The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 65

This is especially troubling and disconcerting news, even though there had been rumblings that the Port Authority would go in this direction.

The Port Authority is now seriously considering building what can only be politely called stumps of two of the office towers that were set to grace the Eastern side of Ground Zero. These two towers, which were to be designed by world famous architects Richard Rogers and Sir Norman Foster, are apparently on the chopping block in more ways than one. The excuse is that they don't want to build out 10 million square feet of office space, and are instead proffering an option that builds 5 million square feet (the original WTC complex contained 10 million sf when it was destroyed by Islamic terrorists on 9/11).

Bludgeoned by recession and a war with developer Larry Silverstein, the Port Authority is proposing halving the office space it will build at Ground Zero - from 10 million square feet to 5 million, sources familiar with the plan say.

The sources say the agency's new vision for the site calls for scrapping one tower that would have been taller than the Empire State Building and nixing two others that would have dwarfed the nearby Woolworth Building.

In place of two Silverstein behemoths, each designed by a British lord and soaring 79 stories, the PA would erect a pair of short, squat buildings no taller than four or five floors - coined "stumps" - that could be used for retail shops, according to the proposal.

The vastly scaled-back site plan was disclosed to The News hours before Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on Friday branded budget-busting delays and cost overruns at the 16-acre site an "embarrassment to our city, our state and our nation."

For a change, I actually agree with Silver. It is an embarrassment. Of course, Silver deserves some of the blame for that, by refusing to push the Port Authority and the State to get construction moving years earlier than it eventually did. Silver has been an obstructionist on major city projects for years, including the Hudson Yards project (which would have resulted in major office building development on the West Side), and various other projects unless he benefited politically.

Now, Mayor Bloomberg is holding a summit on the Ground Zero rebuilding, including all the major players.

Expect Larry Silverstein to be thrown under the bus, despite the fact that he's the only one to have built anything of permanence on the remains of Ground Zero. His 7WTC is a stark reminder of the failings of the LMDC, City, State, and Port Authority. Yet, all too many people are looking to blame Silverstein for the impasse, even though the Port Authority still hasn't turned over the site for 3 and 4 WTC to Silverstein to build and the former Deutsche Bank building wont be demolished until 2010 delaying the ability to access the site and construct the vehicle security center that will service the entire site.

Also, with all the trillions thrown around by the Obama Administration, no one can seem to find the money to make sure that the construction at Ground Zero can proceed without worrying about the money woes? Silverstein's construction efforts are hampered by the inability to secure credit. He's been trying to get the Port Authority to provide the credit, which hasn't been forthcoming.

If the Administration (and the state and city) want to make sure that Ground Zero doesn't remain a perpetual construction site, make the loan commitments to Silverstein and get out of the way so that he can rebuild.