Archived News -- June 2003

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June 30, 2003

On June 30, syndicated columnist Deroy Murdock wrote that the time has come to dump the Libeskind plan. He wrote in great detail about the architect's obcession with the scatalogical, as well as racist and anti-American themes which are pervasive throughout his collection of poetry, "Fishing from the Pavement." Murdock wrote how the self-promoting Libeskind appears in ads for Audi bragging that he was "awarded the commission of the century."

"Handing Libeskind the WTC portfolio is akin to asking a ninth-grader who never has taken the Scholastic Aptitude Test to face a doctoral defense in engineering," Murdock wrote.

"Given Libeskind's jarring literature, tasteless self-promotion and the absence of affection for his work, the LMDC should hand him a severance check and let WTC lease holder Larry Silverstein rebuild. The Twin Towers should return, as before, only stronger. Turning them into high-rise enterprise zones ó featuring substantial relief from corporate and commercial-rent taxes ó would populate them in a jiffy. If skittish tenants spurned upper floors, they could be used for dining, hotel and conference facilities. Patrons of such businesses would visit only occasionally ó a much less intimidating proposition than laboring there daily," he concluded.

National Review: "Shred the Libeskind Blueprints: We've Got the Wrong Architect working on the new World Trade Center," by Deroy Murdock, Scripps Howard columnist

On June 30, NY Post columnist Steve Cuozzo lauded Pataki's directive to the Port Authority to cease discussions about the WTC site/LGA-JFK land swap. He described how businesses are moving downtown to witness its rebirth.

NY Post Opinion Columnists: "Ground Zero Action," by Steve Cuozzo

On June 30, 1010 WINS reported that the Skyscraper Safety Campaign filed a lawsuit demanding that the Port Authority either bring the WTC site mandatorily under NYC Fire and Building codes or dump the Libeskind plan. Currently the Port Authority adheres to NYC Fire and Building Codes voluntarily.

1010 WINS: "Families of 9-11 Victims Sue Port Authority"

On June 30, 1010 WINS reported that the LMDC is seeking proposals for a museum and cultural center at the WTC site.

1010 WINS: "Effort to Bring Cultural Center to Ground Zero"



June 29, 2003

On June 29, the NY Daily News reported that Twin Towers leasehold owner, Larry Silverstein wants to move Libeskind's "Freedom Tower" from the northwest corner to the northeast corner of the WTC site. According to one of the paper's un-named sources, "no one is agreeing on anything."

NY Daily News: "An In-Spired Shift at WTC; Developer Wants Architect's Skyscraper Relocated," by Maggie Haberman

On June 29, NY Newsday reported that the PATH Exchange Place station in Jersey City has re-opened. The station was closed after 9/11, because it sits 30 feet lower than the WTC site and water flooded into the tunnels and the station. Crews had to seal the tunnels to prevent the station from being completely inundated. At the end of November, the tempoary PATH station at the WTC site will re-open.

NY Newsday: "Exchange Place PATH Station Re-Opens," by Joshua Robin

On June 29, the NY Post printed some Letters to the Editor lambasting the Libeskind plan and suggesting that it be scrapped entirely.

NY Post: "Starting from 'Zero' at WTC"



June 28, 2003

On June 28, the NY Post reported that Mayor Bloomberg declared yesterday in his weekly radio address that NYC should be in control of the WTC site.

NY Post: "Bloomy Bids for Control," by David Seifman



June 27, 2003

On June 27, the NY Post reported that Governor Pataki withdrew his support for the WTC site/NYC airports land swap that was proposed by Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, which would have given the city control of the WTC site and the Port Authority ownership of the land on which JFK and LGA airports sit. According to the Post, Pataki wanted to retain control over the WTC site, and therefore has directed the Port Authority to shelve the proposal.

