The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 235

Work continues in and around Ground Zero and residents of Lower Manhattan ought to be gearing up for years of construction. One area that is going to see a major makeover is the Fulton Street corridor. What was originally supposed to get a facelift, is instead getting major utilities and water main work done. The expanded work was required because tests in the area revealed a 150 year old water main was in need of replacement, so that led to evaluating what else needed to be done.

New utilities and water mains will be installed, but it means that traffic and pedestrians will find the street difficult to nagivate for the next 2.5 years. This work will be done adjacent to the Fulton Street terminal, where the MTA is working to improve the linkages between multiple subway lines and Ground Zero.

Questions over how the new Chase building at Ground Zero will affect light entering the adjacent park continue.

Meanwhile, the WTC Memorial being built at Ground Zero will discuss terrorism and the events on the day:

The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation is currently building a national memorial and museum at the World Trade Center site to honor the memory of those killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and Feb. 26, 1993.

The Memorial Museum will tell the story of 9/11 through exhibitions, an educational resource center and public programs. It will include artifacts from the Twin Towers, relics salvaged from the wreckage of Ground Zero, and firsthand accounts of first responders, survivors, family members, residents, volunteers and others who intersected directly with these terrorist acts and their repercussions. The memorial and the museum are dedicated to honoring the memory of those killed and, contrary to Mr. Burke's letter, it will also demonstrate the consequences of terrorism on individual lives and its impact on communities at the local, national and international levels. I want to make clear the foundation's stance that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 were indefensible crimes against innocent victims. The museum will be unequivocal on this point.

The foundation fully understands that the responsibility to do this right is a solemn one and that it extends to the family and friends of those whose loved ones were killed, to those who survived and to the millions of Americans and those from around the world who will come here to pay their respects and to learn about what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, and in the aftermath. I believe this memorial and museum will help all who visit understand the best of humanity which overcame the worst of humanity on 9/11.

Joe Daniels
President and CEO
World Trade Center
Memorial Foundation
New York

Nicole Gelinas wonders whether people are too busy trying to rewrite history over the fallout from the collapsing towers and the illnesses that are afflicting some of those who worked on the Pile. She raises some interesting points, but if you're someone who is now suffering from a respiratory ailment from exposure to air in and around Ground Zero, it's no comfort.