The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 128

The battle will be shifting from the Freedom Tower to the memorial, which is still facing a cash crunch. The memorial needs to raise hundreds of millions of dollars and has thus far underperformed in that task. Part of the problem was the general uncertainty over the rest of the site, but the deal between Silverstein and the Port Authority improves the general outlook for the rest of the site.

The problems are now related to the memorial's design and safety.

Of course, count on the Times to try and undermine the WTC development - claiming that the construction of the office space, which is 20% less than was existed pre 9/11 would create a glut in the market. Okay then. How about we trash the brand new headquarters you're building in midtown that used eminent domain to obtain the property from other property owners and exceeds the prior office space in that location.

Some experts are even wondering whether there will be enough steel, concrete and curtain wall to build the four towers by 2012 at the same time that two baseball stadiums, the $2 billion Goldman Sachs headquarters, the $1.7 billion expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Moynihan Station, 10,000 apartments and various subway projects are under construction.

Yesterday, the influential Regional Plan Association and the Fiscal Policy Institute welcomed the plan, but they, like many developers, continued to question the wisdom of building the tallest of the skyscrapers, the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, intended to be a symbol of the city's resilience.

They said the tower would stand too far from public transportation and was unlikely to attract corporate tenants, who view it as a potential terrorist target. Some government officials suggested that the site be brought up to street level and then put into mothballs next year.

The Freedom Tower is still only a short walk from the transit hubs on Fulton Street and the Calatrava designed PATH hub.

Notably absent from the discussion of projects that would utilize structural steel and concrete is explicit naming of the Forest City Ratner Atlantic Yards project. A good portion of the 10,000 apartments is due to that project, which also includes hotels, conference space, and a stadium for the Nets in Brooklyn. Forest City Ratner is the developer of the NYT headquarters in Midtown. Coincidence? I think not.

Further, the Times editorial specifically names Silverstein as one of the key reasons that there have been delays in rebuilding. Sorry, but Silverstein is the only one who's actually rebuilt a permanent structure on the site. The most recent delays were due to the Port Authority fighting with itself - Pataki and Corzine couldn't come to an agreement on how to divvy up the site and Bloomberg inserted himself into the argument.

The Post notes that the costs for the Memorial are also soaring, and that something will have to be done about that as well. Gothamist has additional coverage.

UPDATE:
The national media is slowly picking up the story (mostly AP wire): MSNBC, CNN, and Washington Post.

UPDATE:
The NYT has coverage of the conference at Ground Zero, and one can't help but notice the shiny building in the background. They've got 7WTC as the backdrop, taking the picture across Ground Zero from the Southern side of the site, instead of taking a picture south towards the Deutsche Bank building, which is still a ruin awaiting deconstruction after further testing for human remains. It's a subtle reminder of who's gotten things done (Silverstein) and who hasn't (the LMDC, PANY, and the Governor's office). Meanwhile, still no word on disposition of Fiterman Hall.

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