Archived News -- May 2003

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May 30, 2003

On May 30, both the NY Post and the NY Times reported that Larry Silverstein is seeking an architect to design "Freedom Tower" -- it will not be the current WTC site planner, Daniel Libeskind. This means that the building could be radically different from what Libeskind designed.

NY Post: "Libeskind Won't Be Tower's Builder," by William Neuman

ARCHIVED: NY Times: "Leaseholder Sees Limited Role for Libeskind at Trade Center," by David W. Dunlap and Edward Wyatt

On May 30, NY Newsday reported that a victim's family group and City Council Members Alan Gerson-D and Helen Sears-D are suing the Port Authorty to have the Libeskind plan declared "null and void," because the Port is exempt from NYC fire and building codes. (While TTT does not support the position that the Twin Towers were inherently unsafe, we do advocate for building a revised set of Twin Towers that would feature advanced construction techniques, improved life/safety considerations, and compliance exceeding NYC fire and building codes.)

ARCHIVED: NY Newsday: "Group to Sue Port Authority...Wants WTC site plans voided," by Katia Hetter

On May 30, NY Newsday reported that Libeskind will spend six months revising his plan under a $3.3 million contract awarded by the Port Authority.

ARCHIVED: NY Newsday: "Architect Will Revise WTC Plans," by Katia Hetter



May 29, 2003

On May 29, the NY Times reported that the Metropolitan Television Alliance signed an agreement with Twin Towers leasehold owner Larry Silverstein to install 22 broadcast antennae atop the tallest building on the WTC site.

ARCHIVED: NY Times: "TV Stations to Put Antenna on New Ground Zero Tower," by David W. Dunlap



May 28, 2003

On May 28, The NY Post reported that more than half of downtown residents rejected Libeskind's below-grade memorial and impassable WTC site, according to a survey commissioned by Downtown Rebounds. The poll also found that 85% of the locals used to walk across the WTC to get to work. So much for the connectivity issue that the raised super-block created.

NY Post: "Pit-iful WTC Plan," by William Neuman

On May 28, The NY Post reported that Twin Towers leasehold owner Larry Silverstein is suing Cantor Fitzgerald for six weeks of back rent totalling over $1 million. According to Silverstein, the firm, which lost 658 employees on September 11, has a history of being in arrears on its rent.

NY Post: "Pit-iful WTC Plan," by William Neuman



May 20, 2003

On May 20, The NY Daily News reported that Twin Towers leasehold owner Larry Silverstein is seeking to modify the Libeskind plan by adding an additional tower to the dense cluster of buildings that would surround the WTC site's bathtub area. The Port Authority and LMDC have dismissed Silverstein's concept, which he had arrived at without consulting Libeskind.

NY Daily News: "WTC Squeeze Play: Silverstein Angling for 5th Tower on Site," by Maggie Haberman and Greg Gittrich



May 16, 2003

On May 16, The NY Post reported that Westfield America, which has a leasehold on the WTC site's mall space sued the Port Authority to release what could be a mountain of documents pertaining to the selection of the Libeskind plan. About two months ago, Westfield informed the Port Authority in a letter that the Libeskind plan was unacceptable to them for retail development and requested the documents under the Freedom of Information Act. The Westfield suit could stall progress of the Libeskind plan.

ARCHIVED: NY Post: "Rebuild Firm Sues PA to Unearth Design Papers," by William Neuman

On May 16, The NY Post reported that rebuilding the WTC site with Libeskind's plan could cost up to $10 billion, and Libeskind's firm would be receiving some $12,000 per day.

ARCHIVED: NY Post: "$10 Billion for New WTC," by William Neuman



May 8, 2003

On May 8, NY Newsday reported that according to a recently conducted Quinnipiac poll, New Yorkers have a bad case of acrophobia and fear Libeskind's signature tower as being "too tall."

Newsday wrote, "Team Twin Towers, a group devoted to restoring the Twin Towers, refused to read the poll's results as a rejection of their goal, instead blaming Libeskind's proposal. Tower One was 1,367 feet high, while Tower Two was 1,362 feet high."

"The Quinnipiac poll results are not a rejection of rebuilding a safer, more secure, more environmentally friendly version of our Twin Towers, or something similar, because this would not be the 'World's Tallest Building,'" said Jonathan Hakala, a Team Twin Towers spokesman."

"I am highly confident that a solid majority of New Yorkers would answer 'good idea,' unlike the pathetic so-called 'Freedom Tower' (Libeskind's plan)," he said.

