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The lawsuit trying to stop the building of the WTC Memorial has been thrown out by a state Supreme Court justice. Victims' families group was upset that the memorial design would not preserve the footprints of the World Trade Center, and said the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation didn't consult with them. Justice Shirley Kornreich disagreed, saying the LMDC "exhaustive[ly]" worked with other groups during the process. As the AP reports, Kornreich's ruling states, "[The agency continues to consult with family members] in what can only be described as a commendable and sensitive manner, despite the fact that the obligation to consult ended long ago.'' Well, that's one bit of good news for the LMDC - and now this means the foundation for the memorial, which will be offset from the footprints, can get its concrete, although Gothamist suspects with all the memorial problems, there are still some design changes to come. more ›

After the LMDC announced it would go ahead with plans for the World Trade Center Memorial, a sister of a September 11 victim will be protesting at Ground Zero by sleeping on a sidewalk across the street. Rosaleen Tallon, whose firefighter brother Sean died, says that the memorial's subterranean design is disrepectful, used her brother's cold-weather gear (he was a marine) last night when she camped out last night. 1010 WINS says that Reverend Bill Minson, who had been a ground zero chaplain, would also stay there until the design changes. We'll see if LMDC head Stefan Pryor tries to speak with them directly. more ›

Recently, there's been a bit of opposition ot the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's World Trade Center Memorial design, which was selected over two years ago, with the main complaints being that the memorial was partly subterranean. Now the LMDC has issued a letter to the complaining families saying that memorial will be built as planned, as construction will begin next month.. The Post received a letter, which has LMDC president Stefan Pryor explaining that when letters about the memorial design were sent to 5,000 family members in 2004, only 400 forms were returned and only one mentioned the "below grade" location. (We wonder if the families would, in turn, say that the forms were not very clear.) Pryor's letter also included the thought, "While we understand that, as is inevitable in a process of this complexity, some of you may still disagree with choices that have been made, those choices were made in good faith." Gothamist still doesn't know how to feel about the WTC Memorial design - it has changed significantly, in order to meet other development issues, since it's initial presentation. The unfortunate thing is that usually people only know how they feel about physical spaces until they are built - we're thinking about the opposition to the Vietnam War Memorial during the pre-construction period. more ›

Yesterday, the City announced the official $150 million East River redevelopment plan. The 2 mile esplanade will connect East River and Battery Parks, and have a new "waterfront esplanade with new plantings, benches, tables, repaving, improved lighting and a widened bike path," community space at Pier 15, commercial and cultural pavilions along South Street, new park and open spaces and a new public plaza in front of the Battery Maritime Building; the Fulton Fish Market will be razed, in order to be a pleasure marina. The money comes from Lower Manhattan Development Corporation funds, to provide, as new LMDC president Stefan Pryor said, "year-round recreational oasis for Lower Manhattan families." However, the money for the Battery Maritime Building part, about $65 million, has yet to be secured. Nor is there a timetable yet. Nonetheless, there's a lot of bipartisan enthusiasm for the plan: Democratic City Councilwoman Margarita Lopez, whose district includes the Lower East Side, said about Mayor Bloomberg, "People, this is why I love this man!" more ›

Governor George Pataki, realizing even in the waning months as a potential lame duck governor that he needs to take action with the rebuilding of the World Trade Center, has installed one of his aides to lead the effort. Other aides say that yesterday's announcement that John P. Cahill would be moving from Albany to help jumpstart the rebuilding, which has taken its fair share of knocks in the past year, from Goldman Sachs deciding not to move to the site and the NYPD's criticism of Freedom Tower's safety, was meant to restore confidence. Cahill will also be drumming up more fundraising efforts to attract money to the project. Gothamist would like Cahill to know that we wish him luck - you better get everything straightened out before Pataki's term is over. more ›