post-campaign meeting to discuss trade center site
 
By SARA KUGLER
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. George Pataki met Thursday to discuss the future of the World Trade Center site, a day after they both appointed loyalists to fill vacancies on the board overseeing the redevelopment.

Bloomberg and Pataki met at the governor's east side office and spent part of the afternoon talking about one of the issues that is at the top of the mayor's second-term agenda. The meeting was the most recent of many signals that Bloomberg is seizing more control in planning the redevelopment after largely letting Pataki take the lead since 2001.
 
 "The mayor's administration's interests may very well differ from others, and we're going to be very vocal in trying to make sure that our interests are taken into account," Bloomberg said Wednesday.

Bloomberg appointed six new members to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. on Wednesday _ four of whom are top officials from his administration. Hours later, Pataki announced he was appointing James Kallstrom, an adviser who is developing a security plan for the trade center site, and Charles Gargano, chairman of the Empire State Development Corp., which is the parent corporation of the LMDC.

The mayor and governor are divided on some key issues of the plan.

Primarily, Bloomberg has questioned the pace of the progress and the plans for 10 million square feet of office space that developer Larry Silverstein wants to replace what was lost in the terrorist attack.

The mayor says residential space and even schools should be considered for the site, which he fears would turn "barren at night" if only offices were built there.

"Building a downtown, which some cities have tragically done, that empties out at five or six o'clock and there's nobody on the streets is not the road to having a successful city nor making the commercial space very valuable," he said Thursday.

When Bloomberg first made that suggestion a few weeks ago, Pataki said he was "perplexed" by the apparent change in direction.

Since the mayor floated the idea, opponents have said the move would require changing the charter that they say prohibits the site's owner _ the Port Authority _ from building anything but commercial space there. Bloomberg has dismissed that argument, saying a private developer could easily get around it.

Gargano indicated after the meeting Thursday that the governor might be willing to compromise and consider residential space on the site, and hinted that there is even backing for reforming the charter, if that is necessary.

"I would support the change," Gargano said on NY1's political program. "I don't think we should abandon commercial building on the site. I think we should have flexibility and there's nothing wrong with that."

A poll released Thursday found that a majority of New Yorkers think Bloomberg, not Pataki, should make the decisions about shaping ground zero. Respondents to the Quinnipiac University poll said they favored Bloomberg for that role over Pataki by 61 to 15 percent, and they support adding housing by a margin of 48 to 37 percent.

The same poll also found the mayor's highest approval rating ever _ coming off his re-election high. A record 75 percent of New Yorkers approve of the way he is handling his job. The survey questioned 895 registered voters from Nov. 10 to Nov. 15, and has a plus or minus 3.3 percent margin of error.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/new...ny-region-apnewyork

Trade Center Plan Needs Re-Negotiation

The chairman of the Port Authority says the plan for a new World Trade Center needs to be re-negotiated to pick up the pace of development. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: The lack of progress at Ground Zero has irked Mayor Bloomberg and the Port Authority. Today the agency's chairman, Anthony Coscia, said it may take a whole new agreement between the Authority, which owns the land, and Larry Silverstein, who has rights to develop the site, to get things moving.

COSCIA: Perhaps it would be in everyone's interest to negotiate an agreement that reflects the reality we have which is that there isn't 10 million square feet of space at the site and there isn't a retail devleopment yet.

REPORTER: Such a renegotiation could shift the building plan away from one dominated by office space toward one that included more residential and retail uses -- along the lines suggested recently by Mayor Bloomberg. A spokesman for Silverstein said the developer was working in good faith from the original agreement.

http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/54130

Local Boy Scout Designs 9/11 Memorial

A local teenager has designed one of the region's first memorials honoring the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Alex Garneau, a high school senior from Malone, is trying to become an Eagle Scout, the Boy Scout's highest honor.

To do that, he had to complete a community service project.

"I was talking to a friend and they mentioned Sept. 11, and I was like, 'I could do a 9/11 memorial. That'd be really possible,'" Garneau said.

Garneau started working on the project in January.

He raised more than $6,000 and received help with the design from a local architect.

Ten months later, the memorial -- a 3-D replica of the World Trade Center towers -- is complete.

Malone held a dedication ceremony in a village park last week.

"Neighbors came. Friends came. It was like a family gathering. It really felt good," said Garneau's father, Anthony.

The high school senior said he's thinking about becoming an engineer, but his father said he'd like to see his son put his leadership skills to work in a different way.

"Congress," said Anthony Garneau. "I'd really like to see him in Congress."

http://www.thechamplainchannel.com/news/5354175/detail.html

P.A. chief pushes for agency's return to Ground Zero

NEW YORK -- The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey likely will return to the former World Trade Center site in 2009 or soon afterward as part of the ongoing redevelopment of Lower Manhattan, the agency's chairman said yesterday.