Interestingly, the paper's own poll contracts Qunnipiac's. Some 952 out of 1658 responses (54%) think having the "World's Tallest Building" is a great idea.

NY Newsday: "Poll: New Yorkers Don't Want World's Tallest Building," by Katia Hetter

On May 8, the NY Post reported that Larry Silverstein is in a legal dispute with one of his insurers regarding payments on the new 7 WTC which is currently being rebuilt. Silverstein says Industrial Risk Insurers has only paid $440 million out of $860 million owed. The company says his policy expires this September 11 and it is required to pay for rebuilding only up to that date.

NY Post: "New Legal Tangle for 7 WTC," by William Neuman

On May 8, NY Post columnist Steve Cuozzo wrote about the failures of past NYC-government led building projects, and why the City should not be leading the rebuilding effort at the WTC site.

NY Post Opinion Columnists: "To Get Nothing Built," by Steve Cuozzo



May 7, 2003

On May 7, Downtown Express picked up the "Wedge of Light" story which broke on May 1. Regarding Libeskind's defense of his Wedge, architect Eli Attia who released the shadow study said, "It doesnít make any sense...Itís just gibberish. This is very simple physics ñ light is light and shadow is shadow.".

Downtown Express: "Wedge of Light will Have Shadows every 9/11," by Josh Rogers



May 5, 2003

On Monday, May 5, the Skyscraper Museum held a symposium on the Asian "skyscraper arms race," featuring Petronas Twin Towers architect Cesar Pelli and William Pedersen of KPF. Pelli and Pedersen discussed the ICF2 and Kowloon station buildings on opposite sides of the Hong Kong Strait. These buildings will be 88 floors rising to 400 meters. Also discussed was the Shanghai World Financial Center and a 60-story building going up in Tokyo. The Tokyo building is significant in that it will have floorplates of 60,000 feet, one of the deepest wall-to-core high-rise buildings to be constructed. The Asian buildings use construction techniques far different from either the exo-skeleton type typified by the Twin Towers, or "forest of columns," typified by older skyscrapers. Asian high-rises use super-columns at their edges, heavily reinforced cores, refuge floors every 20 floors, and building skins that seem to meld with the landscape like tree roots. Like the former Twin Towers, the Hong Kong buildings in particular sit atop a confluence of train lines. Regarding building tall as a general concept in New York City, Pelli said, "fear is the most corrosive acid of society.....society cannot continue to live in fear." He added that he hoped to see the "airport type" security in present high-rises "some day disappear." TTT members asked Pelli about the WTC site, specifically why he did not submit a design to be considered during the LMDC's process. "Too much headache," he said. "Too many fingers in the pot, too much of a quagmire. I wanted no part of it and still want no part of it," he said. TTT members also spoke with Leslie Robertson who was the structural engineer for the original Twin Towers. Mr. Robertson was briefed on TTT's activities.

Also, though not reported in local media, the Millennium Hilton across the street from the WTC re-opened this day as the New Millennium.



May 3, 2003

On May 3, the NY Daily News reported that officials will likely close a deal with the Metropolitan Television Alliance to place its broadcast antenna at the WTC site. An interim tower may be built on Governor's Island until the WTC site is rebuilt and the permanent atnenna can go online.

NY Daily News: "Tall Order Likely for WTC Antenna," by Greg Gittrich and Maggie Haberman



May 1, 2003

On May 1, the NY Times published excerpts of the Attia study which showed that Libeskind's "Wedge of Light" would be in shadow for much of its time of operation: each 9/11 between 8:46 am and 10:28 am. Some of this information is detailed in the Hakala Report Why Libeskind's Scheme Will Never Get Built. Furthermore, Libeskind admitted to his proposed wedge being enveloped by shadow while under fire from a critic yesterday. Reporter Ed Wyatt wrote, "The revelation by Mr. Libeskind raises a multitude of questions about his design, which has attracted criticism from the beginning. In recent weeks, alterations to the plan have made clear that it is not likely to emerge as many people have envisioned....The disclosure about the Wedge of Light could also raise questions about Mr. Libeskind's further role." This is particularly true in light of Governor Pataki's speech last week, in which he enthused over, "spectacular entranceway to the site, the Wedge of Light ó where the sun will shine without shadow the morning of every Sept. 11."

ARCHIVED: NY Times: "Shadows to Fall Literally over 9/11 'Wedge of Light,'" by Edward Wyatt