14 Years Later: Remembering 9/11 and Where We Are Today

I can't believe that it's already been 14 years since 9/11. I remember it like it was yesterday, and yet there's an entire generation of kids whose only knowledge of the events of the days and weeks after the attacks is from books, videos, or personal recollections such as this.

That's one of the reasons that I continue to write these annual remembrances. It's also for myself.

I've written essentially the same opening each of the past few years. It's still appropriate to remember today, as it was when I first wrote this:

September 11, 2001. New Yorkers were heading to the polls to vote in primary elections to determine the next mayor of the city. It was a morning full of promise and baseball fans were excited about the Yankees' chances of making the playoffs, the Mets thinking about the future, and the start of the new football season. In other words, it was a day not unlike the ones we've experienced once again this year.

While everyone was focused on the day ahead, another group of people were thinking about the mission that would forever alter the skyline of NYC and alter history. Al Qaeda's terrorists were already on board four jets bound for New York and Washington DC and had already overpowered the crews.

I was on a NJ Transit train with my dad when I first noticed something wrong at the WTC out of the corner of my eye; it was smoke coming from the upper reaches of the tower.

It was just around 8:45.

The world changed, and I didn't quite realize it. No one did.

People watching the morning news didn't know it either at first. But they would soon be glued to broadcasts that showed the horrors of the worst terror attacks ever perpetrated.

The damage done on that morning was nearly impossible to comprehend. In the mere blink of the eye, nearly 3,000 people were condemned to death and the World Trade Center would soon be reduced to a pile of rubble that would burn for weeks on end. Reports would come in that a third plane had struck and damaged the Pentagon.  But the death rattle of the Twin Towers would continue for just under two hours and victims trapped above the fires had to make the choice to stay and choke on the heat and smoke or jump to a certain death. All too many make that decision to jump. Firefighters on the ground also succumbed before the towers fell - falling debris hitting firefighters and fleeing people alike.

Victim Number One would be there to comfort those who fell. Rev. Mychal Judge of the FDNY was comforting fallen firefighters and office workers alike when he was struck and killed by debris. So many people inside the Department and around the City thought so highly of him that he was honored as the first victim of the attacks - so that he could comfort and aid all those many others who were murdered on that day - to guide them to Heaven. There are continuing efforts to see him sainted, and his ministrations to those in need, especially on that day, certainly would do his memory justice.

All too many would unfortunately follow him - and not by their own choice.

Here are remembrances of a few of those killed on 9/11, as written by my friend legalbgl for Project 2,996:

Steven Harris Russin (2014).
Lt. Col. Jerry Don Dickerson Jr. (2013).
Mary Lenz Wieman (2012).
Mark Francis Broderick (2011).
Captain Patrick J. Brown (2010).
Hagay Shefi (2009).
Alison Marie Wildman (2008).
Daniel Thomas Afflito (2007).
Donna Bernaerts-Kearns (2006).

Local commemorations are already underway (and here and here) and will continue through the week throughout the region. This is the second year for which the WTC Museum is open on 9/11. While I still find the cost of going to the museum to be ridiculously expensive and think that the museum should be free for all who visit, it has quickly become one of the most visited museums in the city.

While I don't need to be able to visit the museum myself, the museum is for those who weren't even born yet or understood what actually happened at the WTC site on 9/11 and the weeks, months, and years that followed. The museum should be free for all to come and bear witness to the events. This should be a no-brainer, and yet no one can agree on making that happen. The NPS already operates the 9/11 Memorial in Shanksville, PA, where Flight 93 crashed after passengers rose up to stop the terrorists from attempting to crash the plane into the Capitol or White House. It's been a long journey for that project to come to fruition, but the results are stunning. The families banded together to raise the money to obtain the land and build a suitable memorial - turning it over to the NPS. It was the right thing to do.

This should likewise be the outcome at the WTC - the museum and memorial should be turned over to the NPS for administration and oversight.

While the federal government created the James Zadroga health and compensation fund (Zadroga Act)  because of the ongoing health concerns, including cancers, of those who carried out relief and recovery efforts at Ground Zero, parts of the program are set to sunset once again without further action by Congress. As more time passes, the link between exposure to the environment at Ground Zero and cancer is increasingly clear.

More people continue to seek assistance via the program, including those emergency responders who came from across the country to spell the FDNY and NYPD and PAPD in the grim task of recovering the remains of those murdered. The Zadroga Act wasn't perfect by any means and it has come too late for some, but it's a start to compensate and aid families of responders who are suffering from all manner of ailments  attributed to Ground Zero exposure. The Act should be made permanent, especially as the number of victims of the attacks grows - more names will be added to the list of those who fell as a result of 9/11. That includes another 21 FDNY officers who worked during the recovery after the attacks.

