A state appeals court was unconvinced by the Port Authority's arguments and upheld a ruling that leaves the agency 68% liable for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In 2005, a State Supreme Court jury ruled the Port Authority's liability at 68%, with terrorists being liable for 32%. And since the PA was more than 50% liable, it would have to pay 100% of the lawsuits. The PA appealed, finding the decision "bizarre" and questioning......

The NY Times highlights how, in spite of being many years away from opening, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum does have one exhibit in place: The 62 foot by 64 foot foundation wall, aka the slurry wall, from the original World Trade Center. However, the big challenge now is securing it. The Port Authority and the memorial's builders are reinforcing it with "steel caisson cores," a "new concrete liner," and a "pilaster wall,"......

Photograph at Pope Benedict at Ground Zero by Kathy Willens/AP Pope Benedict XVI visited Ground Zero this morning, asking for "eternal light and peace to all who died here," with an audience of dignitaries and two dozen survivors, victims' family members, and rescue workers from the September 11 attacks. He lit a candle, blessed the site, and prayed. Here is an excerpt of his blessing:We ask you, in your compassion to bring healing to......

Proving that there's a market for oversize shredders, a homeless man discovered two copies of blueprints for Freedom Tower, aka World Trade Center Tower One, in the trash at Sullivan and Houston Streets. The Post puts Mike Fleming (a "homeless, recovering drug addict") on the cover and questions the security lapse, pointing out, "It's a good thing Osama wasn't walking through SoHo yesterday morning." Fleming had been looking for cardboard to sleep on when he......

Of course: Because of budget concerns that could be hundreds of millions in overruns, the Port Authority is looking at ways to save money on the World Trade Center transportation hub design. But while the NY Times initially frightens those of you (and us, frankly) who have fallen in love with Santiago Calatrava's design with the words "the Port Authority has begun preparing plans for a more modest alternative," there is this:In no case,......

RepresentativeDarrell Issa, a Republican from California, played the spoiler during the city's attempt to get federal money for sick first responders. Issa said the planes that flew into the World Trade Center weren't weapons like a dirty bomb, "It simply was an aircraft, residue of two aircraft, and residue from the materials used to build this building." To which NYC counsel Michael Cardozo said, "Congressman, this was I believe an attack on the United States......

Gorilla, by jenna bascom at flickrToday on the Gothamist Newsmap: A construction accident at 32 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, shots fired over the air at Meeker Ave & Frost St in Brooklyn, and an evidence search at 50-30 Broadway and 50 St in Queens Brooklyn Heights Blog has a great picture of the front entrance The Moxie Spot, a still-to-be-opened establishment on Atlantic Ave. The door comes in three sizes: adult, child, and pet.......

Queens Council Member Peter Vallone Jr. has introduced a bill that would have Evel Knievel rolling in his grave. If it becomes law, stunt men are going to have a tough time working on their craft in New York, as it would outlaw climbing and jumping off any structure taller than 25 feet; daredevils could get fined and spend up to a year in jail. Alain Robert is not going to be happy about this......

Fifteen years ago today, a truck packed with explosives detonated under a tower at the World Trade Center. While it failed to knock down the towers (the parking garage suffered the most damage), six people were killed and over a thousand injured. A retired Port Authority official, Peter Caram, spoke about the first bombing with amNY and said, "The country as a whole was never put on a security alert [after the '93 bombing]. We......

Hoboken PATH, 1998, by Triborough at flickr One hundred years ago today, the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad opened for business with one mission – to get the passengers to and from the various railroad terminals on the Hudson County New Jersey side of the river to or from Manhattan who would otherwise have to take ferries. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the PATH, the Port Authority is giving free PATH rides today between 6AM......

You may recall that the original Freedom Tower design had to be scrapped (because the NYPD thought it was too susceptible to attack) and redesigned with a concrete base. Now the Daily News' I-Team takes up concerns law enforcement officials have with "security weaknesses" in the new towers at World Trade Center. The three new towers have too much glass and are "positioned too closely to city streets, increasing their vulnerability to attack." Also,......

A Manhattan-based big thinker has innovative ideas about the future of plug-in hybrid electric cars. In a Duane Street office marked by Back-to-the- Futuresque logo- emblazoned pillars, Malcolm Bricklin, entrepreneur and car man, had four model cars displayed on a massive table (surrounded by giant chairs whose backs are famous New York skyscrapers, including the World Trade Center at the head): two small models of the Bricklin SV-1, a sports car with gull-wing doors --......

Better late than never: The Port Authority turned over part of the World Trade Center site to developer Larry Silverstein. This parcel of land is where two of the five planned towers will be built. As part of Silverstein's deal with the Port Authority back in 2006, the PA would control the land but Silverstein, who held the lease to the WTC during the attacks, would be able to build on top of it. The......

The announcement that six detainees in Guantanamo would be charged and tried for the September 11, 2001 attacks was welcomed by a number of parties, including the families of people who died on September 11. However, some would like to see a trial in New York and not in Gitmo. The Sun found some different reactions. Jim Riches a fire chief whose son died in the World Trade Center, said, "[T]hese people should be brought......

An appeals court ruled that a doctor who had been missing before September 11, 2001 died during the World Trade Center attacks. The family of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip, last seen at Century 21 on September 10, had in courts for years trying to do so. Previously, a court-appointed guardian implied the 31-year-old doctor led a dangerous lifestyle, because she, per the Post, "frequented bars (including several bars that cater to women customers) and spent......

