The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 96

Yesterday, a group of family, friends, and Port Authority employees turned out for the 13th anniversary of the WTC Bombing, which killed six people and wounded over 1,000. That anniversary is slowly receding into distant memory, and plans for building a permanent memorial to the 9/11 terrorist attacks continues at a slow pace.

Donations are slowing for the memorial, which backers say must reach a goal of $500 million. At the same time, there are renewed concerns over the security and emergency egress routes from the memorial, which is below street grade.

William H. Goldstein, the foundation's executive vice president for construction, said that the memorial and museum would be safe, adding that they would conform to building safety codes of both the city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site. According to the development corporation, the memorial will have eight exits — two ramps and six emergency staircases. At the museum there are to be seven emergency exit stairs.

But the concerns raised by family members, even if they prove to be unfounded, could create a public relations headache for the memorial officials. A day after the 13th anniversary of the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, whose victims would also be honored in the memorial, family members and others plan to rally at ground zero today to oppose the current design plans.

Such protests are unlikely to aid the fund-raising efforts. Some preservationists also are concerned about the possible partial obliteration of historic perimeter-column remnants and concrete footings from the twin towers. Robert J. Kornfeld, an architect on the board of directors of the Historic Districts Council, has estimated that more than 50 percent of those footprints will be affected by construction. The footprints are a powerful symbol to many families, since remains of 42 percent of the victims have not been identified.

But, officials argue, the public process is long over, and now is not the time to revisit design issues: more than 100 people have been working for a year and a half to prepare the intricate plans for the construction of the $330 million memorial and the $160 million underground museum.

"The jury made a selection years ago, and now we begin to build," Ms. Dykstra said. "I hate to think anyone will not be happy with it, but I think we will move ahead." Officials expect that potential donors will draw a patriotic distinction between natural disasters and the horrors of the terrorist attack. A Zogby poll taken 10 days before Hurricane Katrina found that 87 percent of Americans believed 9/11 was the most significant historical event in their lifetime.

UPDATE:
Sen. Charles Schumer wants Silverstein to live up to certain deadlines or else forfeit the right to develop other portions of the Ground Zero site:

Sen. Charles Schumer on Monday proposed an end to tense talks over the development rights to ground zero, saying developer Larry Silverstein should promise to meet strict construction deadlines or forfeit his right to build there.

Schumer also said the World Trade Center site\'s owner, the Port Authority, should commit to moving into the Freedom Tower, the first of five planned office towers.

He said Mayor Michael Bloomberg should commit more than $1.6 billion in tax-exempt bonds to the trade center.

``To make downtown happen, to make ground zero grow again, everyone has to give,\'\' Schumer told business leaders at a breakfast meeting.

Forfeit the right? Sorry, he's the leaseholder, and unless someone is going to compensate Silverstein for the property, it sounds an awful lot like an eminent domain case in the offing.

And that would only delay development downtown even further.

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