The 9/11 Memorial: There's Nothing So Closed as an Open Competition - Aug 31, 2003
Ever since the effort to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial made a star of a 21-year-old architecture student named Maya Lin, the open competition -- one that invites all comers to submit proposals -- has been the gold standard in selecting a design for a public memorial. So when officials overseeing the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan began to consider how to erect a homage to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, there was little question how they would structure the contest. Now, however, as the jury that will pick the winning design for the World Trade Center memorial trudges through 5,200 entries -- three times the number submitted for the Vietnam memorial in 1981 -- it might seem that the purpose of the exercise has been turned on its head. For while an open, anonymous competition is intended to make sure that every entry receives a fair viewing, the flood of proposals ensures that hundreds or even thousands of entries are likely to get no more than a moment's glance from jurors. On the other end of the spectrum, many of the world's most esteemed artists and architects avoid such competitions altogether, given the cost of their time and the extremely long odds against winning. (New York Times)
Honoring the Dead in the City That Never Weeps - Aug 31, 2003
From the very start of serious planning, it was clear that the Sept. 11 memorial at ground zero would face a host of obvious and largely unprecedented challenges. As the design effort has proceeded, however, a less obvious challenge has begun to make itself felt. It arises from the fact that the commemorative ground sits right in the heart of Lower Manhattan, amid the busy streets and soaring towers of the downtown business district. It is the challenge of creating a memorial in a city that, for most of its history, has abhorred the very idea of memorials. (New York Times)
The Downtown Culture Derby Begins - Aug 31, 2003
In two years of roiling debates over the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site, one of the most durable assumptions has been that space should be set aside for those varied pursuits collectively known as "culture." We are still far from knowing which museums or symphonies or purveyors of public art will find a home there, but early indications suggest that the 670,000 square feet allotted for the arts may be a new front in the battle over ground zero's future. (New York Times)
Concern Growing as Families Bypass 9/11 Victims' Fund - Aug 31, 2003
Federal and local officials are growing increasingly concerned that nearly 60 percent of families who lost relatives in the September 2001 terror attacks have not filed claims with the victim compensation fund established by Congress. The most recent statistics show that 3,016 people died in the attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and aboard an airliner that crashed in Pennsylvania. But as of Friday, with the Dec. 22 deadline for applications less than four months away, only 1,240 death claims had been filed with the fund. And while no one knows exactly how many people were injured in the attacks, so far only 1,035 of them have sought compensation from the fund, which has no cap. (New York Times)
Call for Rebuilt Twin Towers Continues - Aug 31, 2003
In close solidarity with one another, and in opposition to the city's political establishment, business leaders, academics and civic groups, and just about everyone else whose opinion matters, the World Trade Center Restoration Movement demands that the World Trade Center towers be rebuilt. Not replaced by something new and supposedly better. Rebuilt, hewing as closely as possible to the design of the buildings that were lost on Sept. 11. The members of the group may not be the only ones who dare to mention rebuilding the towers, but they are by far the most visible and the least afraid of humiliation. (New York Times)
Fire Experts Find That Burning Office Materials Brought Down Towers - Aug 31, 2003
The fiery hell that raged inside the World Trade Center on 9/11 has been recreated in a test that highlights how today's office space can be dangerously flammable. Using a cubicle based on the offices of insurance firm Marsh & McLennan - a north tower tenant that lost 295 employees - federal fire experts conclude it was more likely the heat of burning office materials brought down the tower, rather than jet-fuel-fed flames. (New York Post)
Reactions to Port Authority Transcripts - Aug 30, 2003
Anger at terrorists - and sadness for their victims - marked the mood at Ground Zero yesterday as visitors talked about newly released transcripts of World Trade Center occupants' last desperate calls for help. (New York Post)
Development Corporation to Post 9/11 Transcripts Online - Aug 30, 2003
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. plans to post on the Web all of the Port Authority 9/11 transcripts for victims' families - many of whom want to know if their loved ones were captured on tape pleading for help (New York Post)
The 9/11 Memorial: Finding Comfort in the Safety of Names - Aug 31, 2003
The competition guidelines for the memorial at ground zero require that the design "recognize each individual who was a victim" on Sept. 11, 2001, and on Feb. 26, 1993, when the World Trade Center was first attacked. It's a safe bet that many of the 5,200 submissions interpret that as some kind of list of names. By aesthetic and social consensus, names are today a kind of reflexive memorial impulse, lists of names having come almost automatically to connote "memorial," just as minimalism has come to be the presumptive sculptural style for memorial design, the monumental blank slate onto which the names can be inscribed. (New York Times)
David Childs: The Invisible Architect - Aug 31, 2003
David M. Childs, who in conversation gives the impression of a gentlemanly, corporate architect, is remaking the face of New York. He is designing the key building at ground zero, the so-called Freedom Tower. But as a partner and the lead designer at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, one of the country's largest architectural concerns, Mr. Childs is also responsible for three more of the city's high-profile projects. (New York Times)
Fresh Glimpse in 9/11 Files of the Struggles for Survival - Aug 29, 2003
Nothing will alter the basic fabric of Sept. 11, when nearly 3,000 people were killed in Lower Manhattan, but yesterday afternoon, rich, bittersweet and harrowing new details surfaced. The Port Authority released about 2,000 pages of documents, most of them transcribed radio transmissions, from dozens of people in and around the trade center. The New York Times formally requested copies of the records on March 29, 2002, one year and five months ago today, and eventually sued the Port Authority for their release. (New York Times)
In Transcript: Victims' Families Sought News, Comfort - Aug 29, 2003
Smoke and confusion are read in the Port Authority transcripts released Thursday, with communication lines alive with reports of basement explosions and rocket attacks that didn't happen. Calls poured in from those with some connection to Port Authority personnel, telephoning about loved ones or acquaintances. But also emerging from the swarm of type are words of calm and the steady performance of duty ‹ at times from those who later were killed. (Newsday)
In Transcripts: Some Gave Advice to 'Stay Put' - Aug 29, 2003
Two thousand painful pages of emergency calls and radio transmissions made after the first of two hijacked jets exploded into the twin towers reveal that the Port Authority told some people to stay put. The authority, which lost 37 police officers and 47 civilian employees in the attacks, has defended its evacuation procedures, saying they were instrumental in saving as many as 25,000 lives. (New York Daily News)
Victims' Families Bitter Over Port Authority's Timing - Aug 29, 2003
Families of many victims lost on Sept. 11, 2001, lashed out at the Port Authority yesterday for releasing transcripts of their loved ones' last moments. And while some hoped they might be used to help prevent future disasters, few found comfort or answers. (New York Daily News)
Transcript: Bravery Filters Through Cops' Garbled Words - Aug 29, 2003
Even through all the police code and notations of "glitch" and "inaudible," the transcripts of Port Authority police officers communicating with each other -- calmy and routinely in many instances -- jump off the page in heartbreaking pathos. (Newsday)
36 Victims Identified In Transcripts - Aug 28, 2003
At least 36 victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack were identified in Port Authority tapes of emergency calls and radio transmissions made that morning, as shown in transcripts that will be released today under court order. (Newsday)
EPA Assured Public Before Actual Testing - Aug 28, 2003
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, testing to monitor levels of debris dust didn't begin for 10 days - and analysis of the findings didn't become available until October. Months later EPA scientists would conclude that the dust caused lung disease in test animals - ailments that mimicked those reported in people who lived and worked near Ground Zero. (Newsday)
Governor Wants To Know How Dangerous 9/11 Air Really Was - Aug 28, 2003
Six days after a federal report said the White House misled New Yorkers about the air around Ground Zero after Sept. 11, Gov. Pataki said yesterday he wants to know how dangerous it really was. But Pataki stopped short of criticizing President Bush, his fellow Republican, and didn't support a call from Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) to reclean area buildings. (New York Daily News)
Safir To Investigate How 7 WTC Plans Ended Up in Trash Can - Aug 28, 2003
Developer Larry Silverstein has tapped former top cop Howard Safir to find out how plans for the new 7 World Trade Center ended up in a Bronx garbage pile. Silverstein hired Safir, police commissioner under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, after the Daily News reported yesterday that the owner of a Riverdale Ave. bagel shop made the shocking discovery two weeks ago. (New York Daily News)
Bank Tower Joining in WTC Redevelopment - Aug 28, 2003
The World Trade Center redevelopment site will be expanded south to include a heavily damaged, still-vacant skyscraper, which will be razed and replaced with a new office tower, top rebuilding officials said. Redevelopment officials said they expect to acquire the 40-story Deutsche Bank building, across the street from the trade center, and replace it with a new 1.6-million-square-foot office building. (Associated Press)
92nd St. Y Considers a Ground Zero Site - Aug 27, 2003
The 92nd Street Y, whose concerts, camps, classes and health club have made it a mainstay of the Upper East Side, is developing detailed plans for a possible downtown branch at ground zero. The Y is talking with several other organizations, including the New York City Opera, the Joyce Theater, the Tribeca Film Festival and Hunter College about sharing space in the performing arts center designated for the World Trade Center site or in other locations nearby. (New York Times)
Clinton and Nadler Seek Inquiry Into E.P.A. Response to Sept. 11 - Aug 27, 2003
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Representative Jerrold L. Nadler called yesterday for a Congressional inquiry into the Environmental Protection Agency's response to the World Trade Center attack, saying that the agency and the White House had not told the truth about potential health hazards. (New York Times)
Study Finds Rise in Benefits for the Unemployed of 9/11 - Aug 27, 2003
In one way at least, the thousands of New York City workers left jobless after 9/11 were luckier than those unemployed earlier or later - because they were far more likely to collect benefits from New York State's unemployment insurance program. That is the unexpected finding of a report to be released this week by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. (New York Times)
Plans For 7 WTC Found in Trash - Aug 27, 2003
A Bronx bagel store owner made a stunning discovery in the trash outside his shop: blueprints for the electrical and mechanical systems of the first building set to rise at Ground Zero, the Daily News has learned. Cops confiscated the 27 pages of documents detailing some of the innards of the planned replacement for 7 World Trade Center yesterday as the tower's developer and other officials expressed shock at the find. (New York Daily News)
Silverstein to Hire Architects for 4 Trade Center Buildings - Aug 27, 2003
World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein plans to select architects of "international stature" -- possibly by next month -- to design each of four proposed buildings at Ground Zero, said David Childs, chief architect for the site's 1,776-foot Freedom Tower. The decision may require changes to the designs of Daniel Libeskind, whose master plan was selected in February by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., Childs said. (Bloomberg.com)
Tribute in Light May Rise From Ground Zero - Aug 27, 2003
The beams of light symbolizing the fallen twin towers may rise from Ground Zero, instead of a nearby lot, during next month's anniversary commemorations, sources said yesterday. (New York Daily News)
Relatives Uncomfortable About Releasing 9/11 Tapes - Aug 27, 2003
Relatives of World Trade Center victims reacted with discomfort yesterday to a judge's decision to release transcripts of 9/11 emergency radio transmissions and phone calls. A New Jersey judge ordered the Port Authority to release the material by 5 p.m. tomorrow as part of a lawsuit filed by The New York Times. (New York Post)
Insurers Say Bank's Suit Tries to Capitalize on 9/11 - Aug 26, 2003
This time it was the insurance companies' turn, and they did not hold back, declaring that Deutsche Bank was cynically seeking to exploit the Sept. 11 attack to tar their image and force insurers to pay more than $1 billion for the damage to the bank's former United States headquarters near ground zero. The increasingly bitter tenor of the dispute between Deutsche Bank and the insurers Allianz and AXA does not bode well for a speedy resolution to the conflict over exactly how badly damaged the bank building was when the World Trade Center towers collapsed. (New York Times)
Remains of As Many as 1,000 9/11 Victims May Not Be Identified - Aug 14, 2003
The remains of as many as 1,000 people lost in the World Trade Center attack might never be identified, says the top forensic biologist leading the city's monumental DNA project. The Medical Examiner's Office has identified slightly more than half of the 2,792 people killed in the attack - only about 100 of those in the last year as technicians struggle with DNA degraded and damaged by fire and the elements. (New York Post)