"I'm in favor -- as I know a number of board members are -- (of) returning this agency to that site," Anthony Coscia told reporters after the Port Authority's monthly meeting. "I've specifically said that I believe the right place for that is in Towers 3 and 4 to help anchor 400,000 to 600,000 square feet of retail development."

The Port Authority holds the rights to redevelop retail space at Ground Zero. Officials say the earliest a third or fourth tower could be completed is 2009 as part of the site's overall master plan.

Coscia said he did not expect the Port Authority would relocate to the 52-story World Trade Center 7, a building that Ground Zero site developer Larry Silverstein expects to open early next year, or the tract's proposed signature 1,776-foot Freedom Tower.

In May, Coscia and other high- ranking agency officials resisted a request from New York Gov. George Pataki to move 2,000 agency employees into WTC 7, saying it did not make economic sense and would be too traumatic for employees.

The Port Authority, which owns Ground Zero and leased the Twin Towers to Silverstein, lost 75 employees and nine contract workers in the 9/11 terrorist attacks that destroyed the complex.

Coscia's comments come as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has taken a more aggressive role to hasten rebuilding following his resounding re-election victory and Pataki's decision not to seek a fourth term as governor next year.

Both men share control of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which is responsible for charting Ground Zero's future. Coscia's remarks also follow longstanding tensions between the Port Authority and Silverstein over rebuilding.

The chairman said he believes "it's unreasonable to think" agency employees who were there on 9/11 will ever forget the pain.

"But at some point, the agency as a whole does feel an obligation to return to the site," said Coscia.

Coscia also said he "wouldn't rule out the possibility" of some residential development on the tract, as Bloomberg has suggested. But he said he believes the focus should be on commercial building.

"I think it's important to restore Lower Manhattan as a central business district because I think it's important to future growth," he said.

Silverstein has the right to rebuild office space at Ground Zero under the terms of his 99-year lease with the Port Authority, which was signed just two months before 9/11. But Port Authority officials have haggled with Silverstein over numerous aspects of the redevelopment and are exploring a restructuring of the lease to regain the rights for the agency or another developer to rebuild Towers 3 and 4.

Under such an arrangement, Silverstein still could retain control of WTC 7 and the Freedom Tower.

But movement has been slow.

"I'd say discussions with Silverstein Properties are ongoing every day," said Coscia. "In certain areas, there's been progress. But overall, progress has not been significant. We still have major unresolved issues."

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index...45114480.xml&coll=1

Downtown progress is real and steady

By John P. Cahill


I am happy to take this opportunity to update you on the status of our ambitious goals for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. After an extensive public planning process, Governor George Pataki laid an aggressive timeline in April of 2003 and he told you then, what I will tell you now, that “rebuilding Lower Manhattan cannot be an elusive promise reserved for another generation or for a distant tomorrow. It is our honor, our obligation to deliver on this promise. Our place in time demands that we be bold and daring and swift.”


In four short years, we have restored Downtown and created a plan to realize our vision for a renewed Lower Manhattan. Whether it is the newly designed Freedom Tower, creating a fitting memorial to honor our lost heroes, or ensuring that Goldman Sachs remains in Lower Manhattan, no task is too daunting, no task can be ignored, all tasks have been met head-on and we are moving forward and continue to meet all our major milestones.


In the next few months, nearly $10 billion of construction — over a dozen high-impact projects that will transform Lower Manhattan — will be underway. Our commitment is clear; these projects are to be completed in the shortest possible time period, while maintaining the quality of life of workers, residents, businesses and visitors, and the Construction Command Center will ensure that we meet that goal.


This summer, we, along with our partner, Mayor Bloomberg, commenced construction on two grand transportation hubs, creating a 21st century transportation network which will be critical to the future success of Lower Manhattan as a premier central business district. By 2009, we will have two world-class stations that will rival any in existence. The hubs will serve the permanent PATH station, nearly a dozen subway lines and provide links across Lower Manhattan — from the Hudson ferries to the Fulton subways— and within the next decade, to Long Island and the world.


We were also pleased that one of Lower Manhattan’s legendary firms, Goldman Sachs, has committed to build its world headquarters across the street from the World Trade Center Site and serve as a critical anchor to our revitalization efforts. Goldman’s $2.4 billion investment will offer a total economic benefit to the city and state expected to exceed $33 billion. Unquestionably, having Goldman Sachs’ world headquarters in Lower Manhattan is a great victory for all of New York.


In a matter of months, we will begin work on one of the tallest towers in the world, the Freedom Tower. There is no greater symbol of New York’s resilience against terror or America’s commitment to freedom than the inspirational new Freedom Tower. Along with this creation, is the creation of a world-class security plan for the World Trade Center site that will be fully integrated into the N.Y.P.D.’s plan for all of Lower Manhattan.


