Rebuilding Ground Zero
By Elizabeth Whitworth
Many people who live and work near the World Trade Center site are frustrated over the delays in rebuilding Ground Zero, now nine years and counting since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Businessman Travis Allen questioned the cost of holding up the job for so long. “I’ve been keeping track of it for some time now, I can’t really think of a good reason other than pseudo-political sully, it just doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. Doorman Jay Pace of the Millenium Hilton Hotel at 55 Church St., located directly across the street from the site, had similar opinions. “I think it is taking way too long, it should be at least three-quarters of the way done by now, I wish it would be done already,” said Pace, who has worked at the hotel since 2000.
Swedish tourist Illiana Pagenette was more positive. “I think it’s pretty natural that they’re trying to rebuild something and it’s good that they’re building something like this memorial to remind everyone what happened so it’s not forgotten in a hundred years,” she said. Similarly, union workers employed at the building site expressed their gratitude for the work and showed dedication to sticking it out through good and bad times until the project is finished. “Out of any job I’ve had this is the greatest one, I’m so proud to work here,” said ironworker Welsley Welch, who was interviewed near the site.
The process of rebuilding Ground Zero has proven to be complex, frustrating and controversial. The main players are the Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the site, and the private developer Larry Silverstein (along with Westfield America Inc.), who holds a 99-year lease on the property where the World Trade Center twin towers once stood.
During the past nine years, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), the official commission overseeing the rebuilding operation, the Port Authority and Silverstein have had disputes and concerns over architectural designs, fears over exceeding costs in an economically depressed climate where demand for commercial office space has decreased in downtown New York, politics, and anxiety regarding safety from terrorism. The New York Police Department requested blueprint revisions to take into account the possibility of truck bombs and suggested a 20-story foundation block be built under Tower One as a form of fortification, some saw this decision as a display of fear.
Many changes have been made throughout the years and final approval of the whittled-down original blueprint of the site is scheduled for sometime in July of this year. Many people, including Silverstein, would like to know when the job will be completed. “I am the most frustrated person in the world. I’m 78 years of age, I want to see this thing done in my lifetime,” commented Silverstien during a recent interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes.” news show. The “60 Minutes” report was about the lack of progress at Ground Zero and explained that as of September 11th of 2011, more than $7 billion will have been spent on the project. The Port Authority estimates the completion date for the entire site to be 2037, 27 years from now.
Today, Towers One and Four are being built with expected completion dates of 2013 and 2014 respectively, and the south reflecting pool on the Memorial Plaza is almost complete. Towers Two, Three and Five have uncertain completion dates. Steel installation for One World Trade Center has reached the 20th floor and concrete has been poured for the lower level floors of that building.
Rebuilding is a process and that process has begun at Ground Zero. To document the construction, filmmaker Steven Speilberg is serving as executive producer of “Rebuilding Ground Zero” a six-part television documentary about the construction taking place there. The documentary series will share the story of the men and women who work to revitalize downtown New York, while also honoring the memories of those who lost their lives.
Port Authority’s World Trade Center website estimates that the projects will create tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity for the city.