Downtowners Air Views at Neighborhood Workshop - Aug 14, 2003
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has about $1.3 billion left to spend, and last week Downtowners compiled a giant wish list for the money that included more jobs and fewer hassles from rebuilding construction. Those were among the suggestions raised on Thursday at the sixth and final brainstorming session sponsored by the L.M.D.C. for Lower Manhattan residents and workers. Last ThursdayÕs meeting was held for an invitation-only group of about 75 community members from Tribeca, Soho and Little Italy. (Downtown Express)
JudgeÕs Ruling Provides 'Road Map' for Park Row - Aug 14, 2003
Mayor Mike Bloomberg said last week that the city doesnÕt always strike the right balance between security and personal freedom and he indicated a willingness to look again at loosening the security protections near Police Headquarters and Park Row. Bloomberg answered a question on the issue Aug. 5, the day after State Supreme Court Judge Walter Tolub ruled that the Police Dept. must end the ÒoccupationÓ by police vehicles of James Madison Plaza by the end of the year and conduct an environmental study of the effects of closing Park Row to pedestrians, city buses and all non-emergency vehicles. (Downtown Express)
Downtown Moms Question W.T.C.Baby Study Findings - Aug 14, 2003
Despite research showing a possible link between trade center toxins and lower baby birth weight, several downtown mothers who participated in a recent study said last week that the preliminary results did not appear to describe them or their babies. Mount Sinai School of Medicine tracked 182 women who were pregnant and in the vicinity of the World Trade Center on Sept.11, 2001, or within three weeks thereafter. In results released last week, researchers found that women who were exposed to dust from the trade center collapse were twice as likely as a control group to have babies who were slightly small for their gestational age, or for the amount of time they spent in the womb. (Downtown Express)
Families Reschedule Protest: 9/11 Group Decides to Gather Sept. 10 - Aug 13, 2003
The Coalition of 9/11 Families won't protest construction on what it calls "sacred ground" at Ground Zero on the Sept. 11 anniversary, deciding to move its event to Sept. 10. The group wanted family members to gather at the World Trade Center site to demand a ban on any nonmemorial construction on or below the footprints of the destroyed Twin Towers, prompting other family members' demands that Sept. 11 be strictly about the lives lost in the attacks. (Newsday)
Doctors OK Plan for Children To Read Names At 9/11 Ceremony - Aug 13, 2003
Child psychologists say having kids read a roll call of the dead at the Sept. 11 anniversary ceremony should not be scarring - as long as parents don't pressure their children to participate. But there is no question that the reading of the 2,792 victims' names is not a good idea for all youngsters, said Dr. Robin Gurwitch, an expert on the impact of terrorism on children (New York Daily News)
State 9/11 Fund Has $7 Million to Give Away - Aug 13, 2003
A state fund for relatives of 9/11 victims has $7 million left to give away - and families have until the end of next month to step forward and claim their share. The World Trade Center Relief Fund, run by the state government, has already given away over $63 million in private donations to more than 2,500 families. But officials kept $7 million in reserve, hoping they could channel the aid to an estimated 400 families who have yet to come forward with a claim. (New York Post)
Families Want 9/11 to be Day of Giving - Aug 13, 2003
A group of Sept. 11 victims' families and a nonprofit organization want to turn the bleakness of the anniversary of terror into a yearly push for good works and kindness to others. Soon after the 2001 attacks, the group One Day's Pay began planning to ask communities to honor those who died by volunteering their energy or money for good causes. "It's a simple idea," said David Paine, a public relations executive who is president of One Day's Pay. "All we're saying to people is, observe Sept. 11 by doing something good for someone else." (New York Daily News)
A New Focus on Families This Sept. 11 - Aug 12, 2003
New York City will commemorate the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in a far more modest and self-contained way than last year, with the families of victims, rather than politicians, playing the central role. ew York City will commemorate the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in a far more modest and self-contained way than last year, with the families of victims, rather than politicians, playing the central role. Unlike last year, when the city staged multiple concerts throughout the five boroughs and bagpipers trudged into Manhattan at dawn, the commemoration this year will be confined to the World Trade Center site, and the main participants will be family members. The only commemoration off the site will be the return of the "Tribute in Light," the powerful and popular display of twin beams of light near the site. (New York Times)
'Tribute in Light' Will Return - But Only on Sept. 11 - Aug 12, 2003
The "Tribute in Light," haunting twin blue beams that were once indelible markers of loss and resurrection at Ground Zero, will shine again on Sept. 11 and on every anniversary of the terror attacks. The beams, projected with the power of 2 million light bulbs, will be a centerpiece of the second anniversary commemoration of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to details released yesterday. (Newsday)
Networks Holding To Schedule On 9/11 - Aug 12, 2003
Two years removed from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, broadcast networks will mark the anniversary with news stories but aren't planning to interrupt their regular schedules. It's in marked contrast to last year, when the broadcasters devoted much of their day to the anniversary either with news specials or, in NBC's case, a commemorative concert. (Associated Press)
Bank Sues to Force Insurers to Declare Tower 9/11 Loss - Aug 12, 2003
Deutsche Bank filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to force two insurance companies to declare its office building across from the World Trade Center site a complete loss, in a dispute that threatens to complicate the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan. The bank-owned skyscraper, at 130 Liberty Street, at the south end of ground zero, stands on a parcel of land that developers, designers and public officials have for weeks assumed would be available for use in the redevelopment project. But the bank's decision to file suit signals renewed uncertainty over the fate of the building. (New York Times)
Fight to Raze Building May Delay WTC Plan - Aug 11, 2003
he battle over a shrouded office tower at the edge of Ground Zero will spill into court today as Deutsche Bank moves to sue two insurers blocking the building's demolition. The legal showdown threatens to stall rebuilding at Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)
Daniel Libeskind Wants to Ensure His Lofty Design Goes Up, and Down, According to Plan - Aug 11, 2003
Five months after he won the competition to design Ground Zero, as Daniel Libeskind and redevelopment officials attempt to reconcile his symbolism-laden design with a host of construction, financial and political realities, he admits that his plan still remains vulnerable within the complex but delicate process that is reshaping Ground Zero's tortured spaces. The cherubic-looking architect faces the site's developer, Larry Silverstein - he of deep pockets. And Libeskind faces the feds, the state, the city - which of course means tricky politics. Not to mention the armies of engineers, architects, urban planners, environmentalists, downtown residents, families of the dead, even the memory of the dead. (Washington Post)
WTC Health Problems Persist - Aug 11, 2003
Thousands of New Yorkers say they still suffer from the World Trade Center attacks - and they are reaching out to help hot lines in numbers greater than last year, The Post has learned. Callers are seeking assistance for health complaints - ranging from respiratory ailments and pneumonia to acid reflux - that many link to the toxic plume created when the Twin Towers fell, as well as for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. (New York Post)
Feds Launch Long-term WTC Health Studies - Aug 10, 2003
Long-term studies to monitor the health effects of the World Trade Center attacks on New Yorkers are getting under way. A 20-year study conducted by the city Department of Health and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will begin in September or soon after to identify patterns of physical and psychological illness attributable to 9/11. (New York Post)
George Tamaro's Sunken Wall Held Back the Waters at Ground Zero - Aug 11, 2003
Deep in the pit that is Ground Zero, George Tamaro climbs atop a concrete knoll. He's trying to get a closer look at an engineering wonder -- the giant concrete slurry wall his team built some 30 years ago. He made his professional name with this wall. In fact, you could call it Tamaro's wall, except that the 66-year-old structural engineer with the squat frame and wide smile is a practical man, not given to pretense. He cringes at the very suggestion that he could claim this wall as a personal masterpiece. (Washington Post)
Jones Beach 9/11 Memorial Dedicated - Aug 10, 2003
Approximately 150 relatives, friends and dignitaries gathered Friday at the entrance to Field 4 at Jones Beach to unveil and dedicate a 5-foot-high memorial honoring the seven 9/11 victims who either worked at Jones Beach or Robert Moses State Park or was a relative of someone who did. (Newsday)
WTC Families Angry At Giuliani's Call for Special Recognition for Rescue Workers - Aug 9, 2003
Relatives of civilians killed in the terror attacks yesterday were pained and dismayed by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's call for a Ground Zero memorial with special recognition for rescue workers. (New York Daily News)
Silverstein Negotiating Lease on Trade Center Mall - Aug 8, 2003
Ground Zero developer Larry Silverstein wants control over the whole rebuilt site - including the mall. Silverstein, who holds a 99-year lease on the World Trade Center site's once-and-future office towers, has begun negotiations with Westfield America to buy out the rights to operate the retail portion of the planned complex, sources said yesterday. Officials at Westfield, which ran the below-street-level concourse before the Sept. 11 attacks, don't like the plan for rebuilding the shopping mall - with hundreds of square feet of space stacked above ground. Although the company has denied wanting a lease buyout, sources said Westfield has approached several potential buyers - including City Hall. (New York Daily News)
Queens Man Guilty in WTC Scam - Aug 8, 2003
A 54-year-old Richmond Hill man concocted a sob story about a son who died in the World Trade Center so that he could collect some $160,000 in relief funds, a Manhattan jury found Thursday. After a three-week trial, and two days of deliberations, the jury in state Supreme Court convicted Cyril Kendall of grand larceny for scamming the Red Cross, Safe Horizons and other charities out of monies meant for victims of the terrorist attacks their families. (Newsday)
Giuliani: Special Memorial Recognition for Rescue Workers - Aug 8, 2003
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani declared yesterday that the hundreds of rescue workers in the terror attacks should get special recognition at the Ground Zero memorial. Giuliani addressed the controversial issue after meeting with the panel responsible with shaping the tribute to those who were killed on Sept. 11, 2001. (New York Daily News)
U.S. Frees $54 Million in 9/11 Business Aid - Aug 7, 2003
Federal officials approved more than $54 million in aid yesterday that more than 2,200 small-business owners in Lower Manhattan had been waiting for - often anxiously and angrily - after a 9/11 recovery program ran out of money. The funds, made available by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, will allow the state to finally send out checks to the businesses, which had qualified for the aid after applying for it in the weeks before the deadline on Dec. 31. (New York Times)
Financial Battles May Slow Rebuilding Schedule - Aug 7, 2003
Gov. Pataki's push to lay the cornerstone for Ground Zero rebuilding by next August may be a bust because of a nasty money fight, the Daily News has learned. A financial battle between the Port Authority, developer Larry Silverstein and his mortgage company is jeopardizing the schedule - which would see construction of the world's tallest tower begin around the 2004 GOP National Convention. (New York Daily News)
Chinatown Anger Boils Up at L.M.D.C. Meeting - Aug 7, 2003
Last Thursday night, there were two separate protests in Chinatown on neighborhood issues related to the aftermath of 9/11 Ă‘ and at a neighborhood workshop organized by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, frustration and anger were the dominant emotions. (Downtown Express)
ÔOccupationÕ Near Park Row Must End, Judge Rules - Aug 7, 2003
A state judge ruled Monday that the police have illegally acted like an ÒoccupationÓ force by taking over a public plaza in Chinatown and ordered the police to vacate the plaza by the end of the year. In addition, the city has been ordered to complete an environmental study of the effects of the police closure of Park Row by the end of the year. (Downtown Express)
Fireboat That Pumped Water to Firefighters on 9/11 Is Now in Need - Aug 7, 2003
The fireboat that pumped water to firefighters during and after Sept. 11 and became the focus of a children's book, in now itself in need of help. The John J. Harvey Fireboat, is said to need about $700,000 in repairs. (New York Times)
Smoke and Dust at World Trade Center Is Linked to Smaller Babies - Aug 6, 2003
Scientists say they have measured a slight but significant rise in the percentage of small babies born to women who were around the World Trade Center during or after the terror attack compared with babies of a large sample of pregnant women who were elsewhere at the time. The researchers, from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, proposed that air pollution from the pulverized, smoldering wreckage was the most likely cause of the difference. (New York Times)
City Leaves Key Tribeca Project Unprotected Against Speculators - Aug 6, 2003
