Just about a year and a half after a final design had been revealed, Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and even developer Larry Silverstein have agreed Freedom Tower needs a design to address safety and security concerns. The past week had been filled with the NYPD's very public unhappiness with the current design and its "unsafeness", citing things like the building being too close to the street. This could delay construction for at least another year - and construction is already way off track. It's unclear what the political ramifications will be, but there's been a bit of hoo-ha-ing already, with Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver criticized Pataki and Bloomberg last week for the floundering development and Senator Schumer commending them yesterday for making this decision.
There's no word on the next steps for the design process, but NY Times noted that architectural odd couple Daniel Libeskind and David Childs weren't even present at yesterday's meeting. What Gothamist found fascinating was that Governor Pataki said, "I have no doubt that [tower architect] David Childs will come up with yet another magnificent design that will once again inspire the nation and serve as a fitting tribute to freedom." Just David Childs, eh? Gothamist admits to being a little relieved, because the current Freedom Tower design, as some others have noted more eloquently, was terrible. But if security issues will rule the next round of designs, who knows what will be possible? Other wildcards: How will this affect the development of everything else, from the memorial to cultural institutions to the amazing Santiago Calvatrava-designed PATH station?
