The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 54

Curbed has a photo spread of construction progress at the Freedom Tower. It shows the immense amount of steelwork involved in preparing the tower's core and substructures.

That follows the New York Times' coverage of construction of the East-West connector that is part of the WTC transit hub.

This story traces the background of the company that is providing trees to the WTC memorial.

Construction continues all over Lower Manhattan, but one stretch of road is being reopened for the first time in years - Dey Street will be reopening to vehicular traffic. The street was closed while the MTA built the Dey Street connector between the Ground Zero transit lines and those of the Fulton Street Transit Hub. Work was completed and sidewalks and street were completed within the past week.

Meanwhile, the Fassel Foundation has pledged $250,000 to assist first responders. The foundation was established by Jim Fassel, former coach of the New York Giants:

Jim Fassel watched from the roof of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey as the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan collapsed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Fassel, who was head coach of the Giants in 2001, and the team visited the site a week later to support the first responders.

“When I walked through the rubble of Ground Zero,” Fassel said. “I pledged that I’d never forget the events of the day and I’d do what I could to help the people affected by it.”

This week, Fassel — now an NFL analyst for Westwood One Radio and ESPN — continued to follow up on his pledge. His Jim Fassel Foundation, which was established in 2002 and has raised more than $1.1 million, contributed $250,000 to five organizations representing first responders, health providers and 9/11-related charities. The donation, the Fassel Foundation’s largest one-time contribution to date, was made at the World Trade Center Tribute Center in lower Manhattan.

UPDATE:
More photos of the East-West connector featured in the NYT story above, courtesy of Curbed.