We are also attracting new retail tenants to serve the fastest- growing residential market in New York City and further transform Lower Manhattan into a vibrant 24/7 community. The first phase, nearly 200,000 sq feet of retail space in and around the Calatrava Station, will be built expeditiously by the Port Authority and we have also asked the Port Authority to rapidly advance retail development along Church St. to help restore vibrancy to our community.


Most importantly, we are committed to ensuring that nothing stands in the way of constructing a fitting memorial to honor the heroes we lost that fateful day. The memorial is on schedule. There is no task more important than this one. Descending from the tree-lined memorial plaza will be the memorial, which will allow future generations to see first hand where the towers stood and recount all 2,979 names of our lost heroes — no one will be forgotten. Construction on the memorial and the memorial museum will begin early next year, and will conclude by September 11, 2009, as the original timeline dictated.


Each day our progress continues, each day, business people of all kinds locate shops and stores Downtown. Our goal is a bold new World Trade Center with a grand, fitting memorial at its heart, while restoring our commercial and retail core and creating vibrant, life-affirming cultural facilities.


We certainly have invested in Lower Manhattan and it is the best investment our state and city have ever made. Our vision is clear. The foundation has been laid, the funding has been secured, and we have the will and the momentum to see this

through. Step by step, we’re fulfilling our vision of a better and brighter Lower Manhattan for the 21st century.
When all our work is done, the history of Lower Manhattan will have been written not by the terrorists who attacked our city, but by the millions of New Yorkers who worked to rebuild it.

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_132/downtownprogressis.html

Mostly signs of hope looking across the W.T.C.

By David Stanke

It is the predawn hours of a new day at the World Trade Center. After a long, dark night disturbed with nightmares and restless sleep, the first signs of preparation for a new day are appearing. But this dawn, foretold in sweetly delivered speeches about resiliency, determination and the American spirit, will not be the dawn of a sunny day. Resilience is not a white, pillowy cloud lifting us to ever greater heights. It is a mountain to be climbed that will test us all to the core. For the next year, we will climb with very little sense of progress or of the summit that justifies the climb.

At 3:00 a.m. two weeks ago, we were awoken by reality in the sound of a jack-hammer tearing apart the street a half block away. My wife was trying to catch a couple precious hours of sleep before an early morning flight. This intrusion exceeded our patience with the intermittent noise of recent weeks. The ensuing confrontation on the street evoked defenses from the construction crew. Somehow “this is the city that never sleeps” and even “hey, this is about rebuilding the World Trade Center,” incensed me. With help from Mayor Bloomberg’s “311” city service and the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, this construction project was shut down the next day for permit violations. Throughout the day, we have construction noise, blocked roads, and crowded walkways; but at night at least, we have sanity. For the next 10 years, our expectations of quality of life will be somewhat lowered.

For many of us, the eventual product of reconstruction has been the carrot that makes life as neighbors of the W.T.C. tolerable. It is the inspiration of new buildings, new parks, and restored retail that make the despair of the pit tolerable. For some time, the promise of words was important. But in the last year, words have lost power. They have been repeated too often without a back up in real word progress. Finally, there are signs of resilience and life at the W.T.C., beyond those weeds that have tenaciously taken hold in the quiet corners across the site.

The projects underway in my immediate neighborhood are impressive. To the north on the W.T.C. site, the Port Authority has begun staging for the permanent Calatrava designed PATH Station with associated retail. To the northeast, the M.T.A. has started work on the transit hub on Broadway and Fulton St., reaching to the eastern side of the W.T.C. To the east, Brookfield Properties is rebuilding the one block park that was the mortuary for the W.T.C. recovery effort. Two blocks to the south, a building has been removed and the lot prepared for a new 30-story residential building. To the west, scaffolding envelops the infamous Deutsche Bank building in preparation for deconstruction. And back to the north, a window washing platform methodically scales the elegant new World Trade Center 7 in preparation for its imminent opening. Around this neighborhood every street corner and every block has signs of construction.

Taken together, the product of these efforts will be an inspiring restoration of the neighborhood. Each delivers enhancements to our pre-9/11 existence: more convenient transportation, better infrastructure, better office space, removal of eyesores, more neighbors and livelier streets. Just as the nation finally notices that progress has been too slow, real progress is taking hold.

My excitement about the future is tempered only by real risks that remain. Resiliency and restoration require political will, economic resources and disciplined decision making. Shortcomings in these areas have caused the lack of progress to date. Fissures in these foundations still threaten the future.

On the political front, the next year will see the transition from Governor Pataki to Mayor Bloomberg as the chief driver of the site. While Bloomberg has the political will and capital to move redevelopment forward, his initial pre-election musings are cause for alarm. For no apparent reason he has challenged the office plan which could take progress back years. His first mistake was to challenge the right of Silverstein Properties to be the sole commercial developer on the site. A change in developer would only delay construction, possibly at great cost to the public. Silverstein has demonstrated heroic patience and flexibility around an absurd planning and design process. We need Silverstein as the engine pushing real progress forward. Changing engines would be a disaster.

