Archived News -- October 2003

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November 26, 2003

"On November 26, NY Newsday Editorial Board member Joseph Dolman, wrote a column on how the real memorial to 9/11 is returning life to the WTC site.

"No one yesterday said a word about grand artistic plans with names like 'Lower Waters' or 'Votives in Suspension' or 'Garden of Lights' - some of the finalists in the competition for a formal memorial planned on this site. No one mentioned the raging dispute over how the names of the dead would be listed on the walls. And, as the train rolled up from under the Hudson and into the strange daylight of Ground Zero, no one protested that we were trespassing on sacred ground. For one stunning moment, all that stuff seemed silly and beside the point."

"Why? Because it suddenly became obvious that the most profound memorial was all around us right then - in the cacophonous construction work proceeding at the site, in the pulsing crowd of office workers riding the restored train to their jobs and, especially, in our own emotional DNA."

"I mean this: The spontaneous expressions on all those faces on the PATH yesterday said infinitely more to me than the eight rather forced memorial plans that the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. made public with great fanfare last week."

"And what did those PATH faces say? They said to me that for all our fierce emotion about 9/11, we honor the dead best by living. Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his own blunt way put it succinctly in a comment to the Daily News: "I don't think there is anything that we can do - in my mind - to really remember those ... people we lost here other than to ... build a real world for the people that they left behind." That act, he reckoned, might give their deaths meaning...."

"...I'm not telling you that a rejuvenated PATH can take the place of a formal memorial. It can't. But I can tell you this: While most passengers were moved by the sight of Ground Zero, I was stunned by the sight of the old escalator bank from the WTC basement. I had ridden it a million times before, and there it was - a survivor against all odds. The message? Life must triumph over death. I just hope that the LMDC's formal memorial jury bears that in mind as it makes its final choice.

NY Newsday: "A Ride into the Sunlight is a WTC Memorial," by Joseph Dolman, Editorial Board Member



November 25, 2003

On November 25, the Newark Star Ledger printed a Letter to the Editor, from TTT Member Michael Koy lambasting the glorification of grief and calling for the Twin Towers to be rebuilt.

"A disturbing element in our culture glorifies grief and denies the natural human tendency to want to recover from loss and move on. Nowhere is this more evident than at the World Trade Center site."

"The reason we may be stuck with Daniel Libeskind's ego-driven travesty -- a 30-foot pit surrounded by a dense wall of buildings and a decorative spire -- is that rebuilding officials have embraced grief as a sacred cow and are using it for political advantage. That is why New York Gov. George Pataki declared that nothing would be built on the towers' footprints, then rammed through the Libeskind design and called for groundbreaking in August 2004, just in time for the Republican National Convention being held in the city. It is also no coincidence that he wants the 'Freedom Tower' to be completed by 2006, the year he is up for re-election."

"This monument to political expedience is a disgrace to the memory of those murdered there. The site needs improved Twin Towers as a soaring memorial that celebrates the lives lost and looks forward and upward to a future of further human achievement."

Newark Star Ledger: "Grief and Politics"



November 24, 2003

On November 24, the NY Times reported that the Vesey St. footbridge over West. St. re-opened along with the PATH train yesterday. The bridge connects 3 World Financial Center with West St. by the Verizon Building.

NY Times: "Vesey St. Bridge Opens to Quiet, but Grateful Crowd," by David W. Dunlap



November 23, 2003

On November 23, 1010 WINS reported that the temporary PATH station opened for revenue service this afternoon. "Jean Mitchell of Hoboken, N.J., who lost a friend in the attack on the twin towers, was crying as she got off the train. 'It's the same stairs, the (same) newsstand,' she said. 'It's a victory, an absolute victory.' "

1010 WINS: "PATH to Normalcy"

On November 23, the NY Post ran an editorial welcoming the return of PATH train service to the WTC site. "Anyone trying to measure 9/11's impact on New York's economy - and, particularly, its transportation infrastructure - should take a trip to Ground Zero today and witness a truly historic event: the resumption of PATH train service to New Jersey....Anyway you look at it, the completion of the new PATH station is tremendous testament to New York's, and America's, resilience. It's something to be proud of.

NY Post Opinion Editorials: "The PATH to Rebuilding"

On November 23, the NY Post published several letters to the editor expressing disappointment in the eight memorial designs released on November 19 and calling for the Twin Towers to be rebuilt.

