The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 102

The battle for rebuilding at ground zero continues. Silverstein is apparently prepared to go to court to protect his rights, just as Dan Doctoroff and the City continue their claims that Silverstein should cede his rights to building the second and third office towers at Ground Zero because of a fear he lacks the funds to do so.

Indeed, the developer, who leased the trade center only six weeks before it was destroyed in 2001, is ready to go to court if the city or the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey tries to prevent him from rebuilding the complex, said the representative, Janno Lieber.

"Larry Silverstein is also prepared to assert his legal rights to be allowed to rebuild," said Mr. Lieber, a senior vice president of Silverstein Properties, at a City Council hearing yesterday about the uncertainty surrounding the reconstruction effort downtown.

Mr. Lieber said the company was prepared "to move forward with each of the towers as soon as the Port Authority can prepare the sites for construction."

So far, Silverstein is the only one to have actually rebuilt any part of Ground Zero with a permanent structure. 7 WTC is awaiting tenants and its public opening. Construction on the Freedom Tower is scheduled to begin next month. Work continues apace on the PATH terminal.

Seems to me that the ones who are standing in the way of construction are the Port Authority and the City, not Silverstein. Silverstein loses a bit more ability to rebuild for every day that the site goes undeveloped because of rising costs of construction and interest rates. The Port Authority Chairman thinks he's got a solution:

Anthony R. Coscia, the chairman of the authority, has called on Mr. Silverstein to go ahead with building the Freedom Tower and a second tower, while ceding two other building sites on Church Street and part of the 16-acre parcel, in exchange for a sharp reduction in his rent, which is more than $120 million a year. That, Mr. Coscia contends, would enable the rebuilding effort to proceed more quickly.

The Port Authority would move into one of the other towers on Church Street, seek a developer for the second tower and build a large shopping mall that it argues would immediately enliven the neighborhood and attract office workers, residents and tourists.

Silverstein has rejected this proposal, but if the rent reduction were sweetened further, I think Silverstein might just take the money.

Taking the whole matter to court would be a lose-lose for everyone considering that it would waste yet more money on legal fees, which could otherwise go towards construction.

Meanwhile, Gothamist reports on a couple of protests at Ground Zero.

Rosaleen Tallon, whose firefighter brother Sean died, says that the memorial's subterranean design is disrepectful, used her brother's cold-weather gear (he was a marine) last night when she camped out last night. 1010 WINS says that Reverend Bill Minson, who had been a ground zero chaplain, would also stay there until the design changes. We'll see if LMDC head Stefan Pryor tries to speak with them directly.

Pryor has previously said that the design was final and that they're going forward with it. He has a point - there is never going to be 100% agreement on the design and someone will find fault with some aspect of the design. However, the argument that the design may not comply with the NYC and NYS building codes is one that has merit and should be examined more thoroughly.

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