Bloomberg’s comments on specifics of the site plan demonstrate his distance from the needs of Downtown. A year ago, he was talking about building 30 million square feet of office space on the far West Side, far from existing transportation. Now, he fears that the city will not absorb 10 million square feet of space on one of its premier transit hubs. Instead, he’s considering residential development and schools. We can only hope that these were pre-election musings and that he will now move forward with the plan that is in place which is executable and economically viable.

The fuel needed for the majority of the site comes from Silverstein’s insurance proceeds and the remaining $3.5 billion of Liberty Bonds. Mayor Bloomberg has considered redirecting Liberty Bonds to other projects and other developers. Pull these funds, and the W.T.C. will have to rise on fumes. Dedicate them now and the site will charge forward.

Funding for the memorial and cultural components of the site will be difficult. In the next year, we will have to accept that memorial development will be delayed. Memorial costs have risen from $500 million to more than $800 million. Down the road, based on limits of human planning capability and complexity of the memorial mega-complex, I’d guess that the cost will top $1 billion. The fund raising effort is unlikely to ever achieve this excessive bill. Expect the cultural components to go unfunded. Excessive demands by small groups of family members have not been challenged. We have perpetuated the notion that for anything 9/11, cost is no object. There are many possible resolutions but based on past decision making, expect to volunteer more of your tax dollars.

So where do we stand four years after 9/11? The signs of construction are at last visible everywhere. But benefits from any of these projects, or even visible evidence of future facilities, is still years away. And while a workable site plan is in place, it is under attack on a number of fronts. The political will to hold the plan together has fissures and there are financial issues not yet being honestly acknowledged. Our reality is an environment of noise, dust and inconvenience with no promise of immediate benefit and large risks of ongoing delays.

The words of politicians echo in my thoughts, the need for determination and resilience. For speakers, these are only words, too easy to repeat at photo opportunities. For those of us who live in the area, they are pieces of the character that we will need to develop. As I look out my front window at 16 empty acres and see the first rays of light of the new day, knowing full well the issues ahead, I am once again excited about the future of this city. We have at last left the base camp, and are heading for a summit we cannot see. For the next year, our happiness will be determined by our ability simply to enjoy the hike.

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_132/mostlysignsofhope.html

GROUND ZERO HUDDLE

By CARL CAMPANILE and DAVID SEIFMAN
 
November 18, 2005 -- Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg huddled privately for two hours yesterday to hash out their differences over the future of Ground Zero — after Hizzoner vowed he wouldn't allow lower Manhattan to become an office park that's unpopulated and "barren" at night.
The high-powered chat came a day after the two influential players raised the stakes on their competing visions at Ground Zero by appointing their top advisers to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. — the quasi-public agency that spends redevelopment funds on the site.

Bloomberg continued to push for his own vision, which would include fewer office towers and more housing, hotels, shops and entertainment. The mayor's ideas clash with those of Pataki, who wants to replace all 10 million square feet of office space lost in the 9/11 terror attacks.

"What I don't want to do is just have a place that is barren at night, building a downtown — which some cities have tragically done — that empties out at 5 or 6 o'clock and there's nobody on the streets," Bloomberg said earlier in the day.

"It's not the road to having a successful city . . . People want to work where there are stores and restaurants and people on the streets and taxicabs and a lot of activity at night. And that's why modern-day city planners generally favor mixed use," Bloomberg added.

But Charles Gargano, Pataki's chief economic-development adviser, said commercial development, not residential housing, should be the overriding priority at Ground Zero.

"Lower Manhattan is the financial capital of the world. Don't you want to keep it that way?" he said on NY1.

Meanwhile, the Port Authority said it would alter its World Trade Center lease with Larry Silverstein if the Ground Zero developer lacks the money to complete the massive rebuilding project.

"One option would be to negotiate a new agreement with Silverstein," PA Chairman Anthony Coscia said following a board meeting.

Silverstein spokesman Bud Perrone said the developer "remains committed to a full rebuild" of Ground Zero. Coscia stressed that he expects that Silverstein will live up to his promise.

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/57765.htm

A ‘better and stronger’ Downtown is being rebuilt

By Stefan Pryor

The redevelopment of Lower Manhattan is advancing vigorously, as especially evidenced by the three groundbreakings we have accomplished over the past few months: for the construction of a pair of railroad stations that will create a world class downtown transit hub, and for the deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank building that will enable the expansion of the World Trade Center site to the south. More will soon be under way. We remain on schedule to break ground on both the Freedom Tower and the memorial in the spring, and through off-site initiatives we are undertaking broader redevelopment efforts throughout Downtown.