"The Twin Towers as buildings were pretty simple designs, so why should the memorials be any of these eight confused and complex designs? It's bad enough that we will have to deal with the even more confusing Libeskind buildings," wrote Jesse James Schroeder of East Setauket.

"I don't see eight WTC memorial designs. What I see are designs for 21st century churches, holocaust museums and a floating cemetery," wrote Arthur Harris of Manhattan.

"Is a memorial's purpose to honor the dead or mollify the living? If it is to honor the dead, the towers should be rebuilt as they were with a modest, tasteful marker listing the victims. If it is to mollify the living, one of eight cloyingly absurd finalists will do," wrote Paul Romaldini of Manhattan.

NY Post Opinion Letters: "None of the Memorials Shows the Spirit of the WTC"

On November 23, the NY Post reported on the results of its poll regarding the eight memorial designs. Of the eight, "Reflecting Absense," a sunken pair of pools did the best with 26% of the vote. Most respondents regarded them collectively as "eyesores," "zen-like," "space age," and "open wound". At least one respondent wrote, "Instead of the space-age look that has been imposed on us...I proposed that we build two very large towers, say 110 stories each, that would serve the office-space needs, restore the New York skyline, claim 'victory' over the fear of terrorism and memorialize those lost on Sept 11."

NY Post: "A Monumental Disappointment," by Leonard Greene



November 22, 2003

On November 22, the NY Post reported that Twin Towers leasehold owner Larry Silverstein has reached a tentative deal to repay his $563 million loan to GMAC. The deal is contingent on the Port Authority consummating its buyout of Westfield America's WTC mall space leasehold.

New York Post: "WTC Big Makes Mortgage Deal"



November 20, 2003

On November 20, Downtown Express reported on preparations for the re-opening of the temporary PATH station at the WTC site on November 23. The pedestrian bridge at West St. and Vesey Street will be open on November 22. The WTC Greenmarket will move near the PATH station, and the temporary ferry terminal which accommodated PATH commuters will close at the end of November.

"Over 60,000 commuters used to come into the World Trade Center's PATH station twice a day and many Downtowners see the reopening this Sunday ñ just two years after it was destroyed ñ as the economic and psychological lift Lower Manhattan desperatley needs," editor Josh Rogers wrote.

" 'The PATH reopening is everything,' said Valerie Lewis, vice president of marketing for the Downtown Alliance, which runs Lower Manhattan's business district. "It is so important on so many different levels. It's going to reopen a major artery. It is also extraordinarily symbolic as a major step in the rebuilding process.' "

Downtown Express: "Paving the PATH's Way," by Josh Rogers

On November 20, Downtown Express ran a letter to the editor supporting rebuilding indoor retail space at the WTC site. "Stanke, like the rest of us who actually reside in close proximity to the W.T.C. site and unlike those so-called experts who live elsewhere and who mindlessly repeat the ìstreet levelî mantra ad nauseam, recognizes what a jewel we had in that indoor concourse pre-9/11....Many long-time local residents have listened in frustration as the deputy mayor has argued that indoor, weather-protected shopping at the W.T.C. site will ìsuck the life out ofî street level retail in the area. There is no basis for this assertion. It was not true before 9/11, as demonstrated by the commercial success of Century 21 and other nearby stores that front on the street, and there is no reason to expect it to be true if the site is redeveloped with attractive and convenient indoor retail shops and stores," wrote Bill Love.

Downtown Express Letters to the Editor: "Rebuild the Retail"

On November 20, the NY Post wrote that the judges considering eight memorial finalists need to concentrate on two items: that the memorial not encroach on commercial development and that it recognize heroes for who they were.

"The 9/11 attack targeted the World Trade Center for a reason: It was the world's greatest symbol of commerce, of free enterprise and - by extension - of freedom itself. In a very real sense, the Twin Towers represented not just the dreams of people throughout the free world, but also the fulfillment of those dreams....In sum, the ultimate memorial must be modest in size and must not create any barriers to the businesses and office buildings that need to rise at the site."

"...We know that some consider every victim in the attack to have been a 'hero.' Wrongly, in our view - at least by any reasonable definition of the word. Yes, every death was a tragedy. But there is a difference between officeworkers and passersby who were - there's no gentle way to put this - victims of happenstance and rescuers who rushed into a dangerous situation in order to help others and save lives. And it is important that the distinction be noted formally."

