Results tagged “wtc”

If anything ever turns out getting built at the World Trade Center site, please let it be this. Next month, workers are planning to construct a Subway sandwich shop atop a crane at Ground Zero — newly dubbed Ground Hero by the Post — so that hardhats can enjoy their $5-footlongs without having to descend from the Freedom Tower.

The Anne Frank Center USA in Lower Manhattan has chosen the eleven sites that will receive saplings from the horse chestnut tree that Anne Frank used to gaze upon while in hiding at 263 Prinsengracht. They announced their idea earlier this year, and now say that "the saplings are currently in a nursery outside Amsterdam and will be shipped to the United States before year’s end. They will be quarantined for two years to make sure they do not carry certain plant diseases." In New York, the sapling will go to the World Trade Center site.

      

Another week, another World Trade Center dispute! Since the Port Authority—which controls the land at Ground Zero—and WTC leaseholder Larry Silverstein have been at odds over the funding of the massive redevelopment project, Governor Paterson decided to personally negotiate with Silverstein a few weeks ago. Paterson had given Silverstein an ultimatum to work with the PA or get out. But Silverstein has rejected Paterson's development proposals—the NY Times reports that in Silverstein's eyes, those plans "were unlikely to lead to building two of three skyscrapers planned for the World Trade Center site," which is what Mayor Bloomberg and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver want, too.

Now that the State Senate stalemate isn't occupying his time, Governor Paterson is directing this energy towards another mess: Ground Zero! World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein and WTC owner the Port Authority have been squabbling over who will finance planned towers—Silverstein wants the PA to foot most of the bill while the PA wants Silverstein to raise the money. Paterson said yesterday that public financing was out: "I think it’s unfair to the taxpayers, because you could go to the private equity firms, and they don’t want to extend that kind of credit. So I don’t think that the taxpayers should run a greater risk than what makes good business sense for a number of private institutions." He also floated the idea of public-private partnerships. The Port Authority said, “We appreciate Governor Paterson’s leadership and agree with his principled position on protecting public resources. In the meantime, the Port Authority will continue to make daily and visible progress on the Memorial, One World Trade Center, the Transportation Hub and the other public infrastructure," while Silverstein said, "I appreciate the governor’s direct involvement. I look forward to continuing these discussions.”

In the latest round of World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein vs. World Trade Center owner Port Authority, Reuters reports that the PA has "rejected the use of more public money to guarantee financing for two private office towers" at Ground Zero. Apparently Silverstein only wants to put $75 million in equity into the two towers, which are estimated to cost $4.2 billion. The PA released the letter it sent Silverstein, which includes, "You demand that the public take on the risk that you and the private sector will not take. It is unrealistic of Silverstein Properties to demand this extraordinary level of public subsidy, and it is not going to happen." Silverstein had previously rejected the PA's demand that he raised $625 million towards the project. The slow pace of progress—not to mention rising costs—have raised suggestions that some buildings be scrapped or drastically downsized and Silverstein has threatened to take the matter into arbitration, which could delay construction even more.

Even though the Port Authority and World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein are locked into a battle over funding for future towers at Ground Zero, now there are new possibilities for the World Trade Center Performing Center. According to the Tribeca Trib, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation officials "said they were studying the feasibility of putting the center across the street from the site, at 130 Liberty Street, where the remains of the former Deutsche Bank building now stand. The move, to the LMDC-owned property known as Site 5, could mean that the performing arts center gets built years sooner." Presently, the WTC PAC is planned—with "conceptual work" by Frank Gehry—for in between the Freedom Tower and PATH transportation hub. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told the Daily News, "Clearly, it's a site that could be ready a lot sooner - and the cost would be a lot cheaper - than the current site," and even though money will be an issue, "there will be less funds to raise."

Surprise, surprise: In the weeks since the various players in the World Trade Center's development met, nothing has happened! Even though politicians, including Mayor Bloomberg and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (in "a startling alliance"!), have criticized the Port Authority for slowing the progress of Ground Zero's future, since the PA refuses to pay for all the towers that developer Larry Silverstein wants, the Port Authority hasn't budged. Now Silverstein has given the Port Authority two weeks to come to an agreement, or else he'll take the whole thing to arbitration. Which could mean more delays.

      

It's official, Prince Harry's first official trip to the U.S. has officially begun! As you can see he's already visited Ground Zero, talked with firefighters, and has christened the British Memorial Garden at Hanover Square (which actually isn't all that amazing). The AP noted that when he emerged "into the sunlight where the towers once stood. He glanced upwards, seemingly taking in the enormity of the structures felled in the attack, and said simply, 'Wow'." However, while looking at the rebuilding plans for the WTC site, he asked, "Big question—when is this supposed to be finished?" Patience, dear prince.