It is important for those of us who live here to recognize that we are moving forward. We can already see a better and stronger Lower Manhattan emerging from the destruction of September 11th.


The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation is committed to realizing the Libeskind master site plan, which was forged through a two-year public process. It is important to note that through all the challenges and controversy, the master site plan has held.

The centerpiece of the rebuilt World Trade Center will be the memorial, “Reflecting Absence,” designed by Michael Arad and Peter Walker. It will be a place of appropriate solemnity and life affirming beauty. We are currently moving from the design development phase of the memorial into the construction document phase, in anticipation of a Spring 2006 groundbreaking and a September 11, 2009 opening.

The L.M.D.C. is fully committed to realizing the vision of culture’s role in the redevelopment. Along these lines, we recently pledged $50 million to the creation of a spectacular Performing Arts Center that will be located next to the Freedom

Tower at the intersections of a restored Fulton and Greenwich Sts. In the next couple of weeks, one of the most visible signs of progress for anyone who lives or works in Lower Manhattan will be the web of scaffolding rising up the sides of 130 Liberty St., the former home of Deutsche Bank. Work began in early September, and scaffolding will be finished by the end of the year, with abatement continuing throughout the project. Floor-by-floor deconstruction will begin in early 2006 and will take approximately a year to complete. During this major construction job, safety is our highest priority. We have incorporated procedures and allocated funding in our budget for an extensive air monitoring program and detailed emergency action plan.

While our mission is to redevelop the W.T.C. site, we also place a high priority on redeveloping and improving all of Lower Manhattan. In May of this year we announced the allocation of our remaining funds, which will yield dramatic and long lasting results – furthering the transformation of our community into a mixed-use, 24-hour vibrant place to live, work and visit.


Included in these funds are: $20 million to rebuild and rejuvenate parks and playgrounds throughout Lower Manhattan, in addition to the $25 million we allocated in 2003; $70 million for the Tribeca segment of Hudson River Park and $150 million for the East River Waterfront, where work is about to get underway; $9 million for transportation projects and local ferry service including the recently-announced ferry service to Yonkers and Rockland County; $15 million for improvements around the New York Stock Exchange; $32 million to fund a Chinatown Local Development Corporation; $38 million for a river-to-river revitalization of Fulton St.; $40 million for a new residential neighborhood and bus garage in the Greenwich Street South area; $20 million for a new school on the East Side; and $15 million to rebuild Fiterman Hall.


The L.M.D.C. will also be announcing major funding initiatives from a $90 million allocation for cultural and community enhancement grants during November and December, which will focus our efforts on projects and programs that will have a long-term positive impact on the community. We have also committed $50 million in L.M.D.C. funds to create up to 317 new units of affordable, moderate and middle income housing, and we will preserve and rehabilitate another 2,854 affordable units throughout Lower Manhattan.


Four years ago, amid the chaos and tragedy that enveloped us, we could not have imagined the revitalized Downtown that now awaits us. Projects of this magnitude and scope are not accomplished without inevitable obstacles and controversies, but the L.M.D.C. remains committed to resolving problems and swiftly moving forward with determination. Through our efforts we will reinvent and strengthen our neighborhood in a way that will make the entire world proud.

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_132/abetterandstronger.html

Local ad shop standing tall with WTC tower campaign

By Jesse Noyes

It’s a historic win for The Via Group.
 
    Over four years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks brought down the twin towers, the small ad shop from Portland, Maine, with offices in Somerville, is taking on the monumental task of enticing people back to Ground Zero.
 
    “It’s truly the most important assignment we’ve ever had,” said John Coleman, chief executive at Via.
 
    Via, which also has offices in New York, recently became the agency of record for Silverstein Properties Inc., the New York City developer currently rebuilding the World Trade Center site, including the iconic Freedom Tower slated to open in 2010. Via beat out six competing firms in nine months of pitching.
 
    The account is actually one of Via’s smallest, Coleman said. But it’s the most personal. “I can remember right after (9/11) feeling quite helpless,” he said.
 
    But by joining the effort to revitalize the area surrounding the World Trade Center the ad shop is leaving the sidelines and jumping into the future of what is sure to become a national landmark.
 
    “We put our heart and soul” into the ads, Coleman added.
 
    Via’s first task is luring businesses into offices at the recently completed World Trade Center 7 building, which was the third building to collapse on Sept. 11.
 
    One ad says, “To leaders with vision, your office is ready.”
 
    The estimated $1 million campaign begins Sunday with an insert in the New York Times magazine and will expand with future outdoor, online and additional print ads inviting companies to the office space when it opens in March.
 
    “Our primary audience is the CEOs who are going to decide where to move their companies,” said Coleman. “But our secondary audience is the general public.”
 
