Andrea Peyser of the NY Post covers the story and writes:
It seems the advisory committee for the Freedom Center is peppered with folks who brandish leftist political agendas. These include a Columbia professor who said, three weeks after 9/11, that he didn't know what was scarier — the terror attacks or the White House's response to them. Also, types who condemn America for supposedly cracking down on civil liberties after 9/11.
The Freedom Center would feature a forum for "debate" — center president Richard Tofel's word — about such issues.
Rose Canavan, 64, of Long Island, who lost her son, Sean, doesn't want to hear of it. With none of his remains recovered at the Trade Center, she just wants a peaceful place to visit him. Nothing more.
"They were all there just to go to work," said Rose, "not to mess around.
"It shouldn't be too much to ask."
Take Back The Memorial has excerpts from the speakers. The site also has a myths and lies section on how the IFC is distorting the issues - including how much space is devoted to the memorial compared to the IFC.
Jeff Jarvis has more, including photos from the rally.
UPDATE:
How come Oklahoma City could get it right asks members of the rally interviewed by the NY Post. Good question. And, it's a question that could have been avoided if the LMDC thought seriously about what the Master Plan was supposed to do. It was supposed to address the needs of the city, state, and country in grasping the totality of the destruction of the WTC, the murder of nearly 3,000 people who were simply at work, or heading to work like any other day, how to memorialize the event, and rebuild much of the infrastructure and office space. Cultural and social spaces were included, but how those spaces would be filled was left open - and filled by the LMDC with the IFC. It is increasingly clear that the IFC is ill-suited for the cultural spaces, and the plans should be revised accordingly.
The following should be placed at the WTC complex - in order of public acceptance:
~ the memorial - which will include the footprints. Everyone recognizes the need to preserve space for a memorial and to show what happened on 9/11. Nearly 3,000 people were murdered that day and more than 1/3 of the victims were never recovered. More than a thousand people were buried without even a single piece of DNA identified. Not a fingernail. Not a piece of hair. Nothing. These people have no where else to go - and Fresh Kills - where the wreckage and debris from the towers were transported so that the site could be prepared for rebuilding is insufficient. The footprints will be largely preserved, except for a portion through which PATH will continue to operate. The space allotted to the memorial and footprints will be less than 300,000 sq. ft., considering that the memorial is slated to be 50,000 sq. ft., and each footprint is just over 40,000 sq. ft. Even considering adjacent and open space not directly related to the memorial, space allotted for cultural activites gets more space than the memorial.
~ memorial to the heroes of the day. This means recognizing the heroism of those who ran into a building uncertain of whether they'd ever come out. Firemen. Police. PA Police. And those common workers whose uncommon valor helped those injured out of the buildings before they were destroyed or comforted those who were unable to get out.
~ transportation hub - including PATH, subway systems, and expanded access to ferries, and cross links. This is the least controversial portion of the rebuiling since everyone recognizes the need to rebuild the transportation system even better than it existed previously. Even then, there's issue with how the PATH line runs across the former footprint of one of the towers, but this was unavoidable and most of the families recognize this.
~ office space - most people realize that building some or most of the office space is necessary to heal downtown's financial district. More than 10 million sqaure feet of office space was destroyed. More than all that exists in a city like Cincinatti. The current plan calls for a Freedom Tower and at least five other buildings, but I think the plan is severely flawed. Instead of opening up space for memorials or other space, the five buildings crowd the space because none is tall enough to replace the space lost. The Freedom Tower will not have 5 million sq. ft. of office space. It can't - simply because usable office space will only account for about half of the total height. Even then, the remaining buildings would take a decade to build, turning the entire site into a construction zone for the foreseeable future.
What the WTC doesn't need:
~ politics intruding into the memorialization of those killed, or those who now live with the memories of that day. Terrorists murdered more than 3,000 people because of their insane hatred of this nation. What it stands for. What we believe in. Freedom. The terrorists couldn't care if we did backflips to accomodate them because they'd find some other reason to hate us and kill us.
~ political correctness. See above. The memorial needs to cut through to the unvarnished truth. Terrorists destroyed two NYC landmarks and with it - nearly 3,000 people. Mass murder with the intent to kill thousands more.
~ a restored street grid. We have heard that security issues forced a redesign of the Freedom Tower was too close to West Street. Well, the Master Plan recreates a street grid through the site. What purpose does that serve? Will those streets ever be open to general use? Not likely. It would pose too many security concerns, or at least it should if we take the Freedom Tower street siting concern at face value. A street grid serves no purpose other than to deprive space that could go towards proper siting of the towers, memorial space, and transportation hub. In other words, it is a waste of perfectly good space in a site that is short on space despite the 16 acres available for memorials and development.
UPDATE 2:
The Post writes that the continuing pit at Ground Zero lies at the feet of Gov. Pataki. Where have we heard that before. Oh wait. I keep saying that repeatedly here on the blog and on other blogs who are commenting on WTC rebuilding.
Letters to the editor complain about the lack of memorialization, a lack of focus, and a lack of progress in rebuilding. One has to wonder just how much people really know about the situation at the WTC when most of the NY papers overlook the issue, which should be the most significant development issue in the City in decades. No wonder blogs are filling the gap. We're the ones who are bringing attention to the issues, providing analysis, and highlighting stories that may not get the coverage they deserve.
Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC
2 comments:
I have no right to say anything about the Memorial itself as an outsider...but as someone who witnessed every moment after the first plane struck the North Tower that sunny Tuesday morning, and who's life was forever changed by witnessing the live burning to death of almost 3,000 people before my eye, I want NOTHING but a memorial to commemorate that day. A hallowed place where the very vastness and QUIET of the place restores some sanity to that terrible event.
And George Soros can take his money and his cronies and their 'agenda' to poke a stick in the eye of America at the very heart of the wound she suffered on 9/11 and they can build their Freedom Center somewhere else. NOTHING should be built on that site that is not a monument to the events of that day and the loss of all those lives.
No loud squabbling voices over the meaning of 'freedom' from people who haven't a clue what it means; who've so much money they can afford to use it to create dissention when some of us have trouble covering our groceries. They should be ashamed of themselves trying to hijack this hallowed place. ASHAMED!
You have as much a right to comment on the memorial as I or anyone else. No one in my family or any of my friends was killed that day, though my best friend was at the WTC and several acquaintances were able to escape with their lives and for a while I didn't know whether my father had managed to get into Lower Manhattan to go to work when I left him at the train station to head into Manhattan myself.
That in no way compares with the thousands of families who will never see loved ones again.
My interest is seeing that the memorial is built, and that justice is done to the memories of those lost. A memorial is just one part. Restoring the skyline with a tower complex is another way to do it - a visible and visceral symbol of the healing. If you lived in the NY metro area - you could see the towers from 50-70 miles away day or night. Rebuilding the skyline would be another memorial since we'd be able to see a visible reminder any time you looked up in the sky - day or night - and see a skyscraper that also functions as a memorial.
Thanks for your comments.
Post a Comment