In late July, officials held a press conference at Thomas Paine Park, near Ground Zero, to announce a $50 million federally funded program to build 300 units of downtown affordable housing for working families. As welcome as the new construction is, the announcement struck many of lower Manhattan's current moderate-income residents as a prickly paradox. A day later, a couple hundred tenants, mostly from Independence Plaza North, the 1,329-unit, city-supervised-and-subsidized, three-tower project on Ground Zero's border, rallied on the steps of City Hall to support a bill just introduced by Council Speaker Gifford Miller. The project's 3,500 residents were notified in June that new owner Laurence Gluck - just 24 hours after he completed his $100 million purchase of the complex - had filed papers to withdraw the project from the Mitchell- Lama program, a move that would free him to charge sizzling market rents. That could potentially cost downtown a thousand more affordable units than what the ballyhooed announcement promises, making Tribeca the latest example of the ongoing loss of tens of thousands of affordable apartments citywide, caused by conversions like Gluck's. (Village Voice)
Artist Publishes 9/11 Graphic Novel - Aug 30, 2002
One year after the twin towers came crashing down, French illustrator Sandrine Revell, who was visiting New York on September 11, distilled the cataclysmic events into her own language: the graphic novel. The finished product -- a slim, 48-page hardcover book -- appeared Thursday in stores throughout France. (Associated Press)
McGreevey Is Reported to Criticize Rebuilding - Aug 30, 2002
Gov. James McGreevey of New Jersey accused Lower Manhattan Development Corporation officials of ignoring the concerns of families of New Jersey victims of the World Trade Center attack. (New York Times)
Port Authority Changes Airport's Name to Newark Liberty - Aug 30, 2002
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved the terms of a lease yesterday to extend its operation of Newark International Airport to 2065, and agreed to rename the airport Newark Liberty International in honor of the victims of the Sept. 11 attack. (New York Times)
More Human Remains Found Near World Trade Center Site - Aug 30, 2002
Three bone fragments found on a Lower Manhattan roof are human remains that may be from one or more victims of the World Trade Center disaster, the Medical Examiner's Office concluded yesterday. (New York Post)
International Airlines Cleared To Fly Over New York On 9/11 - Aug 30, 2002
The Bush administration yesterday appeared to back off a plan to restrict foreign airlines flying in and out of New York airports during the Sept. 11 anniversary, in the face of criticism from overseas carriers and concerns that such treatment would violate international treaties. (Newsday)
Judge Weighs 9/11 Suit Deadline - Aug 30, 2002
A federal judge will consider whether families of Sept. 11 victims can launch legal action against the Port Authority over the next 11 days without forfeiting the chance of receiving money from the government's victims compensation fund. (New York Post)
City Businesses Divided Over Opening on 9/11 - Aug 30, 2002
City businesses are sharply divided over how to mark the 9/11 anniversary - most will be open to show the terrorists they haven't won, while others will shut their doors to honor the fallen heroes (New York Post)
Foundation Creates its Own 9/11 School Guide - Aug 30, 2002
The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, charging that schools are offering students overly politically correct lessons about Sept. 11 - has countered with its own essays by 23 educators and authors that single out "America's enemies." (New York Post)
9/11 Families Deride Gift of a Million Dollar Horse - Aug 30, 2002
The Saudi royal family's reported offer to give families of the 9/11 victims a million-dollar horse on the anniversary of the attacks is being greeted with derision by grieving family members. (New York Post)
Arab Journalists Get a Closer Look at Site - Aug 29, 2002
Last night, journalists from Tunisia, Algeria, Morrocco,Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon visited the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and viewed the World Trade Center site as part of a State Department effort to brief Muslim journalists on U.S. policy in the Middle East, Muslim life in the United States and American values. In the past, the development corporation has also hosted journalists from around the world, including Indonesia, Russia, China, Japan, Belgium, Holland and England. (Newsday)
WTC Designers Giving Up Rights, Money - Aug 29, 2002
Responding to thousands of unsolicited proposals for the World Trade Center site, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. is asking people to give up any rights to their designs or any payment for their work. (Newsday)
Civil Liberties After Sept. 11 - Aug 29, 2002
Almost everywhere, governments have taken September 11th as an opportunity to restrict their citizens' freedom. A look at how civil liberties have been impacted around the world. (Economist)
Mayor Meets Victims' Relatives to Discuss Trade Center Plans - Aug 29, 2002
Mayor Michael Bloomberg told relatives of Sept. 11 victims that the Port Authority should not be involved in rebuilding Lower Manhattan, according to several people who attended a meeting with the mayor at City Hall yesterday. It was the first time since February that he had met with some of the participants, his aides said. (New York Times)
Proposals Pouring In For WTC Site - Aug 29, 2002
More than 2,000 ordinary citizens, artists and great architects have been inspired to put their ideas for the World Trade Center site on paper. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the Port Authority, and other government officials have received a wide range of proposals. Anita Contini, the corporation's memorial director, asked people to stop sending any more plans until criteria for the memorial are announced early next year. The agency won't consider any proposals already sent, said Contini, responding to questions at a GothamGazette.com online interview. (Newsday)
Caution Over NY Airspace - Aug 29, 2002
The federal government is expected to prevent foreign airlines from taking off or landing at metropolitan New York airports during certain periods around the Sept. 11 anniversary, under tough new flight restrictions to be announced this week, sources said. (Newsday)
A Staten Island Support Group's Powerful Bond - Aug 28, 2002
Cheri Sparacio, who lost husband Tom, has found support through fellow widows and widowers. In the months after the attack, a group grew in Staten Island. Maybe it could only have happened in a place like Staten Island, where the local politicians organized monthly meetings for the families and everyone read The Advance. (Newsday)
Some On City's 9/11 Missing List Are Alive - Aug 28, 2002
Several people who were listed as missing and presumed dead last week by the New York City medical examiner's office are now being removed from the list because they have turned up alive. One is George Sims, a sidewalk vendor who was listed as one of the missing but was found suffering from amnesia in a Manhattan hospital. (New York Times)
New York Announces Details of Greater 9/11 Business Aid - Aug 28, 2002
New York State and City gave details of their plans to increase aid to small businesses in Lower Manhattan that are suffering as a result of the terrorist attack last September. In the largest increase, small businesses that were in the World Trade Center or its immediate vicinity on the day of the attack are eligible for up to 25 days' worth of revenue losses, instead of up to 10 days' worth, as was previously the case. (New York Times)
Bonds for Downtown Favor Political Donors - Aug 28, 2002
Most of the $340 million in Liberty Bonds awarded for rebuilding lower Manhattan was given to major campaign contributors at the state and local levels, particularly to Republicans, Common Cause New York said yesterday. (New York Daily News)
Book Project Preserves 9/11 Victims' Life Stories - Aug 28, 2002
The first in a series of tribute books documenting the lives of individual 9/11 victims by American Tribute Center, a nonprofit organization set up to produce free keepsake books for bereaved 9/11 families, was presented yesterday. (New York Post)
More Get 9/11 Aid, but Distrust of U.S. Effort Lingers - Aug 27, 2002
Since overhauling its programs in late June to assist New Yorkers devastated by the Sept. 11 attack, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has granted more money to nearly as many people needing help with their mortgage or rent as it did in the previous nine months. But for all the changes, FEMA is still plagued by problems that many worry may ultimately leave thousands of needy New Yorkers in the lurch. (New York Times)
Fitting Tribute As U.S. Open Begins - Aug 27, 2002
In a colorful show of patriotism, the U.S. Open began with a flourish last night as celebrities and officials paid tribute to the uniformed and civilian rescuers of Sept. 11. (Newsday)
9/11 Statue at U.S. Open - Aug 27, 2002
A bronze statue of a firefighter kneeling, air tanks on his back, one hand on his forehead, the other on his helmet, which rests on the ground, has found a temporary home at the U.S. Tennis Center, where it will remain for the next two weeks during the U.S. Open. (Newsday)
Rebuilt 1/9 Subway Line Almost Ready - Aug 27, 2002
The rebuilt portion of the 1 and 9 subway line will open for business on Sept. 15 - but tests with empty subway trains will begin on the tracks this weekend. (New York Post)
St. Paul's Opens To Public For First Time Since 9/11 - Aug 27, 2002
Saint Paul's Chapel in Lower Manhattan is open to the public for the first time since September 11. The chapel, once in the shadow of the World Trade Center, became a respite center for recovery workers after the terrorist attacks. Now after three months of renovation, Saint Paul’s opened to the general public on Monday. (NY1)
$500 Million Left in 9/11 Aid, but Small Businesses Don't Ask - Aug 26, 2002
Despite a recent drive to publicize the two major programs of government grants for small Lower Manhattan businesses struggling to recover — and often to survive — in the attack's wake, two-thirds of the two programs' total pot of $772 million is still waiting to be awarded. (New York Times)
Long Island Teen Creates 9/11 Memorial - Aug 26, 2002
Two Atlantic Beach residents who died on September 11 were honored yesterday with a memorial next to Atlantic Beach's new village hall. It was a memorial conceived and designed entirely by Zara Zimmerman, who will be a high school senior. It was Zimmerman's idea to honor the only two Atlantic Beach residents who perished on Sept. 11, and it was her idea to have two pieces of the World Trade Center included at the site. (Newsday)
Bloomberg to Release His Own Rebuilding Plans - Aug 25, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg will soon give development officials his overall "vision" for Ground Zero and lower Manhattan in a detailed plan as he tries to influence the rebuilding process, The Post has learned. (New York Post)
NYPD Gearing Up in War on Terror - Aug 25, 2002
Nearly a year after the World Trade Center attack, New York's anti-terror chiefs have launched an ambitious counteroffensive, deploying 900 cops who run down 50 tips a day with a military-style vigilance. (New York Daily News)
Covering the Terror, Again - Aug 25, 2002
Media coverage of the September 11 one-year anniversary will dwarf that of previous remembrances for the Oklahoma City bombing, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (Newsday)
Firetrucks Still Have Toxic Debris - Aug 25, 2002
Firefighters are rushing to emergencies around the city in trucks still carrying remnants of toxic World Trade Center dust and debris nearly a year after the Sept. 11 attacks, The Post has learned. Of the 122 firetrucks involved in rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero, 93 have yet to be totally cleared of asbestos, Fiberglas, lead and other contaminants, FDNY officials have confirmed and lab reports show. (New York Post)
Cleaning Firm Has Difficult Task - Aug 25, 2002
A New Jersey-based firm, LVI Environmental Services of Clifton, was contracted to do the initial cleaning of Fire Department firetrucks coated with World Trade Center dust. Company president Frank Aiello said 29 trucks had been cleaned. He said priority for cleanups went to trucks that tested positive for airborne asbestos. (New York Post)
Cuomo: 9/11 Jab Backfired - Aug 25, 2002
After spending a night in a Brooklyn homeless shelter, governor candidate Andrew Cuomo yesterday admitted his criticism of Gov. Pataki's post-Sept. 11 leadership has hurt his gubernatorial campaign. (New York Post)
FEMA Gives NYC Millions For 9/11 - Aug 24, 2002
The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday pledged more than $66 million to New York state as reimbursement for the cleanup costs linked to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The money will go to New York's Department of Sanitation, which provided labor and heavy equipment for removal of debris at the World Trade Center site. (Associated Press)
Toxic 9/11 Debris in Brooklyn - Aug 24, 2002
There is a critical flaw, experts say, in all the research, Environmental Protection Agency cleanup programs and federal services related to exposure to World Trade Center debris: The efforts are concentrated on Manhattan, but, except for the area immediately around Ground Zero, the plume did not spread around the borough. It went directly to Brooklyn. (Newsday)
1,600 Vie For 9-11 Pentagon Design - Aug 23, 2002
Some 1,600 people already have met Friday's deadline to register for a design competition for the September 11 Pentagon memorial, run by the Army Corps of Engineers. Proposals must be submitted by Sept. 11, with a winner announced on Dec. 23. Under the Corps plan, the winning design will occupy nearly two acres about 165 feet west of the point where American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the facade. The winning design cannot rise above 78 feet - the Pentagon's height - and cannot include restrooms, museums or staff. (Associated Press)
City Regulations Bar Free Lunches for 9/11 Heros - Aug 23, 2002
Two of New York City’s finest and most expensive restaurants, Danube and Bouley, are offering free meals all day on September 11 to the city’s firefighters and police officers and their families, but officials at both departments say they won’t be able to accept the offer. Official policy restricts both departments from accepting any gifts, even one as winsome as a meal that would run normal patrons about $100 a head. (New York Sun)
Victims' Fund Announces First Awards - Aug 23, 2002
The federal government yesterday announced the first awards to compensate the relatives of Sept. 11 victims, offering 25 families an average of $1.36 million, from a low of $300,000 to a high of $3 million. Of the awards announced yesterday, only nine families have so far accepted the amount disbursed. (New York Times)
More Aid Seen for Business Downtown - Aug 23, 2002