    Via’s focus for now is on beckoning business back to the World Trade Center 7 building, but it’s a job that puts them in line for additional work as other commercial space opens in the coming years.

http://business.bostonherald.com/businessN...bg?articleid=112769

Residents need retail and culture on Downtown’s front burner

By Julie Menin


We are at a critical juncture in the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. There is an unprecedented opportunity to bring much needed green space, transportation improvements, schools, affordable housing, culture and retail to the Lower Manhattan community but with these opportunities comes the attendant quality of life issues that construction brings. The challenge for the residents, workers and small businesses of Lower Manhattan is to ensure that proper mitigation measures are in place to protect the quality of life for the community. In addition, it is critical that the rebuilding moves apace and that there is proper planning in terms of the development of additional schools and services to support the influx of new residents Downtown.


With respect to the World Trade Center site, Community Board 1 has recently expressed its concerns regarding the pace of the redevelopment. Four years after the tragic events of September 11th, a revitalized Downtown has yet to become a reality. While important transportation projects such as the Calatrava PATH station at the W.T.C. and the Fulton Street Transit Center are moving ahead, in other areas much remains to be done.


For example, it is imperative that street-level retail along Church St. be built quickly in order to help the recovery of Lower Manhattan and activate the surrounding streets. The maximum amount of at-grade retail should be built and the type of retailers selected must meet the needs of Downtown residents and workers, and not solely tourists. We have seen all too well the problems of overly geared tourist retail at the South Street Seaport.


Furthermore, the commitment to culture both on the site and in the surrounding neighborhood is crucial. The WTC Memorial Foundation must raise the critically needed funds for the Gehry-designed performing arts center. C.B. 1 has recently expressed its strong concern over comments from the Memorial Foundation that money for the cultural facilities will only be raised after funds for the memorial are completed. Fundraising for the memorial and cultural facilities are not mutually exclusive and both should proceed in tandem.


With regard to the deconstruction of 130 Liberty St., it is extremely important to have in place a community notification plan which covers a large block radius and which quickly notifies residents and workers of an emergency. Two-way hand held radios disseminated to buildings in the area would be a good step.


Our treasured Lower Manhattan community, however, extends far beyond the W.T.C. site. In northern Tribeca, we have a historic opportunity to prevent the piecemeal granting of variances for residential development by developing new zoning which would allow a more contextual development of this area. In Battery Park City, we welcome the development of a new community center but remain concerned about the need for a new school on the West Side. Zoned middle school seats for our community board children remain a top priority. Overcrowding of our stellar Downtown schools (with for example P.S. 234 currently at 122% capacity) will certainly be ameliorated with the development of the K-8 Beekman St. school on the East Side, but with 7,000 new residential units to be developed over the next several years, proper planning for schools and other services is vitally important. The proposed residential development of the Greenwich Street South neighborhood should include a school to help address the enormous influx of new residents in the district as a whole.


On the East Side of our district, the planned East River waterfront development will help rectify the dearth of green space in that area and provide recreational uses for the community. A serious concern, however, remains with the proposed residential development of the Pearl St. playground as part of the Fulton Street revitalization plan and we have voiced our strong objection to this element of the plan which would obliterate our only playground on the East Side. In addition, the departure of the Fulton Fish Market from city-owned properties along the East River sets the stage for important changes to the Seaport area. The community board will work hard to ensure that General Growth Properties, the new Seaport Marketplace operator, does a better job in addressing the needs of local residents and that the city provides space for community recreational and cultural programs.


The Financial District continues to suffer from unsightly blockades in front of, for example, the American Stock Exchange and there is a need for a better balancing between aesthetic considerations and security in the oldest neighborhood in the city.
A district wide problem remains the plight of small businesses who continue to suffer. Incentive plans to aid the small business community are critically needed as is a new wayfinding system (one that has a marketing bent) which would help gear tourists and others to the small businesses.


As a residential boon continues in our community, heed must be paid to proper planning for affordable housing. Our community must not be unavailable for lower as well as middle-income individuals and affordable housing must be a critical priority. The proposed residential development of approximately 2.7 million square feet of residential development on the Greenwich Street South sites must have an affordable housing component.


Perhaps one of the most exciting possibilities for our community is the promise of recreational uses and open space at Governors Island. The proposals which will be considered by GIPEC should be judged based on the quality of the open spaces. A top priority of Community Board 1 is for the ballfields to be open for interim use. The development of Governors Island must be sensitive to the needs of residents and not just tourists, and concern exists over any purely tourist driven uses. The Battery Maritime Building, which acts as the portal to the Governors Island Ferry, should also be designated for a community use (either for recreation or cultural use.)


Lastly, in terms of the quality of life for all who live, work or own businesses Downtown, we must continue to take a “cumulative effects” approach to assessing quality of life impacts. With respect to air monitoring, noise and traffic, we must holistically look at the effects of all the reconstruction projects and ensure that proper mitigation and protection measures are in place through the duration of the redevelopment projects. For example, the air monitoring that is planned is expected to end in 2008. The Port Authority should consider installing air monitoring stations in the immediate vicinity of the WT.C. site at locations such Church and Cortlandt Sts. C.B. 1 will continue to take a proactive stand on these issues as the redevelopment of our community moves forward.