Congress, and the GOP in particular, have not taken the necessary action to reauthorize the Act, and they are putting the lives of the responders at further risk and adding needless stress from the financial uncertainties:

As funding for the program reaches its expiration date, many lawmakers are pushing for extended, long-term compensation for victims. This April a number of federal lawmakers called for a permanent reauthorization of the James Zadroga Act. Despite reluctance by some members of Congress to fund the reauthorization, which will cost around $400 million annually, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand told Jon Stewart in July that she expects a vote sometime around September 11. Both Gillibrand and Stewart are passionate supporters of the act, with Stewart calling any resistance to it “the most galling example of a legislature removed from the purpose of their job.”

There are also efforts being made to honor those transit workers who were involved in the recovery and rebuilding efforts. After all, the MTA helped transport workers to and from Ground Zero and Staten Island where debris was being sorted, helped with logistics, and had to rebuild devastated infrastructure in and around the WTC, including stations, tracks, and related equipment.

Construction at the site doesn't domination the front pages of local papers as it used to, as construction is nearing the end on several portions of the site. The entire Western side of Ground Zero is now essentially built out - between the Memorial, Museum, 1WTC, 4WTC, 7WTC, and the nearly finished above-ground portion of the WTC Transit Hall.

The South Memorial Pool looking towards 4WTC. 

The following is an update of construction around the WTC site:

• 1WTC  has finally recaptured part of the skyline and is regarded as the tallest skyscraper in North America at 1,776 feet. 1WTC is now open for business, including the observation deck, which opened earlier this year. That's even as work continues around its base on the eastern side.
• Construction of the Transit Hub is still underway, and Santiago Calatrava's design shows its final form, even as the cost pushes past a staggering $4 billion. That's nearly $2 billion over the original budget estimate, and the costs associated with this has sapped the Port Authority's ability to build new infrastructure in the region, which is its core mission. Instead, the agency has poured billions into a project that doesn't add any cross-river capacity.
•  4WTC is in the process of being occupied, after being completed last year. Tenants are already moving in, though it is not yet fully occupied.
• 3WTC is once again rising skyward after a delay due to lack of financing and tenants signed. It is more than halfway to its full height, and it is scheduled to be open for business in 2018.
• 2WTC is seeing progress at last, although the design has completely changed. Architect Sir Norman Foster is off the project, and his design has been shelved in favor of one designed by Bjarke Ingels, whose design comes courtesy of the whims and wishes of News Corp, who will be an anchor tenant. 2WTC will likely become the one of the most expensive skyscraper ever built (after 1WTC) because of the complexity of designing and building the skyscraper in the location chosen. It's being built atop key infrastructure for the entire site, including ventilation for the PATH system, and the cost will soar to nearly $4  billion. Oh, and for those keeping track, 2WTC is likely to be finished in 2020.
• Still lagging is the Vehicle Security Center that runs along the south side of the WTC and which was previously occupied by the former Deutsche Bank building. There's a new platform and entrance area being built for vehicles servicing the WTC complex, but it's years behind schedule and over budget (like everything else at the WTC). Even St. Nicholas Church is seeing progress - and that's with Santiago Calatrava designing the new church (who designed the PATH hub). The elevated park atop the VSC is being constructed at the same time, but the delays have had a ripple effect in getting work done elsewhere on the site, including bringing in tenants to their new offices.
• Bringing up the rear is 5WTC, which has pretty much fallen off the radar since the site of the former Deutsche Bank building was finally razed. There are no plans for what to do with that site, and it may continue to lie fallow. Frankly, the Port Authority should sell the site and let a private developer build out the site - whether as office space (not likely), or as a combination of hotel and residential space, which is much more likely given the spate of these combination towers being built around the City, including at the former Moody's site a few blocks north at 30 Park Place, which also happens to be being built by Silverstein Properties.

The North Memorial Pool looking towards the PATH transit center.

Last year, the Port Authority announced that they expect the transit hub to be open by the end of 2015. I personally don't see it happening, unless the Port Authority will open it the way the MTA has done at the Fulton Center. I fully expect that sections will be closed off for construction to continue as the main transit hall is largely available. There's still demolition work underway - the temporary platform spaces and mezannine levels have to be demolished and reconfigured, and there's no indication that the work will wrap up by the end of the year. In other words, this will be a phased reopening.

The PATH hub as viewed from Church and Fulton Streets.

A nearly complete transit hub superstructure

So, while the hub will be visually interesting and definitely become a photographer's favorite, the problem with the PATH transit hub and all that spending is that it doesn't exactly add capacity to the system.  The Port Authority is fudging the figures so as to claim that 250,000 pedestrians will use the transit hub daily. That's not exactly true. 35,000 people use PATH daily in and out of the WTC. The rest are people who the Port Authority expects to visit the mall being built as part of the hub, and the people who are working in 1WTC and 4WTC as those spaces are filled out. 250,000 people are not going to be taking PATH daily. Even with proposals to extend PATH all the way to Newark Airport, the ridership figures do not justify the billions spent the way they were (and there's reports that some New Jersey Democrats are looking to scuttle the extension over the ongoing kerfuffle involving United Airlines and dealings with the former Chairman of the Port Authority David Samson that has already seen several airline officials get canned).

