The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 114

Mayor Bloomberg is sticking up for Gov. Corzine's insistence on participating in Ground Zero rebuilding and demanding terms favorable to New Jersey, which has a say in rebuilding through the Port Authority - a bistate agency:

Mayor Bloomberg stuck up for Jon Corzine yesterday after reports surfaced that aides to Gov. Pataki said the New Jersey governor was "nickel and diming" the city on the deal for the World Trade Center site.

"To blame Corzine, who didn't even take office until three months ago, is an outrage," said Bloomberg.

Sources told The Post over the weekend that aides to Pataki were "outraged that while New Jersey is nickel and diming New York over the most important development project in the world, at the same time they've managed to come up with $100 million in funding to keep New York's teams in New Jersey."

The state is putting up $120 million for an $800 million stadium that's being built for both the Jets and the Giants.

Sources said the reason that a deal on how to redevelop the WTC site is being stalled is because Corzine is holding out for help on a $6 million [lawhawk here - it's a $6 billion project, not $6 million] Hudson River commuter rail tunnel.

In the three months since Corzine has taken office, he's tried to renegotiate a deal between the Jets, Giants, and the State over the new stadium, which sent the teams into a fit. He's tried to insert himself into the Ground Zero debate, and all that within the last three months.

And it's rather curious that Bloomberg remained largely silent on Ground Zero until a few weeks before his own reelection last November. Before that, he had largely ceded power and control (what little he has is based on controlling doling out Liberty Bonds), to the Port Authority and the Governor.

Things turned sour when Bloomberg pushed the West Side Stadium project and Assembly Speaker Silver spiked that project. Bloomberg had tried to buy off Silver with nearly a half billion dollars of downtown projects, but Silver refused to permit the project to go ahead. Now, Bloomberg is playing politics on Ground Zero and is using anyone with an interest in sticking it to Pataki and Silver to press his own agenda.

Sen. Chuck Schumer has his own thoughts on the building impasse, and he notes that Silverstein and the Port Authority are pretty close on a deal, and that they're essentially fighting over the last $100 million:

Let me be clear: A lot of the hard work on coming to an agreement has already been accomplished. The basic framework for a deal is in place. The Port Authority will own the Freedom Tower and Tower 5, while Silverstein Properties will build and own Towers 2, 3 and 4. This framework will ensure that the most desirable commercial space on the site is reserved for job-creating office space and that retail development along the Church Street corridor can begin as soon as possible.

Considering the advances we've made, we cannot turn back now.

In normal commercial negotiations, parties are sometimes tempted to hold out for a little more and see if the other side blinks first. But this is not a conventional real-estate deal, and it demands more than the usual negotiating postures. I believe that a deal is within our reach, but only if we all acknowledge that now is a time for statesmanship, not brinksmanship.

He also suggests bringing in an independent auditor to ensure that the underlying financial assumptions are sound and he wants to avoid a court battle, which would tie the site up indefinitely.

Meanwhile, the memorial has problems of its own - with how the names of all the victims should be arranged. Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, writes:

To accurately reflect the realities of 9/11, the memorial must recognize rescue workers separately. Firefighters, police officers and EMTs all responded, operated and died not inside a specific tower but rather as a result of the worst terrorist attack on American soil.

A third memorial space - equal in size to the two but not only exclusive to first responders - should be included in the plans.

For historical accuracy, New York's firefighters and other first responders need to be memorialized as they functioned that day - by division, battalion, unit and rank, with their badge numbers listed alongside their name.

The many acts of heroism on 9/11 - performed by firefighters, police and civilians - uplifted the nation. After the towers' collapse, our firefighters worked in spite of their own loss and sorrow lifting up and carrying our nation's heart and soul on their shoulders, digging for survivors and then for the dignified recovery of victims' remains.

Their valiant efforts have also had personal consequences in the aftermath, as many first responders working there have been diagnosed with significant heath conditions post 9/11. Several have already died.

Is a random list of names what the American public wants in a 9/11 memorial? A list that fails to recognize the teamwork and unity and sacrifice that allowed America real pride amid all the horrors of that day? Teamwork and unity that, while costing so many rescuers their lives, helped 25,000 others live?

The designer, Michael Arad, wants random order to the names, and many of the family groups want some kind of order - whether it's alphabetical or by company affiliations. The emergency responders want to be specially recognized for their efforts, and the current design does not do that.

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