NY Post: "Pataki Withdraws Support for WTC Land Swap," by William Neuman

On June 27, 1010 WINS reported that the PATH Exchange Place station in Jersey City will re-open on Sunday, June 29, after being closed because of the 9/11 attacks. The temporary PATH station at the WTC site should be complete by the end of November.

1010 WINS: "PATH Station Closed by 9-11 to Re-Open Sunday"

On June 27, 1010 WINS reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) field office in Lower Manhattan will close next month. The FEMA office had opened as a result of the 9/11 attacks and had serviced some 200,000 people who needed assistance in paying bills, finding temporary housing, and getting their apartments cleaned of WTC debris.

1010 WINS: "FEMA to Close Lower Manhattan Office Next Month"



June 25, 2003

On June 25, the NY Post ran an editorial stating that while Libeskind's plan is bad, the desire of some victims' family members to have Congress purchase 9 acres of the WTC site from the Port Authority for use as a national park is worse. The editorial concluded, "With all due respect, too many of the victims' families have long believed that they have a proprietary claim to Ground Zero. The Twin Towers were attacked because of what they represented, not because of who happened to be inside. And the proper response to that attack is to redevelop the site with an appropriate memorial. Libeskind's proposal would turn Ground Zero into a virtual permanent graveyard. Leaving the ground empty would do that literally."

NY Post Opinion Editorials: "An Empty Plan for Ground Zero"



June 24, 2003

On June 24, the NY Post printed several letters to the editor calling for Silverstein to Rebuild the Twin Towers.

NY Post Opinion Letters: "Let Larry Build a WTC for the People"



June 20, 2003

Lately the "conventional wisdom" has been that super-skyscrapers are terror targets. On June 20, the NY Post reported the arrest of a man plotting to destroy a NYC landmark that is not of the 100+ story skyscraper variety, but rather the Brooklyn Bridge, which falls into the 120-year-old suspension bridge variety. Lyman Faris, 34, US citizen had cased the Brooklyn Bridge but told his Al Qaeda contacts the plot would not work, due to "the bridge's strength and too much security....the weather's too hot."

NY Post: "B'klyn Bridge Beast," by Brian Blomquist, David Seifman, and Philip Messing

On June 20, 1010 WINS reported that the Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty St., which was severly damaged during the 9/11 attacks will be demolished. The collapsing Twin Towers tore a 24-story gash in the side of the building, causing toxic mold to spawn and disturbing asbestos. The building has been determined to be damaged beyond repair.

1010 WINS: "Building Damaged on 9/11 Will Be Demolished "

On June 20, the NY Post reported that Libeskind will not be designing the transit hub as originally reported a few days earlier in the NY Times. Libeskind will instead write design guidelines specifying, locations, shapes, sizes and building materials.

NY Post: "On a New PATH," by William Neuman

On June 20, NY Post columnist detailed her Freedom of Information Act request to the LMDC to determine exactly how much public support Libeskind's plan has. Of over 13,000 comment cards, some 11.5% supported his plan. She wrote that Silverstein is in the best position to determine what should be built at the WTC site and how it should be built. After all, he is the one who must rent it to tenants.

NY Post Opinion Columnists: "Free Larry!," by Nicole Gelinas



June 19, 2003

On June 19, the NY Post printed several letters to the editor calling for the Twin Towers to be rebuilt and Libeskind's plan to be discarded.

NY Post Opinion Letters: "Give Daniel Libeskind the Heave-Ho"

On June 19, the NY Times reported that the Port Authority has capitulated to Libeskind's demand that he control the design of the transit hub, an item that was hotly debated over the past week.

ARCHIVED: NY Times: "Libeskind to Control Design of Transit Terminal," by Edward Wyatt



June 18, 2003

On June 18, NY Post Columnist Steve Cuozzo wrote a synopsis which captured the failed LMDC process and the Libeskind plan it spawned. He described in great detail how Libeskind's plan is nothing more than "Beyer Blinder Belle Recycled."