The price does provide for a lot of marble though.

The mezzanine level for the PATH terminal; there is marble as far as the eye can see.

The Port Authority wanted a white elephant - and they got one - clad in marble.

Much of the fault for the slow pace of rebuilding is the result of Port Authority actions and omissions to limit cost increases, especially when it comes to the transit hub and the delays in building led to still more costs incurred. All of these costs add up, and they've sapped the Port Authority's ability to do other critical infrastructure work elsewhere in the region - expanding transit options while the WTC complex is built at a near glacial pace. That pace is also the result of the acts by governors in both New York and New Jersey to contain costs. Special ire should be directed at Gov. George Pataki whose interference in the design plans added years to the rebuilding and added costs.

1WTC shrouded in breaking clouds. Note that scaffold on the south side.

For the most part, construction at the site has been without serious accidents, though there have been some close calls. Last November, a scaffold malfunctioned and required a high rise emergency 600 feet in the air:

A view up the South side of 1WTC - it's my favorite view of the tower, and this particular image shows the malfunctioning scaffold on November 15, 2014.

At the same time, the Fulton Center, which is a block East of the WTC site is open, and will eventually link to the PATH transit hub via the Dey Street connector (which is still shut despite being completed for several years), and ultimately those working at the World Financial Center (Brookfield Place) would be able to access Fulton Center without having to travel outside. There's no official timeframe for when the Dey Street connector being opened, even though all the necessary infrastructure is complete.

Interior as seen from Broadway and Fulton escalator bank

The skyline will never be the same. Neither will our hearts, which are heavy with the loss and supreme sacrifices made on 9/11 by the rescue personnel who bravely rushed up the towers even as people were racing to get out of the towers or gasping as people were forced to jump to their deaths to avoid being burned alive in the fires that racked the towers.

I remember.

Last year, Century21 Department store wrapped their building across from Ground Zero with a full size mural. It's as appropriate then as today.

Century21 department store doing a full block wrap

The Century21 Department Store installing a full-block wrap on their Church Street frontage.

What the Century21 wrap will look like when done.

We remember.

Yellow roses adorn the names of those who served in the military and died on 9/11 as part of Veterans' Day remembrances.

The Tribute in Light

The view of Lower Manhattan from the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial at St. George.

Looking across the Hudson River from Hoboken.

For my prior year recollections and postings, see September 11, 2014, September 11, 2013, September 11, 2012, 10 Years Later,  September 11, 2010, September 11, 2009,  September 11, 2008, September 11, 2007, September 11, 2006, and September 11, 2005.

Cross posted at LGF.

The Failure of the WTC PATH Hub

Construction of the Port Authority's PATH Transit Hub is still underway and Santiago Calatrava's design shows its final form, even as the cost pushes past a staggering $4 billion. That's nearly $2 billion over the original budget estimate. These inflated costs have sapped the Port Authority's ability to build new infrastructure in the region, which is its core mission. Instead, the agency has poured billions into a project that doesn't add any cross-river capacity.

Set aside the architectural features of the exterior or the fact that the Port Authority is boasting about a transit hall that is larger than that of Grand Central Terminal in Midtown. I think that the design will ultimately be an iconic site in Lower Manhattan and become one of the more photographed sites in Manhattan, which is saying something.

But the visuals can't overcome the serious flaws to the project that will saddle future commuters for generations to come.

The view from Fulton Street.

This is first and foremost a transit hub. So, the first question to be asked is whether it does that job well.

I think I know the answer to this, even though the permanent design is still being unveiled in phases.

The design is a failure.

This week is proof of that.

The new terminal cannot handle counter-commutes. It just can't do it.

The new platforms are all shiny and clad in white marble and the steel ribs that peek out are also white, so you can be forgiven for the impression that you've walked into an Apple store with all the gleaming whiteness and sleek curves.

But getting to the platform itself is a comedy of bad design.

The mezzanine level for the PATH terminal; there is marble as far as the eye can see.

There is currently one platform open, and there are two elevators, which is a significant improvement over the original station or even the temporary station built after the attacks but that's the extent of the positive news. The problem is that the Port Authority decided in its infinite wisdom to build two escalators that funnel into the center of the future transit hall. There are three sets of stairs. During the past two days, it has been next to impossible to get up the stairs or on to the platform level because there simply isn't any room for people to go.

The escalators preclude any counter-commuting. You are forced to go to the stairs at the far ends of the platforms, but considering that we're talking about full trains, there's no extra room for people to squeeze through to get either up or down, so it takes extra time to navigate through the PATH platform level.

That's inexcusable. The Port Authority chose to install costly escalators that they don't even operate full time (they shut down during midday) because of the cost, rather than stairs that would be much more amenable to counter commuting. 

What's sad is that it's actually easier to get from the platform levels to the mezzanine level from the old temporary platforms than it is from the gleaming new platform A. 