New York State and City are planning to increase financial aid to small businesses near the World Trade Center site that suffered financial losses stemming from the Sept. 11 attack. The increase would come after months of criticism from business people in the area that the amounts available in the World Trade Center Business Recovery Grant Program were too small to provide meaningful aid to small businesses that were forced to remain closed the longest and suffered the biggest losses. (New York Times)
Pataki, in Move Foes Avoided, Uses Sept. 11 in a Campaign Ad - Aug 23, 2002
A day after New York State Democrats abandoned plans for a television advertisement commemorating Sept. 11, Gov. George E. Pataki became the first political figure who was prominent in the attack's aftermath to address it in a campaign commercial. Against a black background above the chords of an inspirational adagio, the governor praises New Yorkers for their courage and compassion in the 30-second ad released yesterday. (New York Times)
Neighborhood of Memorials Ponders the 9/11 Addition - Aug 23, 2002
As the public wrestles over the design of a permanent 9/11 memorial, some downtown residents are worried that their community will be turned into a kind of "living graveyard." Battery Park City and adjacent Battery Park are already home to more than a dozen memorials and monuments. As the Sept. 11 anniversary approaches, some downtown residents are calling for a limit on the size of a permanent World Trade Center memorial. Other residents and family members of victims want a large memorial that they say will make a statement about the scope of the tragedy. (Downtown Express)
Struggling Chinatown Sees Rays Of Hope - Aug 23, 2002
A year after the Sept. 11 attacks, some businesses in Chinatown report sales being down as much as 40 percent from last year. Yet as the community struggles to mend itself, what's become apparent is that many of Chinatown's problems existed far before Sept. 11. And just as urban planners say the attacks created an opportunity for downtown to reinvent itself, they say Chinatown now has a chance to redefine its image and mission. Businesses that are not only surviving but thriving might provide a window into the Chinatown of the future. (Newsday)
Delegation Urges More 9/11 Funds - Aug 23, 2002
The New York congressional delegation intends to send a letter to President Bush today imploring him to hand over $90 million in federal funds to track the health of former Ground Zero workers. The money was part of a $5.1 billion spending plan Bush rejected last week. The President had to accept or reject the plan entirely. (New York Daily News)
U.S. Announces New, Tougher Look Into Why the Towers Collapsed - Aug 22, 2002
Federal officials on Wednesday began a two-year, $23 million study of the 110-story twin towers at the World Trade Center to analyze how and why the twin towers and a third skyscraper collapsed in raging fires on Sept. 11. The investigation will recommend changes in how other high-rises are built to make them safer in a terrorist attack, an out-of-control fire or a natural disaster. (New York Times)
McGreevey Calls Trade Center Land Swap Unlikely - Aug 22, 2002
Gov. James E. McGreevey said yesterday that it was "relatively unlikely" that the land under Kennedy and La Guardia Airports would be swapped for the site of the World Trade Center. Such a proposal has been seen as a way to give New York City and State control over the rebuilding at ground zero. As governor of New Jersey, Mr. McGreevey essentially has veto power over the proposed land swap by the city and the Port Authority, which he and Gov. George Pataki of New York control. (New York Times)
9/11 Counseling Shunned - Aug 22, 2002
Project Liberty, an unprecedented federal counseling program designed to help New Yorkers traumatized by the Sept. 11 attacks is being faulted by some mental health experts for trying to treat millions who have no direct link to the tragedy. In May, the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave the state $132 million for Project Liberty. The grant was the largest of its kind in FEMA's history and came on top of a previous $22.7 million allocation. But through last week, only 220,000 people had reached out to Project Liberty. (New York Daily News)
Govs Urge Newark Airport Name Change - Aug 22, 2002
To honor the 9/11 victims, Newark Airport would be renamed Liberty International Airport under a proposal announced yesterday by the governors of New York and New Jersey. The governors said they would propose the name change to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark, Kennedy and LaGuardia airports. Authority approval is considered likely since its commissioners are appointed by the governors. (Newsday)
Memorial Wall's View of Tragedy - Aug 22, 2002
The first panel of a transparent "viewing wall" around Ground Zero was unveiled yesterday - a 13-foot-high wire mesh structure adorned with a picture of the fallen Twin Towers. The $6 million, L-shaped wall - running along Church and Liberty streets at the site's perimeter - will be finished by the end of the year. (New York Post)
In Hoboken, They Knew They'd Lost More on 9/11 - Aug 22, 2002
The most comprehensive tally yet of the victims of the Sept. 11 attack showed that Hoboken NJ had lost 39 of its 39,000 residents, giving it the highest death rate of any affected city when victims were tracked by ZIP code.As the first anniversary of the terror attack approaches, the still-evolving roll of victims has only confirmed a sad expectation that many in this city have held since they watched the dust of the twin towers' collapse creep across the Hudson: that Hoboken would suffer more than its share of loss. (New York Times)
City Schools Release Guide for 9/11 Anniversary - Aug 22, 2002
The Board of Education yesterday unveiled a guide for the remembrance of the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks - focusing on "hope, healing and heroism," and downplaying the evil of terrorism. (New York Post)
State Democrats Drop Idea of 9/11 TV Ad - Aug 22, 2002
With an assurance from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg that Democrats will not be shut out of the city's Sept. 11 anniversary ceremony, the state Democratic Party said yesterday that it had dropped its plan to commemorate the terrorist attack by broadcasting an advertisement with elected leaders reciting the Gettysburg Address. (New York Times)
Program to Cover Psychiatric Help for 9/11 Families - Aug 21, 2002
The American Red Cross and the September 11th Fund said yesterday that they would underwrite the expense of extended mental health treatment for people directly affected by the terrorist attacks last year. The effort may be the most ambitious ever undertaken by charitable organizations to address the emotional needs of disaster victims. (New York Times)
Tense Exchange at Meeting on Memorial - Aug 21, 2002
Emotions were raw last night at a public meeting for a World Trade Center memorial as relatives of victims questioned the authority of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. A tense interchange occurred at the Staten Island meeting after victims' family members asked who would make the final decision on the memorial design. (Newsday)
Staten Island Victims' Families Angry at Search for Design - Aug 21, 2002
Lower Manhattan Development Corp. officials ran into criticism last night over how they intend to select a design for a World Trade Center memorial. At the first of five public hearings, nearly 60 relatives of Sept. 11 victims accused the LMDC of giving higher priority to commercial development at the site than to a fitting tribute to the fallen. (New York Daily News)
Families Angry at WTC Hawking - Aug 21, 2002
To the disgust of the families of those killed Sept. 11, more and more street vendors are crowding sidewalks near Ground Zero, trying to make a quick buck off wide-eyed tourists. (New York Daily News)
Protecting Children on 9/11:Parents Should Monitor TV - Aug 21, 2002
Most children 4 and younger don't realize that it's a taped replay from Sept. 11 when television screens show the World Trade Center collapsing in a cloud of dust. They think it's happening all over again, said Harold Koplewicz, a psychiatrist and founder of the New York University Child Study Center. The hours of coverage planned for the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks could reverberate in unexpected ways. (Associated Press)
Theater Artists Commemorate 9/11 - Aug 21, 2002
One year after the terrorist attacks, nearly 150 theater artists will commemorate Sept. 11 with "Brave New World: American Theatre Responds to 9/11." The star-studded theater marathon, consisting of about 50 short plays and songs responding to the tragedy, will run Sept. 9 through Sept. 11 at the midtown performance venue Town Hall. (Newsday)
Mapping Sept 11 Victims By Zip Code - Aug 21, 2002
With the New York City medical examiner office's release on Monday of the most thorough list of victims, it is possible to chart September 11th's devastation by ZIP code. Plotted on a map, the toll shows dense clusters on both sides of the Hudson River and waves of destruction rippling out toward the suburbs. The ZIP code with the most victims turns out to be 10021, which covers the Upper East Side of Manhattan from 61st to 81st Street. (New York Times)
Mayor Promising Better Response to Catastrophes - Aug 20, 2002
Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged greater coordination between New York City's Police and Fire Departments on Monday as he released reports on Sept. 11. Bloomberg promised to make major changes in how the departments handle future catastrophes, including improvements in technology and basic emergency procedures. (New York Times)
Exodus of 9/11 Is Thing of Past Near Tower Site - Aug 20, 2002
After sitting nearly half empty in the wake of Sept. 11, the residential buildings that once ringed the World Trade Center are almost as full as they were before the terrorist attack, a survey of more than 7,000 units in the area by the Times has found. With deep discounts from landlords and government programs promising rebates, vacancy rates have fallen to slightly below 5 percent over all, compared with average highs of 45 percent in the months after the disaster. (New York Times)
9/11 Victims' Names to Fence in Memorial - Aug 20, 2002
The names of all the Sept. 11 World Trade Center victims will be displayed on a temporary memorial -- a fence around the site, downtown redevelopment officials said last night. The city medical examiner's office issued the first comprehensive list of the victims yesterday but cautioned that the 2,819 names may not be the final tally. (New York Daily News)
Families of 9/11 Emergency Workers Get 7 Times More From Charity - Aug 20, 2002
Stunned families of 9/11 victims yesterday said they were outraged by reports that survivors of emergency workers received seven times more money from charity than those of civilians killed in the World Trade Center attacks. Firefighters' families also joined in the chorus of criticism, saying charity had to be evenhanded. (New York Post)
Makeshift Memorial Brings Event to Human Scale - Aug 19, 2002
David Cohen, the owner of Chelsea Jeans, a clothing store a block from where the World Trade Center used to be, created a preserved shrine leaving things as they were when the impact of the blasts ruined his store. Mr. Cohen's shrine was just one of the makeshift memorials that sprang up around the city after Sept. 11. Now, the process to design an official memorial has begun. (New York Times)
More Than 150 Sept. 11 Books to Hit Shelves - Aug 19, 2002
Ranging from glossy photography books to terrorism primers, more than 150 books about Sept. 11 and every issue surrounding it are flooding bookstores for the one-year anniversary. The publishers themselves admit there are too many books, and say they expect only mediocre sales. But bookstores, buoyed by strong sales from the earlier Sept. 11 books, are ordering nearly every book out there, even if only one or two copies. (Crain's New York Business)
World Trade Center Tourists Spend Time, Not Money - Aug 19, 2002
Ground Zero's tourist boom isn't stopping local businesses from going bust. Almost a year after Sept. 11, Ground Zero is teeming with visitors - about 1.1 million between January and June - making it the city's most visited site, tourism officials say. But few are buying anything. (New York Post)
A TV Rush, at Times Crass, Over Sept. 11 - Aug 19, 2002
With the first anniversary of the national trauma little more than three weeks away, news organizations are gearing up. Newspapers and news magazines are planning special sections or series. But it is broadcast journalists, whose medium demands immediacy, who may be feeling most competitive for access to the people they believe can help recapture the collective memory of last year's horror. (New York Times)
For Muslims, an Uneasy Anniversary - Aug 19, 2002
On Sept. 11, many of the city's Muslims will be grieving and seeking solace; but some say that they will feel resentment. Still others will fear an echo of anti-Muslim backlash. Some will look to prove they are good Americans. Others will bristle that such a thing should even be expected of them. (New York Times)
Wider Scope in New Plans for Rebuilding - Aug 18, 2002
Plans for the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan, until now focused almost exclusively on the World Trade Center site, have for the first time expanded to encompass all of downtown, according to officials involved in the rebuilding process. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation hired urban planning firm Peterson Littenberg Architects & Planners last week and is working with the Bloomberg administration to plan a search for other firms to help remake neighborhoods from Chinatown to Battery Park, rebuilding officials said. (New York Times)
FDNY to Recommend Policy Overhaul - Aug 18, 2002
At least one of the Fire Department of New York's most senior officers should oversee large-scale emergencies from its remote operations center instead of the disaster scene, according to a five-month study of the department's response to the Sept. 11 attacks. (Associated Press)
Sept. 11 Makes Life Even Harder for Illegal Immigrants - Aug 18, 2002
Immigrants living illegally in this country have always faced uncertainty and hardship, but now many of them say that their lives have changed for the worse since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They have lost longtime jobs as employers increasingly check identity papers, and even those who are not Arab or Muslim say they have encountered more suspicion from bosses, co-workers and neighbors. (New York Times)
Site to Archive 9 / 11 Communications - Aug 18, 2002
Hundreds of e-mails, photographs and video images from September 11, 2001 are part of a virtual library of the attacks being compiled by scholars in Virginia and New York. The September 11th Digital Archive ``will serve as a new platform in which people can make their own history,'' said Jim Sparrow, one of the organizers of the project, which is accessible online at http://911digitalarchive.org/. (Associated Press)