Last week, the players with stakes in Ground Zero development—the Port Authority, developer Larry Silverstein, Mayor Bloomberg, NY Governor Paterson, NJ Governor Corzine, Assembly Speaker Silver among them—met at Gracie Mansion to discuss the stalemate (and bickering) over the World Trade Center rebuilding progress. What they agreed on was, the Post reported, "to order their aides to come up with an agreement by the next summit on June 11." Um, great. The NY Times had an editorial yesterday about the stalemate, declaring that instead of helping Silverstein build (aka fund) two towers, "The authority should instead be focusing on what it has already committed to: building the substructure for the 16-acre site, the Calatrava PATH terminal and the tallest tower. The authority’s designers have also come up with an interim proposal to build multistory bases for some of Mr. Silverstein’s towers. Those could house retail shops until the market needs more skyscrapers."

As we mentioned yesterday, this week marked 32 years since George Willig's climb up the World Trade Center's south tower. When he got up there, he signed his name on a piece of metal on the observation deck, and now a reader has scanned in his photo of it, taken in 1983. We like that Willig even drew the two towers!

Phillippe Petit wasn't the only daredevil back in '70s that used the World Trade Center as a stage. Today marks the anniversary of George Willig's climb up 2 WTC, the south tower, in 1977. Also known as "the human fly" or "the spiderman," it took the mountain-climber and Queens resident about 3.5 hours to scale the building. Sport Illustrated wrote a story about the climb shortly after it took place, which you can still read here. In it Willig's brother notes that the Port Authority cops asked him "'Is George sane? Is he doing this for any political purposes? Is he going to wave signs or something? Is he doing it for a commercial reason?' I told them he was doing it for his own satisfaction, no other reason, and that he was as sane as I was, which I think confused them." His punishment? New York City Mayor Abraham Beame fined him $1.10, one cent for each of the skyscraper's 110 stories. Allegedly he signed his name on a piece of metal on the observation deck which was still visible until its destruction in 2001. Sadly, there doesn't appear to be much footage, aside from this 12-second clip (larger image of his climb after the jump).

A week and a half ago, it was revealed that the Port Authority was considering scrapping three of the planned towers at the World Trade Center site. Towers 2 and 3, designed by Sir Norman Foster and Sir Richard Rogers respectively, would instead be transformed into 4-5 story "stumps" (Tower 5 would be abandoned for now). Today, the Post shows renderings of the stumps, which are given the more marketing friendly term "retail podiums."

Earlier this week, Port Authority said that the construction of buildings, a 9/11 memorial and transit at the World Trade Center site will result in more than 26,000 jobs. And the indirect job—like the ones that "supply services, materials and machinery to the rebuilding effort"—creation may add over 35,000 jobs to that number. That's notable because 30,000 construction jobs are expected to be lost over the next few years. Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia said, "The World Trade Center rebuilding effort is an economic shot in the arm for our region at a difficult time. This investment in our region's future is also helping us in the present - by creating tens of thousands of jobs and generating billions for our local economy." The WTC project will extend until 2016. Also, the Port Authority agreed to let the NYC Department of Building shut down job sites with unsafe cranes; previously, the PA did not have to surrender to city regulations because it's a NY-NJ state agency. The WTC site has 24 cranes—the most in the city.

Yesterday, Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler held a press conference asking President Obama to reappoint Dr. John Howard as the 9/11 health czar. Howard, who supported the federal funding of programs to monitor and treat ground zero workers sickened by September 11 conditions, had "tensions" with his boss at the CDC, and his appointment was not renewed. Maloney said, “The Bush administration made a good decision in appointing Dr. Howard and a typically bad move in letting him go," noting that Dr. Howard, "built the federal government’s 9/11 health programs from the ground up." Additionally, Maloney, Nadler, Peter King and Michael McMahon hailed the $70 million in funding from a House bill that will help cover WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program. Nadler said, "This money is literally a lifeline for thousands of first responders and community members who are sick as a result of exposure to 9/11 contaminants. Ultimately, though, our best way forward now is to pass the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to ensure that, each and every year, there is enough funding for those living with 9/11-borne illnesses."

      

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."

Thanks to the very soft real estate market, the Port Authority has authorized a rent credit for tenants at the future World Trade Center towers. The rent credit amounts to $5/square foot, for the "private-sector tenants in...the Freedom Tower, and Towers 2,3,4 and 5" and the program will be "capped at a maximum of $3.75 million a year and a total of $61 million over the life of the program," according to Reuters. Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia said, "This program will assist us in securing commercial tenants at the site, which will help to promote economic growth in lower Manhattan." The five buildings will have over 10 million square feet of commercial space and the project won't be complete for another few years.