It's part of the mindset about the Port Authority thinking only in one direction, and not realizing that there is a significant number of people who commute from Manhattan to New Jersey for their jobs. It's a serious oversight and one that should be corrected with the remaining platforms, but I doubt that they're going to make those changes, even though it would be the prudent thing to do. 

So, who to blame for this? I have to put the blame squarely on the Port Authority, which apparently never bothered to look at how people actually commute, and what can happen when there are service disruptions elsewhere in the system.

The Port Authority loves to claim that there's going to be 250,000 pedestrians using the PATH hub daily, and that there are 35,000 commuters. They can't handle those numbers, and this week shows that the new hub isn't quite up to the task either.

13 Years Later: Remembering 9/11

I've written essentially the same opening each of the past few years. It's still appropriate to remember today, as it was when I first wrote this:

September 11, 2001. New Yorkers were heading to the polls to vote in primary elections to determine the next mayor of the city. It was a morning full of promise and baseball fans were excited about the Yankees' chances of making the playoffs, the Mets thinking about the future, and the start of the new football season. In other words, it was a day not unlike the ones we've experienced once again this year.

While everyone was focused on the day ahead, another group of people were thinking about the mission that would forever alter the skyline of NYC and alter history. Al Qaeda's terrorists were already on board four jets bound for New York and Washington DC and had already overpowered the crews.

I was on a NJ Transit train with my dad when I first noticed something wrong at the WTC out of the corner of my eye; it was smoke coming from the upper reaches of the tower.

It was just around 8:45.

The world changed, and I didn't quite realize it. No one did.

People watching the morning news didn't know it either at first. But they would soon be glued to broadcasts that showed the horrors of the worst terror attacks ever perpetrated.

The damage done on that morning was nearly impossible to comprehend. In the mere blink of the eye, nearly 3,000 people were condemned to death and the World Trade Center would soon be reduced to a pile of rubble that would burn for weeks on end. Reports would come in that a third plane had struck and damaged the Pentagon.  But the death rattle of the Twin Towers would continue for just under two hours and victims trapped above the fires had to make the choice to stay and choke on the heat and smoke or jump to a certain death. All too many make that decision to jump. Firefighters on the ground also succumbed before the towers fell - falling debris hitting firefighters and fleeing people alike.

Victim Number One would be there to comfort those who fell. Rev. Mychal Judge of the FDNY was comforting fallen firefighters and office workers alike when he was struck and killed by debris. So many people inside the Department and around the City thought so highly of him that he was honored as the first victim of the attacks - so that he could comfort and aid all those many others who were murdered on that day - to guide them to Heaven.

All too many would unfortunately follow him - and not by their own choice.

Here are remembrances of a few of those killed on 9/11, as written by my friend legalbgl for Project 2,996:

Steven Harris Russin (2014).
Lt. Col. Jerry Don Dickerson Jr. (2013).
Mary Lenz Wieman (2012).
Mark Francis Broderick (2011).
Captain Patrick J. Brown (2010).
Hagay Shefi (2009).
Alison Marie Wildman (2008).
Daniel Thomas Afflito (2007).

By happenstance, I happened to come across Hagay Shefi's name, which was found on the North Memorial Pool:

Stephen Siller, whose name is memorialized in the annual Tunnel to Towers Run to raise funds for responders.

 He's also memorialized at the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial thusly:

Stephen Siller's memorial on Staten Island

Coming full circle, on May 1, 2011, the United States finally caught up with Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. In a daring raid on a compound near Pakistan's military academy, US special forces killed bin Laden and captured a treasure trove of intel.  That's small consolation for the thousands of families and friends who still grieve the senseless murder of their loved ones in New York, Washington DC at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The profound loss is a heavy burden on all those who were there and on those who lost loved ones.

Local commemorations are already underway and will continue through the week throughout the region. In fact, this is the first year that the WTC Museum will be open on 9/11. The museum has not opened without controversy. There's the question of the incredibly high cost for entry, the tacky gifts included in the gift shop, potentially locating restaurants in the museum, and lawsuits filed over the installation of the WTC cross. The cost to entry is still too high (it should be free) and the lawsuits to block the installation of the WTC cross, which were filed by an atheist group, lost.

Part of the reason that the WTC Museum charges fees is that it's a private foundation operating the site. They have to deal with security and overhead of the facility, which is quite significant. I've long called for the National Park Service to take over and that this would necessarily reduce the overall costs and improve the accessibility to the site. While I don't need to be able to visit the museum myself, the museum is for those who weren't even born yet or understood what actually happened at the WTC site on 9/11 and the weeks, months, and years that followed. The museum should be free for all to come and bear witness to the events. This should be a no-brainer, and yet no one can agree on making that happen.

