Results tagged “wtcmemorial”

      

At a NY State Assembly hearing yesterday, Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward testified, "We are on track to meet the commitment we made in October to open the Memorial Plaza by the 10th Anniversary of September 11th."

Sure, the Port Authority has promised that the World Trade Center Memorial will be open for 10th anniversary events, but it will close for another year of construction right after. Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward, who just last week released "probabilistic" timelines for various Ground Zero projects, testified in front of the City Council and revealed that the memorial's plaza wouldn't open until late 2012. And when City Councilman Alan Gerson asked, "Will any part of the site be generally open to the public to simply walk into without prescheduling?" Ward replied it would be "unlikely." Maybe by the 15th anniversary, then?

The Port Authority released its letter and report to Governor David Paterson about progress at the World Trade Center site. The NY-NJ agency was given control of the site two years ago, but building at the site has been stymied by delays given the complexity and cost of the project.

Once planned to open on September 11, 2009, now the NY Times reports constructions workers "will begin erecting the steel to frame" the World Trade Center Memorial. Mayor Bloomberg, who is the chairman of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, said, "We’ve worked hard to get the memorial back on track and on budget, and to raise necessary funding from many generous donors. Now we must all ensure it is our collective top priority, so that it’s open by the 10th anniversary.” The design by Michael Arad was chosen in 2004; the plans were altered when estimates came in the $1 billion ballpark. The public has a chance to write messages on some steel beams over the next week and a half.

While the Port Authority confirmed there will be many rebuilding delays at the World Trade Center site, executive director Christopher Ward told lower Manhattan residents the WTC memorial will be ready by 2011. The Daily News reports that at a Community Board 1 meeting, Ward said the memorial should be completed by the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, but "accomplishing this will very difficult...You cannot build a memorial by forgetting its interconnection to the rest of the site."

The Federal Trade Administration's head emphasized the alarm over the cost of building the World Trade Center transit hub. James Simpson said, "if the project is as advertised today, it's in the $3 billion." He added that the FTA is "holding the Port Authority's feet to the fire" to make sure the FTA's $1.9 billion grant for the project is spent wisely.

Five days before the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, developer Larry Silverstein released yet another round of renderings of the three Greenwich St. towers that will rise along the eastern edge of the 16-acre World Trade Center site. The final designs were unveiled yesterday at 7 World Trade Center. The buildings are scheduled to begin construction in January.

Plans for a World Trade Center memorial continue to crawl along, and WNBC has a story today about the personal donations that are funding the effort and the memorial itself. $300 million has been raised to build a set of reflecting pools and a museum at Ground Zero, much of that money coming from a fundraising drive over the last six months. The story includes a list of top donors, and we found it interesting that most of the individuals listed are New York-area politicians. Mayor Bloomberg donated $15 million. NJ Governor Jon Corzine donated $2 million. Governor Spitzer and his family chipped in $2 million as well. Donors in the under $100,000 category include former NY Governor Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Today, Mayor Bloomberg met with the Bronx fire victims' families and later held a press conference about the tragedy, which is the deadliest fire (aside from September 11) since 1990 . The Mayor has been under fire for leaving the city yesterday - after a Thursday press conference about the fire - for a scheduled appearance in Miami, where he made jokes about "Mayors Gone Wild" in South Beach.

We image Mayor Bloomberg had some talking-to with the new governor! A few days ago, Governor Eliot Spitzer dipped his toe into the dispute about how victims' names would be arrange at the World Trade Center Memorial.

Governor Spitzer is totally diving into the World Trade Center redevelopment. One moment he's proclaiming support for Freedom Tower (after pre-gubernatorial earlier grousing that it was a "white elephant"), the next he's discussing the naming scheme for the WTC memorial.

We were happy to read in the NY Post that the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation turned down a $30,000 donation from National Collector's Mint. The WTC Memorial Foundation said, "We weren't comfortable [with the donations] because of the history," proving that even though the foundation needs donors, no one wants money from horrible companies trying to profit from the tragedy.

Politicians believe more names need to be mentioned at the World Trade Center Memorial Museum. Assemblyman Michael Gianaris of Queens and State Senator Marty Golden of Brooklyn will be introducing a bill that would ask that the names of deceased Ground Zero workers be included.

Chelsea, by Joe Holmes.

Families of some September 11 victims have started an advertising campaign to express their unhappiness over the planned naming scheme for the World Trade Center Memorial. Last December, Mayor Bloomberg announced that the names of victims would be grouped by company or association. However, civilian employees would not have their employers listed while city workers, like firefighters, would have their companies listed.

Officials announced that victims names will be arranged at the World Trade Center Memorial, instead of being placed randomly. WTC Memorial designer Michael Arad's original plan was for a random listing of victims. From his winning submission:

The names of the deceased will be arranged in no particular order around the pools. After carefully considering different arrangements, I have found that any arrangement that tries to impose meaning through physical adjacency will cause grief and anguish to people who might be excluded from that process, furthering the sense of loss that they are already suffering.

Continue reading "Names Will Be Organized on World Trade Center Memorial "

+ Joe got a freaky shot from the set of the new Will Smith movie shooting in Washington Square Park. Not safe if you're scared of albino, bald women.