NY Post Opinion Editorials: "An Appropriate Memorial"

On November 20, NY Post columnist Steve Cuozzo wrote an article describing the eight memorial designs as bewildering and overly complex.

"The graphics on view at the Winter Garden are so confusing that it's hard to tell where one scheme ends and the next begins. Few of the images or models tell you what the vantage point is, or which street is where....You'll find a bewildering array of reflecting pools, waterfalls, groves and orchards, sunken lawns, subterranean voids and lighting effects - one of which, the weird "Passages of Light: The Memorial Cloud," suggests an underground disco. They're too complicated to make snap judgments about - and maybe too complicated for their own good. The designers seem not to have learned from the spare eloquence of Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial, except to cannibalize the idea of individual names on a wall....The final choice of a memorial for Ground Zero will supposedly be made later this year by a 13-member panel of judges. But Pataki, in choosing Libeskind, overruled his own LMDC advisory panel. Let's hope he butts out this time - and that the judges have better taste," Steve Cuozzo wrote.

On November 20, NY Post columnist Steve Cuozzo wrote an article describing the eight memorial designs as bewildering and overly complex.

"The graphics on view at the Winter Garden are so confusing that it's hard to tell where one scheme ends and the next begins. Few of the images or models tell you what the vantage point is, or which street is where....You'll find a bewildering array of reflecting pools, waterfalls, groves and orchards, sunken lawns, subterranean voids and lighting effects - one of which, the weird "Passages of Light: The Memorial Cloud," suggests an underground disco. They're too complicated to make snap judgments about - and maybe too complicated for their own good. The designers seem not to have learned from the spare eloquence of Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial, except to cannibalize the idea of individual names on a wall....The final choice of a memorial for Ground Zero will supposedly be made later this year by a 13-member panel of judges. But Pataki, in choosing Libeskind, overruled his own LMDC advisory panel. Let's hope he butts out this time - and that the judges have better taste," Steve Cuozzo wrote.

NY Post Opinion Editorials: "An Appropriate Memorial"

On November 20, NY Newsday columnist Justin Davidson wrote that the eight memorial designs were overly stark and unsuited to the WTC site. "The call went out for ideas on how to sanctify a secular space, and of the 5,201 entries that flowed in, the jury picked eight, most of which would hollow out the core of lower Manhattan and turn it from an open pit into an enormous crypt," he wrote.

"...If the jury is to come up with a plan that is sober without being grim and can be elegantly welded to the city that huddles against the site, it will have to find a way to combine a few of these eight proposals. It's not in the rules for jurors to become designers, but it will be up to them to attenuate the more heavy-handed metaphors, reject the rote reflecting pools and curtains of falling water that smack of midtown corporate plazas, and recognize that they are shaping a space that will inevitably be used for more than just meditation."

"Several of the proposals set aside greensward for memorial ceremonies that will take place every Sept. 11. Fine, but we also need to envision what will happen there the other 364 days of the year."

NY Newsday: "Lost in the Big Picture - Life: Solemn, Somber and Stark Designs Unsuited to Site"



November 19, 2003

On November 19, 1010 WINS reported that the designs of eight finalists for the WTC memorial were unveiled at the World Financial Center.

1010 WINS: "Memorial Finalists Unveiled"



November 17, 2003

On November 17, the NY Post reported that development officials criticized a proposed Federal study on declaring the Twin Tower footprints national landmarks under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Service. The officials fear the study will cause thier site re-development deadlines to slip.

New York Post: "Flap Over 'National Park' at WTC Site," by William Neuman



November 12, 2003

On November 12, Downtown Express ran an editorial rebutting NYC Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff's assertions about street-level retail.

The overall objective of the changes as proposed in the letter is to create an ìexciting on-the-street shopping experience and unique anchor stores that do not exist elsewhereî in New York City. For starters, this objective is not achievable. Can you picture a shopping experience at the W.T.C. that you cannot get on Madison or Fifth Ave., in Soho or Chelsea, on 6th Avenue, in Times Square, or in Grand Central Terminal? And further, Mr. Doctoroffís plan would reduce in size the one unique asset that the W.T.C. did have: a comfortable underground shopping facility directly linked to public transportation from the city and New Jersey.