Meanwhile, the federal government created the James Zadroga health and compensation fund because of the ongoing health concerns of those who carried out relief and recovery efforts at Ground Zero. More people continue to seek assistance via the program, including those emergency responders who came from across the country to spell the FDNY and NYPD and PAPD in the grim task of recovering the remains of those murdered. The Zadroga Act wasn't perfect by any means and it has come too late for some, but it's a start to compensate and aid families of responders who are suffering from all manner of ailments  attributed to Ground Zero exposure. The Act is scheduled to sunset unless it is reauthorized, and given the dysfunction in Washington, it can't be taken for granted that it would be continued.

Construction at the site doesn't domination the front pages of local papers as it used to, as construction is nearing the end on several portions of the site. The entire Western side of Ground Zero is now essentially built out - between the Memorial, Museum, and 1WTC.

The South Memorial Pool looking towards 4WTC. 

1WTC (aka the Freedom Tower) has finally recaptured part of the skyline and is regarded as the tallest skyscraper in North America at 1,776 feet. 1WTC is set to open later this year even as work continues around its base.

Looking down Fulton Street from West Street towards Church across the WTC. 1WTC is on the left, and the memorial to the right.

The North and East sides of 1WTC

Construction of the Transit Hub is also underway, and Santiago Calatrava's design shows its final form, even as the cost pushes past a staggering $4 billion. That's nearly $2 billion over the original budget estimate, and the costs associated with this has sapped the Port Authority's ability to build new infrastructure in the region, which is its core mission. Instead, the agency has poured billions into a project that doesn't add any cross-river capacity.

The WTC PATH transit hub with nearly 50% of the spikes installed. Every day, the structure looks more and more like a stegosaurus. The structure on the left is 3WTC, which just saw construction restarted this past week. To give a sense of size, the tips of the spikes are probably 10-15 stories tall at their peak and extend out from the main structure by 50-75 feet at their widest points.

One of the tower cranes preparing to hoist one of the ribs into its final location on the north side of the transit hub.

Work continuing on the PATH transit hub.

The North Memorial Pool looking towards the PATH transit center.

The price does provide for a lot of marble though.

The mezzanine level for the PATH terminal; there is marble as far as the eye can see.

The Port Authority has announced that they expect the transit hub to be open by the end of next year. I personally don't see it happening, unless the Port Authority will open it the way the MTA has done at the Fulton Center. I fully expect that sections will be closed off for construction to continue as the main transit hall is largely available.

So, while the hub will be visually interesting and definitely become a photographer's favorite, the problem with the PATH transit hub and all that spending is that it doesn't exactly add capacity to the system.  The Port Authority is fudging the figures so as to claim that 250,000 pedestrians will use the transit hub daily. That's not exactly true. 35,000 people use PATH daily in and out of the WTC. The rest are people who the Port Authority expects to visit the mall being built as part of the hub, and the people who are working in 1WTC and 4WTC as those spaces are filled out. 250,000 people are not going to be taking PATH daily.

4WTC is nearly done, though I'm surprised that there's an exterior lift still attached to the south side of the building. Even 1WTC has been buttoned up, and it was topped out after 4WTC. That's odd to say the least, but tenants are supposed to be moving in there next month. Maybe.

2 WTC remains a stub, and construction has finally resumed at 3WTC after Larry Silverstein finally secured financing and other commitments to build out the building that had reached about 10 stories before grinding to a halt. Silverstein signed GroupM to lease 500,000 square feet of space in the tower, which enabled the developer to move ahead and secure additional financing from the Port Authority. That financing raised questions from some, who thought this was a giveaway but ignores that this was a loan guarantee - the agency wasn't actually putting the money up. The only way the Port Authority loses on the deal is if Silverstein defaults, which isn't likely to happen.

Lagging behind all the other structures is the Vehicle Security Center that runs along the south side of the WTC and which was previously occupied by the former Deutsche Bank building. There's a new platform and entrance area being built for vehicles servicing the WTC complex, but it's years behind schedule and over budget (like everything else at the WTC).

Much of the fault for the slow pace of rebuilding is the result of Port Authority actions and omissions to limit cost increases, especially when it comes to the transit hub and the delays in building led to still more costs incurred. In order to complete construction of the memorial in time for the 10th anniversary, the Port Authority needed to spend $500 million more on the transit hub to build out the memorial while the site was erected around the transit links.

At the same time, the Fulton Center, which is a block East of the WTC site is nearly open, and will eventually link to the PATH transit hub via the Dey Street connector, and ultimately those working at the World Financial Center (Brookfield Place) would be able to access Fulton Center without having to travel outside. It's likely to be opened in time for when 4WTC is fully opened for business.

The skyline will never be the same. Neither will our hearts, which are heavy with the loss and supreme sacrifices made on 9/11 by the rescue personnel who bravely rushed up the towers even as people were racing to get out of the towers or gasping as people were forced to jump to their deaths to avoid being burned alive in the fires that racked the towers.

We remember.

The media will be out as usual. The Memorial is busy preparing the site for the memorial service and the media is getting set up. These photos were taken on September 10, 2014:

PIX11 news van at corner of Church and Vesey.

NYPD security barriers being arranged ahead of tomorrow's events.