NY Post Opinion Columnists: "WTC Shell Game," by Steve Cuozzo

On June 18, the NY Post also ran several letters to the Editor decrying the Libeskind plan and noting that it was not the people's choice.

NY Post Opinion Letters: "Libeskind's Not the Choice of the People"

On June 18, the NY Post reported that both Community Board 1 and Wall Street Rising withdrew from the Civic Alliance, because the Alliance had taken a position in favor of Libeskind's memorial pit.

ARCHIVED: NY Post: "Groups Quit Downtown Alliance," by William Neuman



June 17, 2003

On June 13, the NY Post reported that Libeskind and the Port Authority are in conflict over the extent to which he is involved in the rebuilding process. The Post wrote, "In what one source criticized as "overreaching," Libeskind has insisted - in sometimes heated talks - that he be the lead designer on signature elements like the PATH station and the 1,776-foot-tall Freedom Tower - even though he has no experience building office towers or major transportation projects, sources said." According to the Post, Libeskind's wife, Nina threatened to publicly air the disputes, if her husband is not accommodated. According to the Port Authority, Libeskind is trying to gain control over other architects' designs for the PATH station and other sub-projects at the WTC site.

"Port Authority officials have said Libeskind will be hired to draw up a detailed WTC site plan - articulating an overall "vision" and specifying the locations of office towers, the transit hub and the memorial - but they say that does not give him the right to design every building on the site," the Post wrote.

NY Post: "Libeskind Power Play," by William Neuman

On June 17, the NY Post also ran an editorial again lambasting Libeskind for his efforts to control other architects' designs for the WTC site despite having no experience in designing either a major office building or a transit facility. Libeskind has consistently said he is "the people's choice," which he believes gives him the right to decide alone what gets built at the WTC site. The Post wrote, "Actually, Libeskind was George Pataki's choice. Given the governor's firm control over the Port Authority's New York members and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., his was the only vote that mattered."

The Post's Editorial Board wrote, "As for Libeskind's 'vision'? Well, we think of it basically as a 16-acre mausoleum with a minaret in the middle - rather morbid, but very much in sync with his equally bizarre, vaguely anti-American poetry.

NY Post Opinion Editorials: "Control Freak"



June 13, 2003

On June 13, the NY Post wrote that the time has come to consign Libeskind's plan to the scrap heap of history. "The head of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. says the door is "slightly ajar" to redoing Daniel Libeskind's plan for a Ground Zero memorial. That's good news. Better news would be if the LMDC's John Whitehead simply blew the door off its hinges. And then showed the self-promoting Libeskind right through it."

The Post's Editorial Board further lambasted Liebskind for appearing in an auto ad boasting about having been "awarded the commission of the century." Finally, his book of poetry was regarded as being "screwy" and "twisted."

NY Post Opinion Editorials: "Show Libeskind the Door"

On June 13, the NY Post reported that LMDC Chairman John Whitehead issued contradictory statements regarding the WTC memorial. In his first statement, Whitehead indicated that the memorial could be built at street level if the LMDC's memorial jury considered it a superior design. Later the same day, he issued a statement that the agency would remain true to Libeskind's sunken memorial design.

NY Post: "Memorial Plan 'PITS' Rebuild Boss vs. Self"



June 8, 2003

Normally, TTT does not post news that isn't directly related to the rebuilding process at the WTC site, but there have been exceptions such as Pentagon rebuilding, as well as the initial and some follow-up reports regarding the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. On June 8, this AP dispatch appeared on Yahoo! News: Evelyn Husband, widow of Columbia Commander, Rick Husband said, "Fix it and fly again," regarding NASA's Space Shuttle program. She further said she is not bitter about the accident and doesn't want NASA to become a scapegoat. "I just don't want there to be a witch hunt just for the sake of a national television audience ... to see NASA get pummeled." Check our rebuilding history page for further updates on NASA's return to space.

ARCHIVED: Yahoo! News: "Columbia Widow says NASA must Fly Again," by Chelsea J. Carter