The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 23

There are a couple of developments affecting Ground Zero that have happened in the past 48 hours. First, Tishman Speyer has won the right to build on the Hudson Yards property - 26 acres of space above rail yards that would translate into nearly 10 million square feet of office space and thousands of residential apartments. The size and scope of that project rivals the office space being rebuilt at Ground Zero. Depending on how quickly the projects move forward, it could result in significantly higher construction costs due to demand for construction materials and experienced workers to build the projects. A $4 billion major residential construction project got the go-ahead on the East Side, which too will affect construction costs and demand for materials.

As for construction itself at the site, Steve Cuozzo thinks that the changeover to Democrat David Paterson may be leading to chaos at the site. There's also the economic woes with Bear Stears and the JP Morgan Chase buyout that affects construction at 130 Liberty (Deutsche Bank building site), and there are rumblings that the office tower might get replaced with something else, like a mixed office/residential tower instead. Further, there's the ongoing mess with the MTA and their complete devastation of the Fulton Street corridor as part of their Fulton Terminal project, which has massive cost overruns and downsizing that threatens the signature items of the project itself - the aboveground glass dome structure that would enable light to pass down into the station itself.

Meanwhile, Larry Silverstein, along with families and individuals that opted out of the Victims Compensation Board process and other businesses, are suing the airlines and airport security companies for failing to prevent the 9/11 hijackers from attacking the WTC complex. His portion of the suit is $12.3 billion, and the overall tally for the suits against the airlines is $23 billion.

Liability was capped by Congress at the amount of insurance carried by the airlines and security companies at the time of the attacks so as not to bankrupt them.

At the same time, the City is being tight-fisted with money meant for injured Ground Zero workers and those who were at the site following the attacks.

New York will hold on tight to a $1 billion fund to pay the claims of sick Ground Zero workers, despite a federal appeals panel's ruling yesterday that gave their case a boost.

The city and the Port Authority had hoped an immunity claim would get them off the hook to compensate the ill emergency personnel and construction workers who cleaned up after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

But the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals said the 8,000 lawsuits can proceed until a final decision on the city's immunity. The city has tried to get all the suits tossed out.

The ruling was a blow to the city, and good news for workers who say they have suffered from a host of respiratory ailments, cancer and other illnesses.

"Every step of the way, Mayor Bloomberg has been stopping us," said David Worby, an attorney for the workers. "Now these people will have their day in court."

But the sick workers shouldn't get their hopes up, city officials said.

"The immunity defenses remain alive," said James Tyrrell, the city's lead defense lawyer. "They are postponed until further proceedings take place. It's basically a decision to go back and do more work."

Mayor Bloomberg is proposing that the NYPD assume main responsibility for security at the rebuilt WTC complex, including the reestablished street grid.

As development at the site progresses, streets through the complex will be opened for commerce, making it more logical for the city police to be in charge, city officials said.

They also stressed the importance of having one agency in charge of security, to avoid the confusion that can result in competing bureacracies and that a would-be terrorist might try to exploit.

Under the plan, the Port Authority, which now oversees security at the site, would still be in charge at PATH train stations, and at the new 1 World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower.

The plan for the Police Department’s takeover is one in a series of proposals that are still being discussed among officials in law enforcement and in the governors’ offices in New York and New Jersey. They said no final decision had been made.

The developer at the site, Larry Silverstein, is also expected to be involved in the discussions, officials said.

One has to wonder why the NYPD concerns for security at the towers along Greenwich are coming up now, especially since the master plan and designs have been known for more than two years.

Indeed, one suspects that this is nothing more than a power play between the Port Authority and the NYPD over control, which would be par for the course at Ground Zero.

Also, one should keep in mind that the reason that there's security concerns about the street grid at Ground Zero is because Daniel Libeskind, reestablished the street grid, despite the fact that it means reducing space that could have gone for security buffers, the memorial, and that those streets are likely never to be used for car traffic because of security concerns.