Cameras to Record Ground Zero Rising - Aug 18, 2002
For at least the next seven years, a group of cameras that are focused on ground zero will take 288 photos a day, creating a historical record of the rebirth of the World Trade Center site. The planned result is an extraordinary historical record of the rebirth of the site, one that the effort's sponsors hope will be displayed continuously at a museum, perhaps even one that emerges on the site itself. (New York Times)
In 9/11 Art, Children Look Back and Ahead - Aug 18, 2002
Works of art about September 11 by local children are to be prominently displayed in 25 stores across the country from Sept. 6 to 12 as part of "Visions of the Future," a project created by Bloomingdale's. In New York, Bloomingdale's invited the Fresh Air Fund to participate in creating murals of hope and remembrance to be hung in windows around its flagship store on the Upper East Side. (New York Times)
Trade Center Leaseholder Braces for Battle - Aug 17, 2002
The Bloomberg administration has proposed giving the Port Authority the city-owned land beneath two airports in return for the now vacant 16-acre trade center site. The next step would presumably be to remove leaseholder Larry Silverstein so that the city could plan for future development without any encumbrances. But as much as Mr. Silverstein wants to avoid the idea of his elimination, the insurance carriers with whom he is battling in court have rushed to embrace it. (New York Times)
EPA Will Extend Cleanup Deadline - Aug 17, 2002
After much criticism of a federal plan to cleanup apartments in lower Manhattan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will extend the deadline for residents to request testing and cleanup , officials said Friday. The deadline to request testing or cleanup will now be Oct. 2. (Newsday)
Design Competition For 9/11 Memorial Starting Early Next Year - Aug 16, 2002
An international competition to design a memorial to the victims of the terrorist attack of Sept. 11 is expected to begin early next year, with a winning design to be selected by the second anniversary of the attack, rebuilding officials said yesterday. Officials of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation said that it would conduct a public hearing in each of the city's five boroughs over the next three weeks to gather comments on the concept and design of the memorial. (New York Times)
Council Proposes Public Market on Site of Towers - Aug 16, 2002
If the City Council has its way, the World Trade Center site will become home to a public market, like Pike Place in Seattle, with organic produce vendors, fishmongers, artisans and performers.The market idea was part of the Council's report on recommendations for redeveloping Lower Manhattan, released yesterday. (New York Times)
Ground Zero housing aid now available - Aug 16, 2002
People who live near Ground Zero - or are willing to move there - can now apply for the housing grants announced in February. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. began distributing applications yesterday for the incentive money, designed to keep homeowners and renters downtown after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The program will dole out $281 million in federal funds through two-year grants and one-time payments. (New York Daily News)
Police Rally For Pay Raises - Aug 16, 2002
Thousands of cops and firefighters turned up the heat on City Hall yesterday, demanding a pay hike to match the sacrifices they made reducing crime and responding to the terrorist attack on 9/11. (New York Daily News)
Top Architects May Submit Resumes - Aug 16, 2002
Rem Koolhaas, Robert A.M. Stern and several other top architects told The Post yesterday they'd like a chance at designing the future of Ground Zero, and may answer a call to submit their résumés to development officials. (New York Post)
Judge: Government Can Withhold 9/11 Detainees Names - Aug 16, 2002
A federal judge ruled Thursday that the Bush administration does not have to immediately reveal the names of those detained in the investigation of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler issued a stay of her earlier order to give government lawyers more time to appeal. (Associated Press)
Downtown Express - Aug 16, 2002
One year and a day after the horrific events of Sept. 11, the Winter Garden in the World Financial Center is scheduled to reopen. And right on time. Retailers are looking forward to the Sept. 12 opening. Most who have reopened in the World Financial Center say business remains down at least 25 percent. Many stores are expected to open throughout the fall months. (Downtown Express)
Worldwide Competition Launched to Redesign Downtown - Aug 15, 2002
The agency overseeing the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan announced yesterday that it would conduct "a worldwide design competition" to hire as many as five licensed architecture or planning firms to offer new ideas for the site of the World Trade Center. To incorporate the new ideas as well as expected changes in how much office, retail, residential and cultural space will be included on the site, the officials extended the schedule for the process, allowing three new designs to be completed by the end of the year and a final design selected in the first half of 2003. (New York Times)
WTC Vacuum Trucks Used Wrong Filters - Aug 15, 2002
Earth Technology Inc., a private contractor hired to clean up asbestos-tainted dust near Ground Zero in the days after Sept. 11 failed to use required filters on its vacuum trucks, according to an Environmental Protection Agency report. (New York Daily News)
Report Decries Immigrant Detentions - Aug 15, 2002
The U.S. government has misused its powers and marred its investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with arbitrary detentions, due-process violations and secret arrests, according to a report to be released today by the international human rights group Human Rights Watch. (Newsday)
Role Seen for Newark Airport in Land Swap - Aug 15, 2002
Newark International Airport should be included in a proposal to swap ownership of the World Trade Center property for the land at La Guardia and Kennedy Airports, Gov. James E. McGreevey said in remarks published today. (Associated Press)
Political Ad and 9/11 Speech May Be an Unwelcome Mix - Aug 15, 2002
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg expressed concern yesterday about a plan by the New York State Democratic Party to offer its own rendition of the Gettysburg Address in a television ad honoring the Sept. 11 dead. (New York Times)
New Rules Debated On Building Safety - Aug 14, 2002
The debate over changing the city building code after the Sept. 11 attack is centering on whether to require existing buildings to add safety features such as sprinklers and harden stairwells and elevator shafts. In a daylong hearing yesterday, Buildings Department officials heard two dozen witnesses offer myriad suggestions for changing the code to improve safety in new and existing high-rises. (Newsday)
Seeking Firms to Pitch New WTC ideas - Aug 14, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. is launching a worldwide search for five more firms to produce new designs for rebuilding at Ground Zero, sources said last night. Each of the new firms picked will be given specific criteria to meet, but many of the rigid constraints put on the first six designs will be gone. (New York Daily News)
Democrats Also Plan to Read Gettysburg Address for 9/11 - Aug 14, 2002
It now appears that the dead of Sept. 11 will be honored with not one but two recitations of the Gettysburg Address, one for each political party. The televised anniversary ceremonies will include President Bush and other prominent Republicans, including Gov. George Pataki. Now the State Democratic Party is preparing a television advertisement that will include a reading by more than two dozen party figures, including the two candidates for governor. (New York Times)
Smithsonian Struggles With 9/11 - Aug 13, 2002
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's cell phone and baseball cap, a stairwell sign from the World Trade Center, a piece of limestone from the Pentagon, a uniform from a Navy officer who rescued a Pentagon victim. Those are some of the items that will be on display when the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History opens its exhibit, "September 11: Bearing Witness to History," on the anniversary of the attacks. (Associated Press)
Money for Just Some of a Transit Wish List - Aug 13, 2002
Federal, state and city officials gathered at the rim of ground zero yesterday to celebrate their cooperation in securing $4.55 billion in federal money to overhaul and update the tangle of subway stations, commuter terminals and other transportation outlets in Lower Manhattan. But the money still falls short of the $7.5 billion that officials overseeing the rebuilding have long said would be needed to complete crucial transportation projects, leaving questions about which projects might be scrapped or scaled back as the rebuilding effort progresses. (New York Times)
Poll Backs Lower Manhattan Cultural Sites - Aug 13, 2002
Most people who live and work in Lower Manhattan say they would be likely to go to any new museums and other cultural and entertainment attractions in the area, according to a new poll. The random survey found that 9 out of 10 residents south of Chambers Street and 8 out of 10 people who work in the area favored such attractions. The 800 respondents were surveyed from July 29 to Aug. 2 for Wall Street Rising, a nonprofit group working to rejuvenate the financial district. (New York Times)
Palms Return to Winter Garden - Aug 13, 2002
Palm trees stood tall in the Winter Garden once again yesterday. And for the first time in 11 months, it seemed that life itself had returned to the celebrated 10-story glass dome. As tourists ascend the newly restored grand marble steps after the planned reopening in September, the Winter Garden will become an unofficial public viewing balcony for the trade center site. (New York Times)
Groups Support Plan to Cut Office Space at Site - Aug 12, 2002
Sept. 11 survivors' groups and Lower Manhattan residents cheered reports yesterday that the amount of office space slated to be built at Ground Zero could be cut by as much as a third. (Newsday)
$4.5B to Be Used for a Ground Zero Rail Hub - Aug 12, 2002
Billions of dollars in federal money will be used to build a new transit hub near Ground Zero, linking the PATH with subway lines in lower Manhattan, Mayor Bloomberg is set to announce today. The federal government has agreed to give the city $4.5 billion for the rail center. (New York Daily News)
WTC Families Leery of Bloomberg, Port Authority - Aug 12, 2002
Whom do you trust more: the Port Authority or City Hall? The answer isn't easy for the families of those killed in the World Trade Center attacks. With the Bloomberg administration pursuing a deal to swap city land beneath Kennedy and LaGuardia airports for the Port Authority-owned Trade Center site, victims' kin differ on who should control the fate of Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)
Families Concerned About Transit Plans - Aug 12, 2002
Nearly a year after Sept. 11, victims' relatives and observers are concerned that plans for creating the Ground Zero memorial are in limbo - with transit projects beneath the site driving the process. The transit issue is one of many concerns related to the permanent memorial that 9/11 relatives detailed during meetings with Gov. Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani last week. (New York Post)
Families Plan 9/11 Walks in New York City, Virginia - Aug 12, 2002
Family members will carry photographs of loved ones who died in the Sept. 11 attacks during two "remembrance walks" in Virginia and New York next month, organizers said yesterday. (New York Daily News)
Brooklyn Tribute on Waterfront - Aug 12, 2002
More than 2,000 people are expected to pack the 69th Street pier in Brooklyn to honor the World Trade Center victims on the Sept. 11 anniversary. (New York Post)
Residents Grill E.P.A. Over Cleanup - Aug 11, 2002
A presentation last week on the Environmental Protection Agency's ongoing cleanup efforts near ground zero left some observers unsatisfied.An agency representative fielded questions at a Community Board 1 Quality of Life Committee meeting about plans to clean the apartment of any resident who wants it below Canal St, but many at the meeting were still frustrated. (Downtown Express)
Plans for WTC Site in Disarray - Aug 11, 2002
As the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy approaches, plans for the World Trade Center site are in disarray, tainted by criticism that they're boring and small-minded. The negative feedback, especially from the loved ones of survivors, has the attention of state and city officials, who say they will pursue more creative alternatives to plans put together by the prestigious architectural firm of Beyer Blinder Belle. (Associated Press)
Proposals Could Expand Memorial Site - Aug 11, 2002
Officials are discussing options that would reduce by nearly one-third the amount of office space that would have to be built at ground zero. Among the possibilities being considered is the purchase of the severely damaged Deutsche Bank building by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. (New York Times)
Schumer Wants Part of 9/11 Aid for Police and Firefighter Raises - Aug 11, 2002
Senator Charles E. Schumer yesterday called on President Bush to allow New York to use about $500 million in federal disaster aid to give police officers and firefighters raises comparable to the 22 percent received by city teachers. The money would come from the $21.4 billion promised for recovery from the Sept. 11 attack. (New York Times)
9/11 Rent Subsidy Program May Not Be Tax Free - Aug 11, 2002
Homemakers lured to lower Manhattan by promises of up to $14,500 in post-9/11 federal grants may find a tax bill on the subsidy. The $300 million rent-abatement program has been touted in recent months as the main reason for a 91 percent occupancy rate across downtown neighborhoods affected by the events of Sept. 11. But the Internal Revenue Service is yet to declare the grants non-taxable. (New York Post)
Some Lower Manhattan Residents Make Plans to be Elsewhere - Aug 11, 2002
While the city busies itself with ceremony schedules, some Lower Manhattan residents are making plans to be elsewhere on Sept. 11. (New York Times)
No Sept 11 Funds For Path Exits in Village - Aug 11, 2002
The Port Authority won't get federal Sept. 11 relief money to build two new PATH train exits in the West Village. The authority has given up its behind-the-scenes efforts to get $29.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the Christopher Street exits - a plan that outraged the neighborhood. (New York Post)
Stone Statues Honoring 9/11 On Shoreline - Aug 10, 2002