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_132/residentsneedretail.html

Getting ready to begin building the W.T.C. memorial

Officials expect to begin constructing the “Reflecting Absence” World Trade Center memorial design by Michael Arad and Peter Walker this spring and finish by the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attack in 2009.

The design includes groves of oak trees on a memorial plaza surrounding two sunken reflecting pools at the footprints of where the Twin Towers once stood. As visitors descend to the bottom of the pools, they will see a wall of water near the names of the 2,797 people known to have been killed on Sept. 11, 2001 or in the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on Feb. 26, 1993.

Early in the planning process, officials thought the memorial could cost about $350 million to build, but the current price has now ballooned to at least $800 million, according to John Whitehead, chairperson of both the WTC Memorial Foundation and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Whitehead said at the November L.M.D.C. meeting that he was hopeful they would be able to bring the costs down, but he did expect to have to find additional funding sources beyond the $800 million he expects to raise. The L.M.D.C., a federally-financed authority jointly run by the state and city, has committed $300 million to the memorial and the foundation has already raised over $100 million in private donations toward its $500 million goal.

Once the financing for the memorial is secured, the foundation plans to begin raising money for a performing arts center across the street from the memorial. Renowned architect Frank Gehry has been selected to design the performance space for the Joyce and Signature Theatres.

A second cultural building that would have been adjacent to the memorial has been taken out of the plans because of objections raised by some family members, Gov. George Pataki and others who thought the area next to the memorial should not have exhibits unrelated to 9/11. That former cultural site will house a building to support the memorial. There will also be a 9/11 museum under the memorial plaza.

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_132/gettingreadytobegin.html

World Trade Center memorial design by Michael Arad and Peter Walker

Port Authority Says It Can Build Trade Center Memorial Itself

By DAVID W. DUNLAP

Reasserting its own importance in the rebuilding of ground zero as the governor and the mayor push and pull over the site, the Port Authority said yesterday that it would be prepared to construct the World Trade Center memorial itself. It also unveiled its own vision of a big shopping complex along the Church Street side of the site.
 
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
A rendering of the proposed retail space on the Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. The glass section at the end of Cortlandt Street would be a retail galleria.

 
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
A rendering of "Cortlandt Way," a retail galleria along what was Cortlandt Street, at ground zero, looking toward the World Financial Center.
Renderings released by the authority offered the first glimpse of what stores might look like between Liberty Street and the future PATH terminal, even before two planned office towers get built there. They showed two short structures linked by a covered galleria where Cortlandt Street once ran, with almost as much retail space above and below ground - 375,000 square feet - as there was in the original trade center concourse.

The stores would not begin to open until around 2010. No tenants have been chosen, though large multilevel spaces suggest the possibility of mini-department stores. And there are many points of potential dispute yet to be negotiated, including the fate of Cortlandt Street, which the city would like to keep open.

Other talks about the trade center site in coming weeks will involve the possibility of the Port Authority assuming construction duties from the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, the 11-month-old private nonprofit corporation that is to finance, own and operate the memorial and the memorial museum.

That would probably simplify the engineering of an extraordinarily complex three-dimensional underground puzzle. It might streamline construction, reduce the haggling over who pays what for the common infrastructure, and even cut costs.

But it could also complicate the foundation's fund-raising if donors balked at giving money under the impression that the project was being financed by the authority.

Kenneth J. Ringler Jr., the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, emphasized yesterday that no decision had been made and that the authority's role in the memorial - if any - would be akin to a construction manager working on behalf of the foundation as its client.

As an analogy, he cited work performed by the Port Authority for the Long Island Rail Road at its station in Jamaica, Queens, in connection with the building of the AirTrain terminal there.

"We're very good at building things," Mr. Ringler said. "We've already got a $2 billion contract for the PATH terminal, we know the site better than anybody, and we think there would be a great benefit if we did this work for the foundation."

"If we were asked to do this," he said, "my colleagues at the Port would be honored."

A spokeswoman for the foundation, Lynn Rasic, said last night, "We're not familiar with the proposal, but it's the foundation's responsibility to build a fitting memorial in a way that maximizes the money being raised for this effort."

Debra Burlingame, a foundation board member who gained prominence in the fight over the International Freedom Center, said she had not heard about the authority's possible involvement. But as a general principle, she said, "I'd like the foundation to have control of the memorial quadrant."

Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff said that "from some perspectives, it makes a lot of sense" for the authority to supervise construction of the memorial. "A lot of work has to be done quickly to ensure what we do there really maximizes the efficiency of the construction," said Mr. Doctoroff, who was named to the board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation this week by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

About the authority's retail presentation, he said, "They've attempted to think very creatively about retail space." But Mr. Doctoroff added that the city was "very concerned" about turning Cortlandt Street into a galleria, because it would block views from Lower Manhattan to the World Trade Center memorial and would create an unbroken wall of buildings from Liberty Street to the PATH terminal.

Anthony R. Coscia, the chairman of the Port Authority, said the renderings were not intended to depict final architectural plans but were meant "to stimulate a certain amount of discussion" and to whet the interest of prospective retail tenants.

"Many establishments that are looking for national recognition would find this an attractive site," he said.

The three-story retail buildings could include large rooftop transfer slabs - so big that they would amount to a fourth floor - on top of which office towers could be constructed when the downtown real estate market called for them.

But Mr. Coscia said the authority would prefer the retail and commercial development on those sites to occur simultaneously

The authority's plan calls for 375,000 square feet of retail space on five levels at the site of Tower 3, next to the PATH terminal, and Tower 4, at Liberty Street, joined by the "Cortlandt Way" galleria. There would also be 130,000 square feet on three levels in the PATH terminal and surrounding concourses, and 100,000 square feet above ground in Tower 2, at Vesey Street, and Tower 5, where the former Deutsche Bank building stands.

Charles A. Gargano, the vice chairman of the Port Authority, who was named to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board by Gov. George E. Pataki this week, said the goal - with or without office towers - was to have "all of the Church Street side completed, because it's a more integral part of Lower Manhattan."

Conceding that the city had a different view of Cortlandt Street, Mr. Gargano sounded like a strong advocate of the galleria, which he described as "a spectacular atrium similar to the World Financial Center Winter Garden directly across the way."

The company with the greatest vested interest in the retail plans is Silverstein Properties, which holds the commercial lease on the trade center site but not the retail lease, which the Port Authority bought back in 2003 from Westfield America.

After Larry A. Silverstein, the developer, was shown the retail proposal yesterday, he was said by a spokesman to have been "impressed with what he saw."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/19/nyregion/19rebuild.html

PA MAKES A GRAB AT 9/11 MEMORIAL

By DAVID SEIFMAN, STEVE CUOZZO, and TOM TOPOUSIS
  
November 19, 2005 -- The Port Authority has created a new furor at Ground Zero by trying to grab control of the construction of the World Trade Center memorial, The Post has learned.
Sources said the bi-state agency suddenly asked the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation — formed a year ago to oversee the funding, construction and operation of the memorial — to halt plans to hire a general contractor.

"They want to do it themselves. This makes it a government project," said a source. "This basically kills the fund-raising."

The foundation has already taken in more than $100 million toward the estimated $500 million cost of the memorial and associated structures.

Debra Burlingame, a member of the foundation board, said she was surprised to hear of the PA's move.

"They [the PA] have a bit of a conflict of interest because they're competing for space on the Memorial Quadrant and that's very disturbing to me," said Burlingame, whose pilot husband was killed on 9/11.

"My primary concern is not the timetable. My primary concern is that what is built there has integrity. The foundation has an incredibly talented board to build this. It raises a whole lot of questions."

 

But PA chairman Ken Ringler said the agency was only trying to be helpful. "We bring the expertise," he said. "It's still their memorial. I think efficiencies can be found."

Another member of the foundation board, who asked not to be identified, said the Port Authority's offer came with an incentive — a price guarantee.


"The Port Authority is guaranteeing no cost overruns. It shouldn't be dismissed out of hand," said the second board member.

The member said that under the scenario being explored, the PA would serve as the construction manager but "would still be working for the foundation."

The maneuvering came as the PA gave a first look at a huge shopping complex it wants in the lower floors of two office towers Larry Silverstein plans at Ground Zero — whether the developer wants them there or not.

The preliminary designs show five shopping floors at the bases of what will be towers 3 and 4 at the World Trade Center site's Church Street side, just south of the new PATH terminal.


The construction of the Church Street towers won't get under way until after leaseholder Silverstein starts work on the Freedom Tower and possibly a second office building along Vesey Street next year.

But PA Vice Chairman Charles Gargano said "we're making it clear we want development along Church Street to start sooner, not later. We don't feel we have to wait for the office buildings."

Silverstein has never been thrilled at having stores under the towers, fearing it would make the office space more difficult to rent.

But Gov. Pataki is eager to kick-start development on Ground Zero's eastern side. After his downtown czar John Cahill urged the PA to draw up a design proposal for the shopping mall, Silverstein said he would "react" when he saw them.

Yesterday, the developer's spokesman, Howard Rubenstein, said, "Larry Silverstein was impressed with what he saw. He is looking forward to working with the Port Authority and other agencies to bring top quality retail to the World Trade Center site as soon as possible."

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/57866.htm