The security standards for the rebuild of NYC’s Ground Zero have changed, and the governor is now requiring accompanying changes to the “Freedom Tower” plans.
The Freedom Tower to be built on the former World Trade Center site must be redesigned to address security concerns raised by the police department, Gov. George Pataki said Wednesday following a meeting with the mayor and other officials.
“We believe that a building that meets the NYPD standards can be built consistent with (architect) Daniel Libeskind’s master site plan,” Pataki said in a statement.
The meeting between Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein, city police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and other officials was sparked by a security assessment the police department provided last month.
The New York Times reported Sunday that because of the assessment, Silverstein has proposed seeking public financing — possibly hundreds of millions of dollars — to address security concerns.
Redevelopment officials have said the completion of the 1,776-foot tower, scheduled for 2009, would be delayed by up to a year to address the security issues.
The tower is expected to be built on the former World Trade Center site as a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and to help improve the lower Manhattan economy. It would be the tallest tower in the world.
Its cornerstone was laid July 4, 2004, but the police department’s assessment forced the architects to rethink elements of the structure — including its location on the northwest side of the 16-acre World Trade Center site, which is owned by the Port Authority.
Police have declined to talk specifically about their concerns over safety, citing security reasons.
A preliminary design intended to address the security concerns will be released in the next several weeks, said Kevin Rampe, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. president who is leaving at the end of the month.
On Monday, the mayor had said safety concerns needed to be addressed as lower Manhattan’s redevelopment continues.
“In 1993, there was a bombing at the World Trade Center, and we did not learn our lesson, and we paid for that with close to 3,000 lives,” Bloomberg said then.
“This is a building, particularly the Freedom Tower, that is built to be a symbol, and symbols are great if you are encouraged by the cause, and they are potentially a target by people that hate the cause.”
Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, who had publicly complained Tuesday of “inertia” slowing the rebuilding process, on Wednesday praised the governor and mayor for moving “quickly and decisively.” He also called for officials to “move full speed ahead” on other revitalization projects.
The complications with the Freedom Tower will not delay plans for a new performing arts center, set for 2009 or 2010, and the trade center memorial and new PATH commuter train station, both set for 2009, rebuilding officials said.
Want a symbol for the world to see? Rebuild the towers. But that’s just my opinion.
Comments
2 responses to “N.Y. Governor Wants Freedom Tower Redesign”
When you think about it, no matter how safe they will try to make this, nothing will be 100% safe from the evilness of mankind. I saw the drawings of the “new” tower, and I would prefer them to just rebuild two towers, just like the originals.
I had visited them several times, and ugly as they were from a distance, they were fabulous up close and inside. We don’t need glass towers and fancy footwear here…just something to remind us forever and to help Manhattan.
The whole Freedom Tower complex is an abomination. The smaller buildings next to it look like they were diagonally sliced in half. Yeah, that’s what I want to see when I look at the site of the former WTC.
Rebuild the towers. Heck, build three of ’em this time.