Three months after the Sept. 11 attacks, New Jersey artist Stephen Shaheen set out to build a stone monument dedicated to the victims of the attacks, dubbing it The Memorial Project. Last week, he finished the two main sculptures, 13-foot-high statues. (Associated Press)
Role in Oscars Is Sought for New York - Aug 9, 2002
A group of New York entertainment executives, celebrities and government officials has begun working to persuade the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to move a significant part of the Academy Awards ceremony to New York next year to help the city in its effort to recover from the attacks of Sept. 11. (New York Times)
City Won't Let Airports Go - Aug 9, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday that the city should not relinquish total control of Kennedy and LaGuardia airports as part of a proposed land swap for the World Trade Center site. He stressed the importance of the airports to the city's long-term financial health as his administration officially entered into talks about trading city land beneath JFK and LaGuardia to the Port Authority for Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)
A Hard Year for 9/11 Victims' Children - Aug 9, 2002
With the coming anniversary of the day the world fell down, some in the adult world will try to have Sept. 11, 2002, signify the date on which life moves on. But for the children who lost a parent, sometimes two parents, or for those who never found the parent's body, some fear that the confusion has left some unmedicated sores that will fester. In the long term, child psychologists foresee anxieties, irrational fear of death, aggression, attachment disorders. (New York Times)
Settlement Offers Fail to End Trade Center Insurance Battle - Aug 9, 2002
Larry Silverstein, the developer, and Swiss Re, a major insurer of the World Trade Center, submitted settlement offers to a federal judge yesterday and then resumed their battle over insurance coverage of the trade center. According to people on both sides of the dispute, the offer from Swiss Re was $1.8 billion, after depreciation and other deductions. That was nearly $4 billion less than the $5.7 billion offer from Mr. Silverstein. The two sides are so far apart that neither one expected the court-ordered settlement effort to be successful. So they are girding for a jury trial, which is scheduled for November and will determine how much money Mr. Silverstein will get for the trade center. (New York Times)
Victims' Families Avoid Aid Fund - Aug 9, 2002
The vast majority of families of 9/11 victims are still too traumatized or suspicious of the government to apply for compensation for their suffering, even though million-dollar-plus packages are already in the mail. Only about 650 out of about 3,300 victims eligible, or about 20 percent, have applied for compensation. (New York Post)
Officials to Tour Federal Plaza for Street-Level Look at Security - Aug 8, 2002
The debate over bolstering security around Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan moves from the conference room to the streets this morning, as city and federal agencies tour the blocks around Duane and Reade Streets, seeking to balance safety and accessibility. While the federal General Services Administration, which oversees the buildings, favors tight security, the city has objected to blocking the downtown streets, fearing that would slow reaction to emergencies and increase traffic congestion. (New York Times)
Family of 9/11 Victim Accepts $1.04 Million in U.S. Compensation - Aug 8, 2002
The family of a financial services employee from New York City who died on Sept. 11 has become the first to acknowledge accepting an award from the federal Victim Compensation Fund. (New York Times)
State 9/11 Bonds Fund Luxury Apartments Near Ground Zero - Aug 8, 2002
In a meeting called on just 24-hour public notice, the board of the state Housing Finance Agency yesterday formally approved $300 million in tax-exempt Liberty Bonds for the construction of three luxury apartment buildings in lower Manhattan. (Newsday)
WTC/Airport Landswap Creates Economic Development Conflict - Aug 8, 2002
The deal to swap Ground Zero land for the two airports—proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s city development czar, Daniel Doctoroff—is being greeted with cautious optimism from Albany to the New York Times editorial desk. But behind the scenes, the swap proposal has raised the stakes in a rapidly escalating battle between Mr. Doctoroff and Port Authority Vice Chairman Charles Gargano over who will control development at Ground Zero and beyond. (New York Observer)
Doubts Arise in Trade Center Land Swap - Aug 8, 2002
Despite public expressions of enthusiasm about the plan to trade World Trade Center land for city-owned land beneath two airports by various officials since it first came to light, a small number of officials and urban planners are beginning to question the economic wisdom of trading 5,610 acres beneath the airports in Queens for the 16-acre trade center site in Lower Manhattan. (New York Times)
City Wants Large Compensation in Land Swap - Aug 8, 2002
City Hall is looking for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in a one-shot payment from the Port Authority as part of any land swap for the Trade Center site. Facing a $3.7 billion budget deficit in the next fiscal year, the Bloomberg administration may ask the Port Authority for retroactive rent payments from the authority's leases for managing Kennedy and La Guardia airports, sources said. (New York Post)
Civic Coalition Calls for New WTC plans - Aug 8, 2002
The Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York, the coalition of civic groups that held a citywide forum at which WTC rebuilding proposals were widely criticized called yesterday for the designs to be scrapped and for planners to start from scratch. (New York Daily News)
Cop Can Sue City on Ground Zero Injuries - Aug 8, 2002
A Manhattan judge refused yesterday to let the city block a notice of claim by a police officer injured at Ground Zero - a decision that could affect hundreds of other ailing cops and firefighters. (New York Daily News)
Remembering Sept. 11 in a Personal Way, or Maybe Ignoring It - Aug 8, 2002
The Times asked 20 New Yorkers how they plan to observe the anniversary of Sept. 11, and got at least 10 different answers. While some plan to stay at home and remember Sept. 11 with their familes, others said they had had more than enough remembrance of Sept. 11 already. (New York Times)
NYPD Plans WTC Service - Aug 8, 2002
The Police Department will hold a separate memorial for its officers killed on Sept. 11th. (Newsday)
Memorial Run Set for Sept. 14 - Aug 8, 2002
The victims of the Sept. 11 attacks will be remembered next month with a four-mile memorial run along Manhattan's West Side, from which the twin towers were once visible. (Newsday)
Sept. 11 to Be Marked With Music and Tributes - Aug 7, 2002
New York City will be transformed into a state of perpetual commemoration on Sept. 11, with readings, concerts and odes to the dead, tributes that in many cases grew out of ideas from people around the world. The business of the city of New York will not cease, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday, in detailing the city's plans to mark the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Rather, it will yield to various events in all five boroughs, beginning with a march into ground zero led by bagpipers and including a visit from President Bush and a reading of the names of every person who died in the World Trade Center attack. (New York Times)
Schedule for the Ceremony - Aug 7, 2002
A full schedule for the Sept. 11 commemoration, beginning with five bagpipe processions in each of the five boroughs. (Newsday)
Some Prefer to Mourn Privately - Aug 7, 2002
With the city's plans for the anniversary tribute finalized, hundreds of Sept. 11 victims' relatives are facing a new decision: whether to take part in the ceremony at the World Trade Center site or grieve in private. (New York Post)
New York City Facing Exodus of Firefighters - Aug 7, 2002
Scores of New York City's Fire Department supervisors, including some of its most senior surviving commanders, have retired since Sept. 11, and hundreds more have notified their union that they expect to leave in the next year. At the same time, the department's front-line firefighters are retiring at more than double the usual rate, according to fire officials. The expected retirements, when combined with those commanders killed at the World Trade Center 11 months ago, mean that the department will soon have lost roughly one-quarter of its entire supervisory staff. (New York Times)
U.S. to Test for Contaminants in 250 Downtown Apartments - Aug 7, 2002
The federal Environmental Protection Agency announced plans yesterday to test for dioxins and toxic metals in a sampling of Lower Manhattan apartments whose interiors were coated with ash and dust from the World Trade Center's collapse. The agency said the testing, along with the asbestos cleanup and testing program announced in May, will be the largest cleanup in its history. (New York Times)
Settlement Offers Are Due on Trade Center Losses - Aug 7, 2002
In the most significant moment yet in the insurance battle over the World Trade Center, lawyers for Larry A. Silverstein, the developer, and Swiss Re, the lead insurer, are to make settlement offers to a federal judge in Manhattan tomorrow. If they agree on an amount, it will determine how much money Mr. Silverstein will have to rebuild the trade center and, more broadly, how much influence he will have over the future of the site and the character of much of Lower Manhattan. (New York Times)
Artists Meet Frustration at Ground Zero - Aug 7, 2002
New Yorkers have needed a memorial since day one. Indeed, by September 12, they were everywhere—those spontaneous heartfelt shrines. Artist Mary Miss and two collaborators found inspiration in those clusters of candles and flowers. They conceived of "Moving Perimeter" last October as a temporary piece, meant to address that need for ritual and a gathering place. Despite a base of support and a great deal of attention from the media, the temporary memorial did not happen. (Village Voice)
Land Swap Proposal Offers Much To Consider - Aug 6, 2002
On one level, the city looks like a winner in the Bloomberg administration's proposal to swap the city-owned land under two big airports for the World Trade Center site. By taking over the trade center site, the city would gain access to the $120 million in annual rents paid by Silverstein Properties at the center. But the warm reception given the idea by the Port Authority and, yesterday, by the governor of New Jersey, makes it appear that the benefit would at least be mutual, with the authority able to own land that pulls in hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue. In the end, the land swap might cost the city a bundle, depending mostly on what the city plans to do with the site - retain the commercial space of Silverstein that brings in revenue, or building something with less office space but more popular among the public. (New York Times)
Design Ideas Pour Into Office Of Rebuilding Agency - Aug 6, 2002
More than 2,000 unsolicited proposals for a Ground Zero memorial have been sent to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation since it was established at the end of last year. The corporation, which is charged with overseeing the permanent Sept. 11 memorial, is in the midst of setting up a process for designing the tribute, most likely through an international design competition. The new executive in charge of the project, Anita Contini, started her job only yesterday and has been getting familiar with the issues. Many of the submitted designs will likely be entered into the international competition, LMDC officials said. (New York Post)
Broadway Shows To Be Closed September 11 - Aug 6, 2002
Many Broadway theaters will go dark on Wednesday, Sept. 11, the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Traditionally, theaters offer matinee and evening performances on Wednesdays. The following shows have announced there will be no performances that day: "Aida," "Beauty and the Beast," "Chicago," "42nd Street," "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune," "The Graduate," "Into the Woods," "Les Miserables," "The Lion King," "Mamma Mia!," "Noises Off," "Oklahoma!," "Rent" and "Urinetown." (Newsday)
Names of 9/11 Victims To Be Read On Anniversary - Aug 6, 2002
The names of every person killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center will be read at the first anniversary ceremony of the tragedy, relatives of the victims were told last night. While plans for the commemoration are not complete, the family members also were told that bells around the city would be rung at the exact time the Twin Towers were struck - 8:46 a.m. and 9:03 a.m. - and at the times they collapsed - 9:50 a.m. and 10:29 a.m. Definitive plans for the ceremony are to be announced today by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. George Pataki, who plan to participate. (Newsday)
Fight Over World Trade Center Insurance Continues - Aug 6, 2002
The two sides in the World Trade Center insurance battle appear to remain far apart as efforts continue to resolve the dispute out of court. Larry Silverstein, who owns the 99-year lease on the demolished Twin Towers, has submitted expert reports, which he contends back his claim that he's entitled to $7.1 billion in insurance proceeds. Silverstein claims that the terrorist attacks represented two separate incidents, and, as such, entitle him to two separate payments of $3.55 billion for a total of $7.1 billion. Insurers insist the incidents were a single event coordinated by terrorists, thereby limiting the maximum payout to $3.55 billion. The bottom line, says one of the insurers, is that they only insured the towers for $3.5 billion - and that includes both the cash value of the destroyed towers and business interruption payments. (Newsday)
Leaseholder Would Consider Proposal to Let City Own Trade Center Site - Aug 5, 2002
Larry A. Silverstein, the developer who holds the World Trade Center lease, has an open mind about the city's tentative plan to take over ownership of the site, his spokesman said on Sunday. The spokesman, Howard J. Rubenstein, said that Mr. Silverstein had not yet received any details about the city's tentative proposal, but added that "he's certainly open to a discussion." (New York Times)
Swap Plan Emerges As Rebuilding Process is in Flux - Aug 5, 2002
City Hall's decision to dangle a potential land swap for Ground Zero in front of the Port Authority raises questions about what would happen to the rebuilding process while a deal is discussed. The Bloomberg administration's idea of trading the city's airports for the entire World Trade Center site surfaced as the rebuilding process is in flux. (New York Post)
Bloomberg Likes Idea Of WTC Land Swap - Aug 5, 2002
Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday said a land-swap deal with the Port Authority, which would give the city control of the World Trade Center site and the Port Authority the land at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, is an innovative idea in its early stages that makes sense. (Newsday)
9/11 Survivors Take on Mission of Remembrance - Aug 5, 2002
A new breed of activists have transformed the pain of losing a loved one on Sept. 11 into a shared quest to accomplish something lasting. They are homemakers, electricians, insurance executives, retirees and teachers who have joined forces to change laws guiding building construction and put their stamp on redevelopment plans for downtown. (New York Daily News)
Schumer Bill Would Allow 9/11 Victims' Fund Lawyers To Collect Fees Up To 12 - Aug 5, 2002
Senator Schumer is drafting legislation that would let attorneys collect between 8 and 12% of a family’s payout from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, a victims’ advocate said. The Schumer plan is a compromise between Senator Nickles, who did not want lawyers to take any money from the fund, and the trial lawyers themselves, who want no limit on their contingency fees. (New York Sun)
Skyscrapers of New York: A Special Report - Aug 5, 2002
When they toppled the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, terrorists also threatened to rob New York of its century-long passion for tall buildings. Would anyone want to live or work in a skyscraper again? New York still may be in a state of semi-shock following the September attack, and there is no way of knowing what would happen to the high-rise market if another tall building took a hit. But as early worries ease, the future of the skyscraper seems assured. (Newsday)
Advance Broadway Sales Have Plummeted - Aug 5, 2002
Since Sept. 11, Broadway producers say, advance sales for some of the top shows have plummeted, and the downturn could have a serious effect on the city's live theater.A recent survey by the League of American Theaters and Producers found that 37 percent of theatergoers were buying tickets at least a month in advance, down from 50 percent. (New York Post)
Port Authority Says It Would Consider Land Swap - Aug 4, 2002
A proposal that would give New York City and New York State control of the rebuilding process in Lower Manhattan deserves serious consideration, officials of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said yesterday. Under the proposal, put forward by city officials, the Port Authority would give the city ownership of the 16-acre World Trade Center site in exchange for the land beneath La Guardia and Kennedy Airports. (New York Times)
City's Swap Shaky - Aug 4, 2002
As quickly as it was floated, a trial-balloon notion of the city surrendering its Queens airports for control of the World Trade Center site may be getting shot down, insiders said yesterday. Under a plan initiated within the Bloomberg administration by Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, the city would let the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey own the land under LaGuardia and Kennedy airports in exchange for the control of the lower Manhattan site. (Newsday)
Cases Seen as Guide to 9/11 Fund Payouts - Aug 4, 2002
Kenneth Feinberg, the special master of the federal victims' compensation fund, will soon release his first round of payment calculations for the families of those killed and injured on Sept. 11. Lawyers advising victims and their families on whether to apply for the fund are watching the decisions closely. (Newsday)
Rebuild Plans Could Dislocate Residents - Aug 4, 2002
Residents of the area near Ground Zero are worried to see, in place of their homes, plans for a museum or other projects in the six proposals for rebuilding the 16-acre World Trade Center site. A spokesperson for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. denies that the agency favors dislocating people in the neighborhood of Ground Zero, but would not discuss specifics of the redevelopment plans. (New York Post)
City Proposes Swapping Land to Control Trade Center Site - Aug 3, 2002
New York City officials have proposed a swap in which the city would take over the World Trade Center site in exchange for giving the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey the land beneath La Guardia and Kennedy Airports, an official involved in the rebuilding effort said yesterday. (New York Times)
Silverstein Raises Estimate on Trade Center Losses to $8.2 Billion - Aug 3, 2002
Silverstein Properties, the real estate company that controls the lease on the World Trade Center site, said yesterday that its losses related to the Sept. 11 attack on the trade center totaled $8.2 billion. (New York Times)
Bush to Mark Sept. 11 With Visits - Aug 3, 2002
President Bush will mark the Sept. 11 terror attacks anniversary by visiting New York, the Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania where United Flight 93 crashed. (Associated Press)
Bush May Refuse Health Funds for Ground Zero Workers - Aug 3, 2002
President Bush's refusal yesterday to quickly approve $90 million in funding for monitoring the health of Ground Zero workers could lead to another showdown with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. (New York Post)
Airlines Cancel Sept. 11 Flights From Europe - Aug 3, 2002
Several European airlines have canceled flights to the United States on Sept. 11, saying fewer people plan to fly on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. (Associated Press)
Mayor Says He's No Fan of Corporate Tax Breaks - Aug 3, 2002
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday he's not a fan of corporate tax breaks - even though his firm sought a $14 million incentive last year - as he dismissed threats by the New York Stock Exchange to move some of its operations out of town. (New York Post)
Feds Threatening To Sue New York Over Security - Aug 2, 2002
The federal government is threatening to seize streets and sidewalks in Lower Manhattan because, officials say, the city has stalled plans to protect two large federal buildings from terrorists. A federal agency wants to erect retracting barriers at the entrances to Duane Street, Reade Street, and Elk Street, and build low posts on the sidewalk around the buildings to block truck bombs. (New York Sun)
Sept. 11 Provokes Code Overhaul for High-Rises - Aug 2, 2002
New York City officials are creating a sweeping plan to change the codes that govern how all high-rise buildings are protected against fire and structural damage and how they are evacuated in an emergency. The plan is one of the first concrete signs that the fiery collapse of the World Trade Center is going to transform the construction and operation of high-rises around the nation. (New York Times)
Stock Exchange Abandons Plan to Build New Headquarters Across the Street - Aug 2, 2002
The chairman of the New York Stock Exchange said yesterday that the exchange was abandoning plans to build a new headquarters building across the street from its historic site at 11 Wall Street, effectively ending a deal that was aggressively pursued by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. (New York Times)
9/11 Anniversary Fear - Aug 2, 2002
New Yorkers - and the rest of the country - are getting the Sept. 11 jitters. Airline bookings for Sept. 11 are down by as much as a third, and city hotels still can't fill available rooms around the anniversary. (New York Daily News)
Tenants Across from Trade Center Hope to Return - Aug 1, 2002
The dust-choked apartments of three buildings on the south edge of ground zero don't look much like home. But building residents have been fighting contamination and structural damage to return for nearly 10 months. Now the tenants are worried that their homes may be razed as part of the Downtown rebuilding plans. (Downtown Express)
Rebuilding Leaders say Chinatown is Part of Plan - Aug 1, 2002
John Whitehead, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation chairperson, came to Chinatown last week to say that his organization "will not forget Chinatown as our plans for lower Manhattan proceed." (Downtown Express)
Possible Plan for Sept. 11: Tributes in Each Borough - Aug 1, 2002
Simultaneous tributes in parks in each borough will unite New Yorkers on the evening of Sept. 11 as part of the official plans for commemorating the city's darkest day, officials said. Mayoral spokesman Ed Skyler refused to comment on official plans, saying Mayor Bloomberg would announce them publicly soon. (New York Post)
Museums Exhibit Artifacts of WTC - Aug 1, 2002
Physical reminders of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, such as pieces of an airliner fuselage, half a phone handset and computer disks melted into a glob, now have a second life as bits of history. They go on display Thursday at the New York State Museum in Albany, one of the handful of institutions gingerly beginning to exhibit artifacts from ground zero (Associated Press)
Bush "Candid" in Meeting With 9/11 Commission - Apr 30, 2004
President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were questioned in the Oval Office for more than three hours on Thursday by the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks. They said intelligence warnings they received throughout 2001 suggested that Al Qaeda was poised to strike overseas, not on American soil, according to accounts of commission and administration officials. (New York Times)
Jury Deals Blow to Developer in WTC Insurance Trial - Apr 30, 2004
A federal jury in Manhattan handed the developer Larry A. Silverstein a major setback yesterday in his bitter legal battle with two dozen insurers over how much money will be available for rebuilding the sprawling World Trade Center site. The panel ruled that many of the insurers were not liable for the double payments he had sought. (New York Times)
Westchester Picks 9/11 Memorial - Apr 30, 2004
Westchester County unveiled the winning design on Thursday for its own Sept. 11 memorial, a soaring sculpture with 109 intersecting steel rods, each representing a victim who lived in the county. The memorial, named "The Rising," was designed by Frederic Schwartz, an acclaimed Manhattan architect and a founder of the Think team. Think's entry in the master plan competition for ground zero was the runner-up in that contest. The Westchester memorial will be built at Kensico Dam Plaza, a county-owned park in Valhalla. Unveiling is scheduled for Sept. 11, 2005. (New York Times)
Governor Wants Additional Anti-Terror Team For New York - Apr 30, 2004
Gov. George Pataki is pushing federal authorities to launch a second specialized National Guard team in New York to detect weapons of mass destruction, saying the current outfit needs more help. Currently, 31 states have Civil Support Teams to screen for chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. The group in New York has been used at times of heightened security alerts, often in New York City. (Albany Times Union)
Broadway Ticket Sales Back to Pre 9/11 Levels - Apr 29, 2004
Broadway ticket sales have been soaring on the Great White Way. Tourists are back in numbers not seen since before Sept. 11. A more diverse range of productions than at any time in memory is attracting new audiences. An unusually large number of smash-hit musicals is bringing in crowds. (Crains New York )
Midtown Retail Rates Surpass Pre-9/11 Levels - Apr 29, 2004
Midtown retail asking rents have not only returned to pre-Sept. 11 levels but have surpassed them. In the spring of 2004, according to the Real Estate Board of New YorkÕs spring retail report, asking retail rents in midtown averaged $125 per square foot. That tops the $122-per-square-foot average midtown rent in spring 2001; the terrorist attacks helped bring prices as low as $107 in the fall of 2001. Downtown and midtown south have yet to recover, according to REBNY. Downtown retail asking rents are averaging $59 per square foot, compared with $60 in the spring of 2001. Asking rents for midtown south retail space are averaging $75 a square foot, still shy of pre-Sept. 11 levels of $78. (Crains NY )
New Documentary Film Looks at NY Firefighters Post 9/11 - Apr 29, 2004
Thomas Burke has been a firefighter for 25 years. He's just one of the firefighters featured in "Brotherhood," an up-close and very personal look at New York's Bravest as the department rebuilds after 9/11. (NY1)
New Subway Tunnel May Require that Sphere Statue Be Moved - Apr 29, 2004
It appears that a subway tunnel leading to the planned new South Ferry terminal would come close to Fritz Koenig's "Sphere for Plaza Fountain" -- which has been in Battery Park since soon after 9/11 -- suggesting strongly that the sculpture may have to be relocated. (New York Times)
Police Parking Impeding Chinatown's Post 9/11 Recovery - Apr 29, 2004
Even though the attack on the World Trade Center happened two and a half years ago, residents and business owners in Chinatown say their neighborhood, just a short distance from ground zero, has not recovered. Because of the security measures imposed on the nearby police headquarters and other government offices, they say, conditions in their part of Lower Manhattan have actually grown worse. (New York Times)
Bush, Cheney to Meet With 9/11 Commission Today - Apr 29, 2004
President Bush and Vice President Cheney will meet privately for several hours with the Sept. 11 commission on Thursday. Bush faces the same challenge as he does on the campaign trail: convincing Americans that he responded appropriately to an intelligence system that CIA Director George Tenet said was ``blinking red'' with warnings of a terrorist strike. (Associated Press)
The Quiet But Aggressive Staff of the 9/11 Commission - Apr 29, 2004
When Dietrich Snell first felt his office shake on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 Ă‘ the reverberations from the first jetliner crashing into the World Trade Center down the street Ă‘ he ran into the office of his boss, the attorney general of New York, Eliot L. Spitzer. In the spring of 2003, Mr. Snell again walked into Mr. Spitzer's office, this time after he received an offer to be an investigator on the independent commission looking into government actions before the Sept. 11 attacks. "Well, you have no choice," Mr. Spitzer recalled telling Mr. Snell, who was a deputy attorney general. "You can't say no to that request." (New York Times)
$5 Billion in Antiterror Aid Reportedly Stuck in Pipeline - Apr 28, 2004
More than $5 billion in federal money to help communities brace for terrorist attacks has not yet reached the local authorities and remains stuck in the administrative pipeline, Congressional officials said Tuesday. That is more than 80 percent of the money approved by Congress to help cities, counties and states since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and efforts to prepare for possible attacks may be lagging as a result, a new Congressional analysis has found. (New York Times)