Flags being hung from 3WTC

Preparations for the memorial services underway.

This year Century21, the department store whose main location is across from the WTC and which was badly damaged by the attacks, has unveiled a building wrap in time for tomorrow:

Century21 department store doing a full block wrap

The Century21 Department Store installing a full-block wrap on their Church Street frontage.

What the Century21 wrap will look like when done.

We remember.

The Tribute in Light

Reaching towards infinity

The view of Lower Manhattan from the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial at St. George.

Looking across the Hudson River from Hoboken.

For my prior year recollections and postings, see September 11, 2013, September 11, 2012, 10 Years Later,  September 11, 2010, September 11, 2009,  September 11, 2008, September 11, 2007, September 11, 2006, and September 11, 2005.

Cross posted at LGF.

WTC Rebuilding Update - An Expensive Update

The Port Authority continues building the WTC PATH transit hub, and have opened up the first platform of the permanent station. If you were wondering what a $4 billion transit hub can look like, this is what we're getting:





There's wall to wall marble. Everywhere. On the floors of the mezzanine. On the walls. It's omnipresent. The striking Calatrava designed arches and steel components swoop along underground, just as surely as the above ground components are taking shape.

I actually think the below-ground design is likely to age better than the above-ground terminal, which looks like a skeleton or a stegosaurus. The New York Times' David Dunlap panned the efforts thus far.

The Port Authority chose Santiago Calatrava to build the transit hub.

They had $2.2 billion to make this happen. The cost is now $4 billion, and likely to be more than that. We're talking twice as expensive, and that's money that could have gone to extend the 2d Avenue Subway for the Phase 2, extend PATH to Newark Airport, or the LIRR to lower Manhattan. Instead, we've got a glorious transit station that will serve about 50,000 people daily (I'm not counting the connections that have been built to the Fulton Center, which includes the Dey Street Connector).

They blew past the $2.2 billion and never sought to implement the cost controls they claimed they would. That isn’t on Calatrava. That part is on the Port Authority. They chose a design that was far too complex for what is a moderate use station (the original design called for a movable oculus, and that was dropped pretty quickly – about the only good move the Port Authority made here).

But Calatrava isn’t blameless either. His design puts form over function by a wide margin, and his vision constrained the Port Authority once things got underway.

As it is, I think that the actual access to the platforms is inadequate considering the size of the platforms. There is a constant bottleneck at the stairs/escalators. The stairs feel narrower than those at the temporary platforms, and that means people trying to get down to the platform choke the flow even further.

You would have thought passenger flow would have been a paramount concern, but it appears to have been an afterthought. But at least the escalators talk incessantly about not letting children ride alone, not walking or running up the escalators, and holding the handrails.

The materials chosen are just the outward symbol of excess spending, but it’s the execution of the station that is the most troubling aspect. Calatrava thinks that if only more money were spent, he’d get what he envisioned.

What riders and the PANY should be asking is how did we spend this much to get a station that falls short in so many ways. There are so many missed opportunities here, and we're stuck with a design that is too costly and doesn't live up to the expectations.

Still, I imagine that once the main hall is built, I might warm up to the design, but for now, it looks like the Port Authority and Calatrava did a poor job of keeping costs down – and that controlling costs was never part of the bargain.

The WTC Connector

The World Trade Center connector between the PATH transit station and Brookfield Place (former WFC).

The steel supports for the head-house over the escalators leading to the connector from Brookfield Place

The connector looking towards PATH. Eventually, this area will be lined with shops and be incorporated into the larger Westfield mall under construction around the PATH transit hub and between and around the memorial/museum and skyscrapers on the site.

12 Years Later: Remembering 9/11

September 11, 2001. New Yorkers were heading to the polls to vote on the next mayor of the city. It was a morning full of promise and baseball fans were excited about the Yankees' chances of making the playoffs, the Mets thinking about the future, and the start of the new football season. In other words, it was a day not much different than those September days we've been experiencing in the New York City metro area this year.

While everyone was focused on the day ahead, another group of people were thinking about the mission that would forever alter the skyline of NYC and alter history. Al Qaeda's terrorists were already on board four jets bound for New York and Washington DC and had already overpowered the crews.

I was on a NJ Transit train with my dad when I first noticed something wrong at the WTC out of the corner of my eye; it was smoke coming from the upper reaches of the tower.

It was just around 8:45.

The world changed, and I didn't quite realize it.

People watching the morning news didn't know it either at first. But they would soon be glued to broadcasts that showed the horrors of the worst terror attacks ever perpetrated.

The damage done on that morning was nearly impossible to comprehend. In the mere blink of the eye, nearly 3,000 people were condemned to death and the World Trade Center would soon be reduced to a pile of rubble that would burn for weeks on end. Reports would come in that a third plane had struck and damaged the Pentagon.  But the death rattle of the Twin Towers would continue for just under two hours and victims trapped above the fires had to make the choice to stay and choke on the heat and smoke or jump to a certain death. All too many make that decision to jump. Firefighters on the ground also succumbed before the towers fell - falling debris hitting firefighters and fleeing people alike.