The driving principle of W.T.C. redesign should be to take what was right and enhance it, and take what was wrong and change it. The retail mall at the W.T.C. was the highest volume commercial space in the country. Given this success, the more the new plan varies from the pre 9/11 configuration, the less successful it will be, regardless of what any expert might suggest.

Downtown Express Talking Point: "The W.T.C. Superblock Worked Well for Retail," by David Stanke



November 8, 2003

On November 8, the NY Times reported that "A recent draft of the guidelines by Studio Daniel Libeskind, the master planners of the site, dictated the shape and size of every office tower so precisely that other architects would have had little leeway to pursue significantly different designs of their own."

New York Times: "Master Plan for New Trade Center Gets Down to the Finest Detail," by David W. Dunlap

On November 8, the NY Times ran an article by Herbert Mushcamp wrote an article that lambasted the Libeskind plan. "But how did ground zero come to inherit a vision of glitzy, structurally inept towers that would look more at home in an office park for energy companies in Space City U.S.A.?...The guidelines, which were prepared by Studio Daniel Libeskind, reveal the extent to which such structures have dishonored the ground zero design process, which was supposed to be open and democratic. Contradicting his earlier assurances that different architects would design the towers, the drawings establish that Mr. Libeskind's intention all along has been to become their sole architect. What he calls design guidelines are just short of schematic designs for actual buildings. Mr. Silverstein's architects, not to mention the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, would be fools to accept them. So would we," he wrote.

New York Times: "An Appraisal: Design Guidelines Point More to Space City, USA," by Herbert Mushcamp



November 6, 2003

On November 6, NY Newsday published a letter by TTT member Brett Cuvin regarding the use of the WTC to bolster politican's careers. "Since the area is the centerpiece of Manhattan (and America, post-9/11), one would expect that the development of the site would be done in an open, democratic manner that benefits everybody and produces a world-class infrastructure that all would be proud of. Instead, we are being treated to a rebuilding timetable that even Daniel Libeskind has referred to as highly secretive."

"Never mind all the safety violations that would exist if the current plans are executed. What type of message would we be conveying about New York's future if we allow this monstrosity to be built in the state that it's in now?"

"The plans set by Pataki are doomed to failure in due part to a lack of in-depth planning and for inappropriate political posturing."

New York Newsday Letters to the Editor: "Politics and the WTC"



November 5, 2003

On November 5, the NY Post reported that architects who want to design the office buildings for the WTC site must comply with a restrictive set of rules issued by Libeskind. His rules require slanting, diamond-shaped tops; the buildings must rised in spiral about the site; and must have diagonal stripes across their sides. " 'There's very little room left under those guidelines for anybody to exercise their originality and talent. They're proscriptive,' said architect Peter Eisenman, who reviewed a draft of Libeskind's guidelines obtained by The Post. 'I don't think any architect worth his integrity would get involved in something like this.' "

New York Post: "Libeskind's Lousy Rules," by William Neuman



November 3, 2003

On November 3, the NY Post published two Letters to the Editor lambasting NYC Deputy Mayor Doctoroff's suggestions about the street grid and street-level retail.

In one letter, TTT member Brett Cuvin wrote, "Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff's suggestion that there be more vehicular presence within the WTC site is one of the most abhorrent ideas to come forward at this stage. Including more streets within the site will allow pollution from vehicles to befoul the air to unbearable levels."

"And the suggestion by Bloomberg's administration that the 860,000 square feet of proposed WTC retail space be moved to street level would do more to harm the area than improve it. In moving retail to the streets, one has to deal both with inclement weather and the fact that outdoor retail is already profuse in the area."

New York Post Opinion Letters: "A Retail Nightmare at the WTC"



November 2, 2003

On November 2, NY Newsday published a letter to the editor from TTT member Michael Koy calling for the Twin Towers to be rebuilt. "Despite your hand-wringing editorial "Time to Rethink the Mix of Uses at WTC Site" [Currents, Oct. 19], the solution to overcrowding at Ground Zero is obvious, and every interest involved would be served."

"Build a twin for the Freedom Tower, and make both towers tall enough (110 stories maybe?) to hold the 10 million square feet of office space without having to build additional smaller buildings clustered around and beyond the site."

"This would leave plenty of room for the memorial, museum, etc., and would restore the skyline to something like it was before," he wrote.

New York Newsday Letters to the Editor: "WTC Solution"