This morning, workers will take down the iron cross at Ground Zero and prepare to move it to St. Peter's Church this afternoon. There will be a small ceremony for the cross's transfer, and St. Peter's will be its home until the World Trade Center Memorial Museum is open. If you're near the site, you may see a flatbed truck bringing the cross to St. Peter's around 2PM. WABC 7 explains the cross's history: "The two cast-iron beams left in the shape of a cross after the collapse of the Twin Towers were hoisted onto a 40-foot foundation on October 4th, 2001 and quickly became one of the best-known symbols of the site."

The city must have many storage closets that escape notice. The city will release 1,613 phone calls made on September 11 by emergency workers and trapped people at the World Trade Center. As Newsday explains it, "The fire department is releasing these recordings now because of an oversight that occurred after a March decision by the New York State Court of Appeals to release all calls, according to a statement. A personnel error led to the department overlooking another tape of phone calls made between 8:45 and 10:45 a.m. on Sept. 11, the statement said." An oversight of two hours of phone calls? That's some oversight.

Just weeks before the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency created to manage the rebuilding process, has announced it has ended its "mission" and will close soon. The NY Times' David Dunlap explains that the mission included "selecting a master plan and a memorial design for the trade center site; allocating more than $2.7 billion in federal grants, including support for downtown residents and businesses; financing park renovations and cultural programs; and planning the revitalization of Fulton Street, from river to river." Which is certainly more generous than our initial thought and a good reminder of what the LMDC has done, as we've come to regard it as a puppet for Governor Pataki and muddling through the redesign of Freedom Tower and the WTC Memorial. The Times article has good quotes that show the pros and cons of the agency, with many hopeful that one less agency means more action and less bureaucracy.

Hooray, the Port Authority has officially agreed to build the World Trade Center Memorial. Whether to take advantage of construction efficiencies or to just do what others seem unable to do (there's some advantage to being affiliated with the state), we just hope the memorial gets built at some point. But then there is the matter of the $170 million still needed for funds.

WTC leasholder Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority are suing comapnies for withholding funds which are keeping them from starting work on the World Trade Center. Naturally, in surance companies don't want to pay out, but to prevent the building of something as symbolic as the new World Trade Center sounds like a PR disater. And the construction union members rallied in support of the lawsuit - one carpenter told NY1, "The question everywhere I go is, ‘What's going on with Ground Zero?’ It's gotten to the point where it's embarrassing that there isn't any progress." And that goes for all New Yorkers, too. Does that mean the cornerstone was moved too soon?

Almost two years ago, the cornerstone at Ground Zero was placed at the World Trade Center site. But now it's been moved to Hauppague, NY! The NY Times reports that the largely symbolic slab of granite was moved in order to accomodate the new designs for the space, as there's been a new Freedom Tower design in the meantime. Developer Silverstein Properties said the cornerstone "needs to be repositioned to make sense in the new building." But don't fear: It will be on display at Innovative Stone where it was made - you need to make an appointment though. Well, at least people will be able to see it (we're trying to find the silver lining, because it's too easy to complain about anything to do with the WTC rebuilding process).

Ever since one contractor estimated it would cost $1 billion to build the World Trade Center Memorial, it's been a downhill process at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Actually, it was probably downhill from earlier than that, but the $1 billion price tag helped prompt cover stories about the memorial mess, create more teams to figure out a solution, and lead to the resignation of the WTC Memorial Foundation president. Anyway, the WTC Memorial's builder, Frank Sciame, presented new memorial designs Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki. Note that it's the builder presenting cost-cutting options - not the deisgners, though Sciame did meet with them, including original WTC Memorial designer Michael Arad, to develop ideas. Some of Sciame's options for cost-cutting include eliminating the waterfalls, displaying the victims' names aboveground, not around the pools, and removing one of two underground entrance ramps. Bloomberg and Pataki do want to keep the waterfalls, but it sounds like the the names will go aboveground - which would quiet criticism from victims' families who have wanted them aboveground all along.

- The Port Authority has a collection of gifts left for the families of Port Authority employees killed during the attacks.

The head of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation has resigned, after months of controversy over the memorial's ballooning costs and lower-than-expected fundraising. To be fair, many of these factors seem to be out of Dykstra's control, considering how many players (we're tempted to say a cast of hundreds) bickered over the situation. The NY Times printed this excerpt from her resignation letter:

There is general agreement that the multiplicity of authorities and the unclear roles has made it difficult for anyone to move expeditiously...Perhaps it would help if there was one less player. Therefore, it is with sadness and regret that I hereby tender my resignation, effective immediately.

If there's something politicians know how to do, it's to convene a committee! The NY Times focuses on how everyone wants new plans to bring the WTC Memorial budget down - there's that much agreement. But the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has one committee working on it...and Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg created another committee to work on ideas! Double the thinking, infinite times the resentment! The LMDC team includes the builder Bovis, whose $1 billion estimate of the memorial caused a lot of the agita that prompted these committees, while the Pataki-Bloomberg team, "Memorial and Master Plan Design Commitee," has memorial designers and architects, Michael Arad, Peter Walker, and Max Bond, plus WTC "master planner" Daniel Libeskind and rival builder Frank Sciame. At any rate, the LMDC committee is planning on having a couple of new ideas by next week. Hmm, maybe the LMDC can time a new memorial design by July, which is about three years after the WTC memorial competition ended.