Victim Number One would be there to comfort those who fell. Rev. Mychal Judge of the FDNY was comforting fallen firefighters and office workers alike when he was struck and killed by debris. So many people inside the Department and around the City thought so highly of him that he was honored as the first victim of the attacks - so that he could comfort and aid all those many others who were murdered on that day - to guide them to Heaven.

All too many would unfortunately follow him - and not by their own choice.

Here are remembrances of a few of those killed on 9/11, as written by my friend legalbgl for Project 2,996 (and updated to reflect his additional memorializations for 2011 through 2013):

Lt. Col. Jerry Don Dickerson Jr. (2013).
Mary Lenz Wieman (2012).
Mark Francis Broderick (2011).
Captain Patrick J. Brown (2010).
Hagay Shefi (2009).
Alison Marie Wildman (2008).
Daniel Thomas Afflito (2007).

Coming full circle, on May 1, 2011, the United States finally caught up with Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. In a daring raid on a compound near Pakistan's military academy, US special forces killed bin Laden and captured a treasure trove of intel.  That's small consolation for the thousands of families and friends who still grieve the senseless murder of their loved ones in New York, Washington DC at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The profound loss is a heavy burden on all those who were there and on those who lost loved ones. While television crews jockeyed for spots overlooking the Ground Zero site, the death of bin Laden would not bring solace to those who lost loved ones, nor would it bring their loved ones back.

Local commemorations are already underway and will continue through the week throughout the region. And there are those in the area who are still suffering from the medical effects of exposure to the air at Ground Zero.

The federal government created the James Zadroga health and compensation fund because of the ongoing health concerns of those who carried out relief and recovery efforts at Ground Zero. More people are seeking assistance via the program, including those emergency responders who came from across the country to spell the FDNY and NYPD and PAPD in the grim task of recovering the remains of those murdered.

Emergency personnel were at Ground Zero around the clock for weeks on end before officials would claim that the site had officially been cleared of remains. Many of them, plus those living near Ground Zero would later become ill from the effects of breathing in all the dust and debris that was pulverized by the collapsing towers, and it is one of the sadder chapters from 9/11 that we are still burying victims of the attacks to this day, including James Zadroga.

People who risked their lives to save others and to help families who lost loved ones find remains of the victims are themselves victims of the attacks. The Zadroga Act isn't perfect by any means and it has come too late for some, but it's a start to compensate and aid families of responders who are suffering from all manner of ailments  attributed to Ground Zero exposure.

The death toll, which was once feared to be more than we could bear - in the tens of thousands, would eventually drop to around 2,742 at the World Trade Center. However, that count continues rising as more emergency personnel working at Ground Zero succumb to ailments attributed to exposures at Ground Zero. The head of the PBA says that the total number of cops who have died from medical ailments related to the 9/11 attacks is greater than the number who died during the attacks themselves. More than 1,100 people have cancers attributed to exposure at Ground Zero. Over 65,000 are registered with the WTC Registry. Some of their names will eventually be added to the roll of those killed in the attacks.

Construction at the site now dominates discussion, though there are unsettling discoveries made from time to time. Workers at the site of the proposed Park 51 / Cordoba House Islamic Center found part of the landing gear of one of the planes wedged between the building and an adjacent one.

The past 10 years have been a near constant reminder of the profound sense of absence. 1WTC (aka the Freedom Tower) has finally recaptured part of the skyline. 1WTC is still under construction but the antenna and external structures are complete. The base and interior work continues.

Construction of the Transit Hub is also underway, and Santiago Calatrava's design now peeks out above ground as well.

The WTC Transit Hub from Greenwich Street at Vesey

Looking down Greenwich St at the WTC Transit Hub and 3 and 4 WTC

4WTC exterior finished; the building needs interior work, but is in its final form.

2 and 3 WTC are only being built as a stub capable of being completed to their originally designed heights. Unless Larry Silverstein receives commitments to lease space, they will remain as stub buildings that provide retail commercial space for the foreseeable future. 4WTC will be opened to business in November. It's likely that work will restart later this year on 3WTC as there have been rumblings of a deal in the works for leases of significant amounts of space in the tower with GroupM. The 1WTC Observatory will take longer to open,  but Conde Nast will be moving into its offices in 1WTC in 2014 and retail spaces in 3 and 4 WTC will be opening in the coming year courtesy of Silverstein and Westfield Properties.

Fiterman Hall

Meanwhile, Fiterman Hall has now been opened for a full year as students from the Borough of Manhattan Community College have been able to use the facility for classes.

While the National 9/11 Memorial opened in time for the 10th anniversary, the National 9/11 Museum at the World Trade Center had been delayed due to an ongoing battle over who is responsible for certain costs. The museum foundation and the Port Authority had fought over hundreds of millions in costs, and the resulting delay meant that the earliest it would open is early 2014.