The cover of Sesame Street magazine circa October 1976 depicts a giant Cookie Monster putting aside his favorite snack for a few bites of the Twin Towers. Sort of makes you think about how innocent the world seemed before the terrorists started blowing shit up, no?

Updated: The Port Authority tell us that the construction worker was not pinned by a collapsed crane, as previously reported: "A crane maintenance worker fell 3 feet off a crane while doing routine maintenance at 7 a.m. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to St. Vincent's as a precaution." His injury is "not believed to be life-threatening." Last week, it as revealed that the Port Authority had to pay another $64 million in fines to WTC developer Larry Silverstein, for delays in turning over the site.

As if any government agency needs to go deeper into debt these days, it has been announced that despite protest, the Port Authority will in fact have to pay Ground Zero developer Larry Silverstein (pictured) a total of $64 million. The money is being paid for fines stemming from missing deadlines in preparing the site for its turnover. The authority was fighting the fines and claiming that they had prepared what they were supposed to by October 5, but arbitrators agreed with the developer who said that the remaining wall at the site known as "The Berlin Wall of Ground Zero" impeded building and warranted the fines. The daily fines will continue into the new year, when the Port Authority has already announced it will miss its next December 31 deadline. There has been no estimated date given for completion of the work. The Daily News points out that the $64 million owed by the PA is equal to 7.9 million trips across the George Washington Bridge.

Responding to pressure from Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg, the Port Authority is promising to finish the 9/11 memorial in time for the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack that felled the twin towers. In June, Paterson said the redevelopment of the 16-acre site was over budget and behind schedule, and he ordered the Port Authority to hammer out a plan to get at least part of the job done by 2011. Port Authority officials had called that an impossibility, but sources tell the Times that Port Authority director Christopher Ward will release a report on Thursday outlining a way to finish the $610 million memorial in two years and eleven months. (See the renderings.)

He said that the process was "more of a mess than you know" with more details expected in a forthcoming report. He reiterated the impracticality of shutting down the LMDC, but said that he would like to speak to Mayor Bloomberg directly about the mayor's suggestion that it be disbanded. Paterson said that one of the things he could bring to the rebuilding process was "willingness, perhaps, to make a mistake" and that his biggest surprise since becoming governor was "how little people who have authority want to exercise it.”

       

Architect Craig Dykers (of Norwegian-based design firm Snøhetta ) was joined by Mayor Bloomberg and other officials at 7 World Trade Center this morning to unveil new renderings for a downsized World Trade Center memorial museum and pavilion at the site of the former twin towers. The $80 million polygonal pavilion, which is being financed by New York State, will range in height from 57 to 72 feet and have about 40,000 square feet to use for public programs and museum exhibitions intended to "tell the story of the events of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993."

The NY Times reports that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention will give $30 million "to hospitals and clinics that monitor and treat residents, students and other so-called nonresponders who were exposed to dust and smoke at ground zero." The money will come in three installments of $10 million each, and hospitals and clinics can apply for grants. NY lawmakers are glad the money is coming, but think it's long overdue (it's true--it's going to be the seventh anniversary of attacks this year). And this comes a few weeks after President Bush declined to reappoint "World Trade Center health czar" Dr. John Howard to another term, even despite the pleas of NY lawmakers like Governor Paterson and Representative Carolyn Maloney.

   

In August of 1974, a 24-year-old Frenchman named Philippe Petit snuck into the World Trade Center, reached the top, and walked across a wire cable that was strung between the Twin Towers. New York watched captivated below. Some fun facts: it took 6 years to plan the stunt, the gap between the towers was 140 feet, and even though it was illegal, charges were dropped and Petit was merely sentenced to entertaining kids in Central Park (where he walked over Belvedere Lake).

Infinite emails (all from the same source) flooded inboxes citywide last night (following a Reuters photo that was published) with messages pondering "how Americans would feel if they knew that just before the Olympics start, a theme park in Beijing still shows the Twin Towers standing in a NYC exhibit of mini models?" With many Americans already protesting the Olympic Games, this might not help the Chinese government's boffo P.R campaign.

A Bronx neighborhood was outraged last month when a building's mural memorializing 9/11 and a local firefighter who was killed at the World Trade Center was tagged by a graffiti artist. The tagger painted his initials directly over the face of Peter Bielfeld. Tips eventually led police to arrest 16-year-old Avery Prince, who goes by the tag SIPS and has since apologized for defacing the mural.

The Port Authority released its status report of sorts about World Trade Center rebuilding, and it's a document (PDF) that grimly forecasts lots of patience and money--along with the difficulties--needed to see the whole thing through and.