The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 66

With costs soaring, the cultural center and memorial are getting squeezed. Construction costs are increasing because of worldwide demand and due to rebuilding needs in the Gulf Coast. Who's going to be the odd-man out? The cultural center. It's the part that is the least necessary at the site, despite what the cultural arts folks want you to believe.

His words left little doubt that the budget would be increasing. "The costs of construction have risen very substantially, particularly in the last 12 months," he said. "The cost of steel is way up. The cost of lumber is way up. The cost of cement is way, way up."

"Without changing the beauty of the memorial or the quality of the memorial in any way, we are trying to find ways to reduce the costs," Mr. Whitehead said.

The foundation hopes to raise $500 million privately and has pledges of more than $102 million. The corporation has committed $300 million of federal money, with $50 million earmarked for the performing arts center.

The New York Post is also covering the story about how the costs for the cultural center and memorial are now over $800 million, which is $300 million more than first budgeted.

Groundbreaking is scheduled in the spring for Michael Arad and Peter Walker's "Reflecting Absence" memorial — twin water-filled pools shaped like the Twins Towers' footprints and surrounded by white oak trees.

Meanwhile, the Drawing Center — bounced from a coveted spot in a new Ground Zero museum — was given a $10 million consolation prize yesterday to help find it a new home downtown.

Sorry, but why is the Drawing Center getting up to $10 million? They already have a space in Lower Manhattan and that money could go towards the memorial and cultural center at Ground Zero. You do remember that big hole in the ground which needs to be rebuilt, don't you? Is that money being used to buy off those members of the LMDC and friendly with the Drawing Center so that the rest of the project can go forward? A total of $45 million will be given out to cultural groups to help Lower Manhattan, but does the Drawing Center really need any of this money? It seems as though they're getting the money because someone feels badly that they're not at Ground Zero.

If the money isn't going to assist in building the memorial at Ground Zero, are there no other cultural groups or ideas that are truly worthy of this money? The Skyscraper Museum, which is located near Ground Zero could use the money to expand their programs. What about the Irish Potato Famine Museum, which is located near Ground Zero, or it could go towards building a museum at the Battery showcasing the history of that area.

UPDATE:
I received the following from Take Back The Memorial:

Dear Supporter,

This is a crucial time. It now appears that the desires of New York's cultural elite may be competing head-to-head with the 9/11 Memorial & Memorial Museum for a very limited amount of funds.

While the LMDC has repeatedly said that the Memorial will take fund raising precedence, it is hard to believe that is what will happen when they are handing out $35 million federal dollars (your money) in the form of grants "to existing and new cultural institutions downtown."

We invite you to vote in our on-line poll which asks the question: "If given a choice between building a "cultural arts center" OR building the 9/11 Memorial and 9/11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center site, which would you choose?"

If it important to make your voice heard now so there is no question as to where we stand on this issue. To vote, please visit www.takebackthememorial.org.

We will continue to watch the situation and update you accordingly, both via email and our web site.

Thank you for your time and your continued support.

Sincerely,

Robert Shurbet
Founder/Web Master
www.takebackthememorial.org

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center.