The delays were made worse as a result of the damage done by Hurricane Sandy. That included flooding of the museum facilities that are under the podium containing the memorial. It turns out that the battle over costs between the memorial foundation and the Port Authority was a blessing in disguise. It meant that facilities weren't finished out and artifacts weren't in place when lower Manhattan was flooded by Sandy. It also means that the facilities will have to address protecting the artifacts from future storms.

Then, there's the cost to operate the museum when it eventually opens in conjunction with the memorial. The WTC Memorial Foundation estimates it will cost $60 million a year to operate the memorial and museum, which is far out of line from other memorials operated by the National Park Service. It makes tremendous sense and it is logical for the 9/11 museum and memorial to be operated by the NPS instead of the private foundation because of cost containment and the ability to manage the myriad details that come along with such a sensitive site and one of national and international importance.

Millions of people have already paid their respects and visited the 9/11 memorial, and the site has fast become a touchstone for those visiting the city. Tourists from around the country and the world flock to the area to see the new construction and to visit the memorial.

One of the stumbling blocks continues to be whether the museum will charge a fee for entry. I've long argued against any kind of entry fee as well as stripping the memorial foundation of the authority to run the facility and instead put the NPS in charge. The NPS does a tremendous job managing sites around the nation, and the memorial and museum should come under the NPS umbrella. However, without Congressional action, the situation will remain in flux and we should expect to see entry fees imposed on those visiting the site (we already see the foundation making "mandatory" suggested donations for access to the memorial). I wouldn't be surprised if the entry fee runs $20 or more. As more than 4 million visit annually, that would mean $80 million in revenues towards operations.

The Port Authority, which owns the entire site, had been building the infrastructure necessary for other components of the site, including the Vehicle Security Center, the PATH transit hub, and the museum. All three are seriously over budget and are years behind schedule. The PATH Transit hub was among the worst offenders. It was supposed to have been completed in 2009 for $2.2 billion, and yet the earliest it may be finished is 2016 at a cost of more than $4 billion.

When one looks at the recently enacted toll and fare hikes, the cost overrun for PATH turns out to be nearly the entire amount of revenue expected to be raised from the hikes. That's inexcusable; the overruns on the transit hub sap the Port Authority's ability to handle other critical infrastructure projects around the region, and commuters to Lower Manhattan and businesses that want to consider Lower Manhattan have to take into account that the World Trade Center area is still one vast construction site.

When one realizes that the Port Authority gave up the trademark rights to the World Trade Center and WTC to a foundation started by a former employee of the agency for $10, you can begin to understand how poorly the authority had handled its assets over the years. A new report by the Bergen Record found that the Port Authority has no record of this deal being done, which makes this whole situation even more bizarre. After all, it's a former head of the agency involved - Guy Tozzoli.  It's why I don't think the agency has managed its assets well, nor handled the rebuilding in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

The Port Authority said Monday that it had no record of its governing board approving a 1986 deal that handed over ownership of the World Trade Center name for $10. And the agency’s top executive at the time said he didn’t recall it ever coming across his desk.

That added to the mystery surrounding how the Port Authority came to sell the vaunted name of its Manhattan landmark to a group run by a retiring agency executive who made millions in the years that followed.

The Christie administration, which jointly steers the agency with New York’s governor, slammed the deal on Monday, in response to a story in The Record a day earlier.

“You can be sure that would never happen under this administration,” Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said. “I’d venture to say that if something like that was done today, it would probably draw the attention of the United States Attorney’s Office.”

The Port Authority essentially handed over one of its most valuable assets to a former executive who has made a ton of coin over the deal, and has even cost the agency money to continue using the name. Had the agency retained the rights to the name and licensed the name to other entities as the WTCA has done, the Port Authority would have had millions of dollars of revenue that it could have used to fund ongoing operations and projects.

Meanwhile, nearby transit projects are slowly inching towards completion, including the Fulton Transit Center a block east of Ground Zero. That project, run by the MTA, is similarly over budget and late. However, it's far closer to completion than the PATH hub. When finished, the Fulton Center would link with the PATH transit hub by the Dey Street connector, and ultimately those working at the World Financial Center would be able to access Fulton Center without having to travel outside. It's likely to be opened in time for when 4WTC is opened for business later this year.

The skyline will never be the same. Neither will our hearts, which are heavy with the loss and supreme sacrifices made on 9/11 by the rescue personnel who bravely rushed up the towers even as people were racing to get out of the towers or gasping as people were forced to jump to their deaths to avoid being burned alive in the fires that racked the towers.

We remember.

Tribute in Light

Looking up at 1WTC and 7WTC.

More photos of Ground Zero and the rebuilding at the World Trade Center, as taken from 4WTC, which is scheduled to open next year.

The WTC as seen from Hoboken.

For my prior year recollections and postings, see September 11, 2012, 10 Years Later,  September 11, 2010, September 11, 2009,  September 11, 2008, September 11, 2007, September 11, 2006, and September 11, 2005.