What Lower Manhattan will look like after Silverstein's buildings are completed; the Woolworth Building with its ornate green roof is on the left, 99 Church is the tall building to it right (and to the left of what is an illuminated Church street); to the right is the WTC site, with Freedom Tower and the other three towers; image from dbox/Silverstein Properties Developer Larry Silverstein announced yesterday that he will build an 80-story building......

Photograph of News Corp.'s Midtown headquarters by Triborough on Flickr Now that Rupert Murdoch owns The Wall Street Journal, he wants all his toys in one toychest properties in one building, namely News Corporation's Sixth Avenue building. The Wall Street Journal newsroom has always been downtown and is currently located at the World Financial Center. What's interesting is it seems like WSJ staffers would welcome a move to Midtown. The World Trade Center attacks......

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is in charge of construction on the new 1 World Trade Center – AKA the Freedom Tower – is now seeking developers to design, build and operate a 34,000-square-foot restaurant on the 100th and 101st floors; whoever wins the bid may also win rights to operate the observation deck planned for the 102nd floor. The Authority is gazing into its crystal construction ball and seeing......

Just a days before the Florida primary, someone gave the New York Times a 1998 NYPD memorandum advising Mayor Giuliani that the department felt locating the city's emergency command center in 7 World Trade Center was not a very good idea. The eight page memo was written by a panel of police experts with help from the Secret Service. Its conclusions were overruled by Giuliani and the command center was destroyed on September 11 as......

Last night, a Brooklyn woman was fatally struck by a driver in a Mercedes SUV on Water Street and Old Slip in lower Manhattan. Florence Cioffi, 59, was pronounced dead at NYU Downtown Hospital. The vehicle's driver, George W. Anderson, according to CityRoom, "left the scene of the accident but returned five minutes later" and "refused to submit to a Breathalyzer test to determine if he had been drinking." He was charged with vehicular......

Photograph of Washington Square Park chess table by Paulo C on Flickr Brilliant, reclusive and eccentric, Chicago-born and Brooklyn-bred Bobby Fischer died at age 64 in Iceland. His spokesman said the cause was kidney failure, after a long illness. Fischer, who grew up playing in chess clubs in Brooklyn and Manhattan, beat Boris Spassky in a 1972 match, becoming the first and only American to become world champion, a Cold War hero, and popularized......

Anthony Lappé is a writer, blogger, television producer and executive editor of GNN.tv, the web site for the Guerrilla News Network. He's written for mainstream press like the Times and was the National Affairs Editor for Black Book, and in 2003 he collaborated on the award-winning Showtime documentary about Iraq called BattleGround: 21 Days on the Empire’s Edge, which covered the front lines of the simmering guerrilla war in Iraq in 2003. Part of what......

Photograph of the World Trade Center site by New York Daily Photo We got a NotifyNYC alert this morning:The Port Authority will be doing construction blasting at the World Trade Center site today beginning at 8 a.m. There will be a total of 7 controlled blasts during the day. This is a routine construction operation and there is no cause for concern.The only cause of concern is how the Port Authority has incurred millions......

Mayor MIchael Bloomberg's largess makes him the country's seventh biggest charitable donor. The Chronicle of Philanthropy's Top 50 Donor List (less sexy than the Forbes list, but possibly more worthy) notes he committed $205 million to various institutions last year. Bloomberg's giving has been generous ever since becoming mayor, prompting the Sun to note that "the largest jump in his contributions [occurred] last year, amid mounting speculation he will run for president." And as if......

You can see what are the most recommended and most commented posts on the Gothamist Favorites site, but here are the top three for both: Most Recommended 1. Bad Ad Ideas: Pakistan Airlines, 1979: An old ad showing the shadow of an airplane against the World Trade Center brought up some spooky associations as well as questions about whether the ad was real. 2. Breaking: Shots Fired at Police by Man Barricaded in Park Slope......

Take a good, long look New York: You could be staring into the squinty eyes of your future mayor. (Yes, the white dude on the right.) Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who describes himself as “somewhat comical” [emphasis added] is on the verge of announcing his candidacy for mayor. Fuhgeddaboutit? The Crown Heights native, who earned a B.A. at Brooklyn College after nine years of night school, has loudly occupied the largely ceremonial position......

Over two years after a jury found it negligent for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Port Authority continues to fight that claim. The NY-NJ agency and lawyers for the victims face the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court to argue their sides. In 2005, a jury found that the Port Authority was 68% responsible for the bombing in the WTC parking garage, which left six dead and over 1,000 injured. The decision meant......

Former mayor Rudy Giuliani is in Florida today, skipping the Iowa caucus that his team never counted on anyway. Still, his staffers are trying to remain relevant in Iowa by "contacting reporters, reminding them that even though the former New York mayor is lagging badly [in Iowa]...he will remain a player in the big states that hold their primaries in upcoming weeks." We kept Giuliani on the brain by reading Elizabeth Kolbert's New Yorker......

On Sunday, the worldwide running community lost an institution: Vic Navarra, a FDNY lieutenant who organized the NYC Marathon's start for 26 years, died at his home in Staten Island. He was 55 and had been battling sinus cancer. Navarra, a lifelong runner, fell into the job of organizing the NYC Marathon's start when he couldn't run (a rib injury from responding to a fire) in 1980, when he wanted to help out and he......

Wow - yet depressingly not surprising: The Port Authority will have to pay World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein $300,000 for every day past December 31, 2007 that it does not turn over a part of the WTC site. The payment could be as much at $13.5 million or as little as $9.3 million. The PA and Silverstein worked out a deal back in 2006 where the PA would control the land but Silverstein, who......