The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 139

Seven WTC opened for business yesterday. A new park with seating space, a fountain, and a sculpture by Jeff Koons was also unveiled by Larry Silverstein. While the new building and park has all the luster, the hulking remains of Fiterman Hall continues to be a sore spot. You can't fault Silverstein for this mess - the blame rests squarely on the heads of Pataki and Bloomberg (neither of whom were at the opening ceremony yesterday).

You see, Fiterman Hall is part of the Borough of Manhattan Community College. As such, both Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg have a say in what should happen to the building. And plans for deconstruction or decontamination and rebuilding have been cast about for months without any concrete progress.

The building stands in stark contrast to the rebuilt 7WTC, which was owned and operated by Silverstein before the attacks. He was able to rebuild quickly and while one of the knocks against the building is that its asking prices are high ($50-55 per square foot depending on the floor), the fact that Fiterman Hall is on the adjacent property doesn't help matters.

At the earliest, the building could be decontaminated beginning in October of this year, and deconstruction to occur in the middle of next year.

The Post editorial highlights how Silverstein has managed to rebuild while the government bureaucrats and politicians can't get their acts together.

It's also interesting to note that the World Financial Center is about to hang out a sign saying No Vacancy. The group of buildings is at full capacity despite the fact that Brookfield Properties has raised rents into the mid $40s per square foot. That's yet another sign that rebuilding the office space at Ground Zero is necessary to the continued economic health and growth of Lower Manhattan. The demand is certainly there - if only the politicians would get out of the way and let Silverstein get to work.

Of course that doesn't keep any of the politicians involved or hoping to become Governor from chiming in with their thoughts on the matter. William Weld, who's running for Governor thinks that the current memorial plans are horrible.

A Republican candidate for governor, William Weld, yesterday characterized the design for the ground zero memorial as a "hole in the ground," but said he would be diplomatic when it came to negotiations over the future of the World Trade Center development site.

For a candidate who has largely stuck to dry themes about the need to reform Albany and to slash spending and taxes, Mr. Weld's remarks about the planned memorial were a candid departure. They also marked one of the few times the former governor of Massachusetts has carved out a position against Governor Pataki, whose endorsement he seeks.

Meanwhile, a couple of politicians (Senators Schumer and Menendez, and Rep Weiner) are trying to get the Statue of Liberty reopened - not just the pedestal. They are hoping to attach a rider to the immigration bill to demand that the Department of the Interior and the National Parks Service implement a plan reopening the statue to the public. The statue has been closed since 9/11 over security concerns. The pedestal was reopened to the public after a security plan was put in place.

UPDATE:
Pajamas Media, Curbed, and Nicole Gelinas at City Journal have more.

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