How Will the 9/11 Insurance Case Affect Commercial Real Estate? - Apr 28, 2004
So, One or Two: besides the not insubstantial sum of $3.6 billion, what difference will it make? A fascinating one. Commercial landlords across the city have to be feeling torn. Of course, they want to see their colleague Larry Silverstein emerge triumphant, a patrician warrior hero with an unfathomable bundle of cash in hand. But if he does, then they smell trouble. (Slatin Report)
Bush-Cheney Interview With 9/11 Commission Thursday Won't Be Recorded - Apr 28, 2004
The White House said on Tuesday that there would be no recording or formal transcription of the historic joint interview of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney by the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The interview, to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday at the White House, will be recorded by two note takers, one from the White House. Under a pact with the White House that allowed all its 10 members in the interview, the commission is permitted to take a note taker, but not a recording device. The panel said it did not press for a formal transcription of the session, letting the White House decide. (New York Times)
Homeland Security Funds Going To Communities That Don't Need It, Finds Congressional Study - Apr 28, 2004
Millions of dollars in federal homeland security aid has gone to communities that don't need it, and billions more remain unspent, according to a congressional study released Tuesday. The report affirms complaints of New York officials who say they've been shortchanged in homeland security grants and will fuel their push to require that the federal government give a greater share of funds to high-risk areas. (Newsday)
Feeling Shortchanged on Security Funds, Police, Firefighters Plan Convention Protest - Apr 28, 2004
Feeling shortchanged by Washington, some city firefighters and police are vowing to protest against President Bush and the Republicans at their convention in New York this summer. Unions representing cops and firefighters have requested permits to protest at the Republican National Convention in August at Madison Square Garden. (New York Daily News)
New York Emergency Responders Not Prepared for Chemical Attack - Apr 28, 2004
More than two years after 9/11 and nine years after a Japanese cult released a toxic gas on the Tokyo subway system, the majority of New York City's emergency medical technicians are not properly trained to enter a contaminated zone and treat victims, officials said Tuesday. Of 3,000 paramedics and emergency medical technicians in the city, only 133 have the necessary training. (New York Times)
St. Paul's Embraces Role As 9/11 Icon - Apr 28, 2004
St. Paul's Chapel, where Americans worshiped even before they were American, has long been known as the oldest public building in Manhattan. Old, it certainly was. But the Episcopal chapel did not really become public until Sept. 11, 2002, when the doors opened to "Out of the Dust," a temporary display about its ground zero ministry. Now this public role has been institutionalized (New York Times)
Juror Asks to Leave 9/11 Insurance Trial - Apr 28, 2004
A juror's unofficial request to be excused from the trial over insurance coverage at the World Trade Center sent a tremor through the courtroom yesterday during the sixth day of jury deliberations in the multibillion-dollar case. (New York Times)
British Minister of Parliament Back NY 9/11 Memorial for British Victims - Apr 27, 2004
British Minister of Parliament Gisela Stuart is supporting a campaign to construct a permanent memorial to the 67 British citizens who died in terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. (Evening Mail)
Many in Dance World Want Smaller Theater At Ground Zero - Apr 27, 2004
Many in the New York dance world are rallying behind the Joyce Theater's proposal to build a 900-seat home for dance as a cultural anchor for the World Trade Center site, favoring it over the New York City Opera's proposal to build a 2,200-seat opera house that would be used in part for dance in the off-season. (New York Times)
Agent Who Rebuilt ATF Headquarters After 9/11 Takes High Post - Apr 27, 2004
The man who led the rebuilding of the department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearm's New York operations after its World Trade Center office was pulverized in the terror attacks was appointed yesterday to the agency's No. 2 spot. (New York Daily News)
After Nine Month Delay, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Begins To Spend Security Funds - Apr 27, 2004
The MTA began spending $591 million in security funds Monday, nine months after the money was first approved. A committee that oversees major projects approved the hiring of four firms to bolster the system's terrorism preparedness through several projects. Officials declined to say what exactly the firms will do, citing security concerns. (Newsday)
First Class Graduates From Fire Department's Anti-Terror School - Apr 27, 2004
A group of elite firefighters graduated yesterday from the FDNY's first-ever anti-terror school. In a City Hall ceremony, Mayor Bloomberg praised the graduates - top fire chiefs, captains, marshals and medics - who spent 14 weeks delving into the minds and means of the world's vilest terrorists. (New York Daily News)
Terrorism Concerns Inspire More Training for Transit Workers - Apr 27, 2004
Although the need to evacuate subway trains because of fires or other problems has always been a part of travel underground, emergency training for transit workers has taken on newfound importance in a jittery world of orange alerts and terrorist threats. Partly because of terrorism concerns, transit officials are planning to offer the daylong fire safety and evacuation training sessions to more workers and make those who have already gone through it do so more often. (New York Times)
Community Board One Battles Over Rebuilding Funds - Apr 26, 2004
In the face of a report that most of the remaining $1 billion in post-9/11 aid has already been slated to build a commuter-airport rail link to Downtown, Community Board 1 recommended spending much of the money on affordable housing, park space, community centers and a school. (Downtown Express)
Memorial Designer Joins NY Architecture Firm - Apr 25, 2004
Girding for the commission of a lifetime - translating an evocative idea into the reality of a permanent World Trade Center site memorial - New York's best-known unknown architect, Michael Arad, has joined a 50-person firm in Manhattan. On Monday, Mr. Arad was named a partner in Handel Architects, a 10-year-old firm that reshaped the Lincoln Center area in the 1990's with mixed-use projects for Millennium Partners. (New York Times)
9/11 Commission to Criticize Domestic Air Defense System - Apr 25, 2004
The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is expected to offer sharp criticism of the Pentagon's domestic air-defense command in its final report, according to commission officials who said they believed that quicker military action might have prevented a hijacked passenger plane from crashing into the Pentagon itself. (New York Times)
City Comptroller Aims to Stop Companies From Dealing With Terror Sponsors - Apr 24, 2004
The city comptroller wants to change a loophole which lets the foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies deal with countries that sponsor terrorism. William Thompson says the firms are dealing in blood money and he vows to change the law. He's fighting several companies over their dealings with Iran and Syria. New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg says he will introduce a bill preventing this exception. They singled out Halliburton Company, ConocoPhillips, and General Electric for exposing a loophole in the law. (NY1)
Federal Reports Reveal Weakness of Airport Security - Apr 23, 2004
Passenger screening at the nation's airports is like Swiss cheese - full of gaping holes that are endangering travelers' lives, according to two top-secret federal reports. The alarming findings revealed yesterday outraged congressmen and immediately prompted calls for an emergency meeting to boost efforts to make the skies safe. (New York Post)
Fire Department Lagging on Communication, Terror Training - Apr 23, 2004
New York City Fire Department, while retaining a strong esprit de corps after the Sept. 11 attack, is nonetheless hurt by an inability to communicate during fires and other emergencies, a new workplace study reports. Moreover, half of the firefighters and their supervisors who participated in the study said they had not received enough training to handle "terror-related incidents." (New York Times)
New York Keeping Ground Zero Out of Olympic Bid - Apr 22, 2004
Ground Zero is so close to New York's Olympic bid-city headquarters, it's impossible not to think the two are intertwined. But bid officials, right from the days following Sept.11, said they would not use the terrorist attacks for sympathy in trying to win the 2012 Summer Olympics. (The Gazette )
Does the Port Authority Really Own Ground Zero? - Apr 22, 2004
What is said about the World Trade Center site can sometimes be at odds - if ever so slightly - with fine-grained reality. Case in point: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns the 16-acre trade center site. That statement of fact is repeated reflexively in accounts of the ground zero rebuilding. But it turns out that it may not be quite true. (New York Times)
Firefighters' Post 9/11 Stress Not Unusual, Says New Study - Apr 21, 2004
City firefighters reported increased stress and emotional problems after 9/11, but that should be expected in such a high-risk job, according to a study by Cornell University. The report also said that firefighters are no different than the general population when it comes to possible alcohol abuse, despite several highly publicized events involving firefighters and drinking in recent months. (Newsday)
City Claims it Hasn't Received $2.6 Billion in Promised 9/11 Aid - Apr 21, 2004
New York City estimates it has not received some $2.6 billion in promised Sept. 11 aid, and is quietly seeking to swap that shortfall for hard cash as part of a key Senate vote expected as early as next week. (Associated Press)
City Seeks Formal Governing Role in Ground Zero Development - Apr 21, 2004
The Bloomberg administration called yesterday for a formal agreement with the Port Authority and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to govern the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site, much as a 1967 compact did. Then, the biggest issues were television reception and how much money the city would receive in lieu of real estate taxes. Now, the goal is to ensure that rebuilding "is not delayed or hindered by lack of coordination or misunderstandings," Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff said in a letter to state officials. (New York Times)
Train Crash Tests First Responders - Apr 20, 2004
Since the 9/11 terror attacks, cops and firefighters have been drilling regularly to coordinate their response to major emergencies. Penn Station has been of major concern, especially with the Republican National Convention coming this summer. A train crash yesterday tested their reactions. (New York Daily News)
Name Added to 9/11 Death List - Apr 20, 2004
The following name has been added to the list of those lost in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks: Thomas J. McCann, 45. (New York Post)
Firefighters Still Suffer Stress From Working At Ground Zero - Apr 20, 2004
Firefighters who worked at Ground Zero are experiencing high rates of depression, anxiety and stress, a new study shows. The survey of 2,000 firefighters found that 62% of those who worked at the World Trade Center site in the month after 9/11 still suffer from depression, said Samuel Bacharach, director of Cornell University's Smithers Institute, which conducted the study. (New York Daily News)
9/11 Suits Reveal Law Allowing Absentee Parents to Profit From Their Children's Deaths - Apr 20, 2004
The legal aftermath of the World Trade Center attack has revealed what some lawyers say is a flaw in New York State law: a parent who abandons a child may still be entitled to death benefits if that child is later killed on the job. The benefits come from the state workers' compensation fund, which awards $50,000 to the parents of people who die while working and do not leave spouses or children. And in two recent decisions, reported this month in The New York Law Journal, a state appellate court in Albany has ruled that the Workers' Compensation Board was right to split the money between a mother who raised a son alone and the biological father. (New York Times)
Amidst the Battles, Quality World Trade Center Plan Emerges - Apr 19, 2004
In the city that supposedly never sleeps, the redesign of the World Trade Center site has been the story that truly never stops. Lawsuits. Turf battles. Heavy political pressures. Intense emotional appeals. High-voltage international design contests. Daily press coverage of every big and little fight. It has been an exciting, confounding, downright messy process with surprises at every turn in the twisting road. And yet, so far, the biggest surprise of all is the high quality of the results. (Washington Post)
Suit Attempts to Stop Use of Liberty Bonds For Queens Power Plant - Apr 19, 2004
Five New York lawmakers plan to file suit today to keep a proposed power plant in Queens from getting $400 million in state Liberty Bonds, The Post has learned. The company that wants to build the plant, SCS Energy, has received preliminary approval for the bonds from the New York Liberty Development Corp., a quasi-governmental entity set up by the state. The legislators say the tax-free funds should not go to a project that has nothing to do with rebuilding lower Manhattan. (New York Post)
Police Department Racks Up Big Bill in Anti-Terror Efforts - Apr 19, 2004
The U.S. occupation of Iraq has cost the New York City Police Department more than $200 million as it has beefed up efforts to protect the city. That stark figure underscores how financial support for the domestic fight against terrorism remains a critical issue, with still no sizable amount of money from the federal government, Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. (New York Daily News)
Jury To Begin Deliberations On World Trade Center Insurance Suit - Apr 19, 2004
It will probably take more than 90 minutes for the judge to deliver a complex set of jury instructions this morning in the bitter multibillion-dollar court battle between developer Larry A. Silverstein and insurers over what coverage was in effect at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. But after hearing 10 weeks of testimony, the jury will begin to deliberate over matters that will ultimately dictate how much insurance money will be available to rebuild the sprawling trade center complex. (New York Times)
For Disabled, Safer Way To Cross West Street Near Ground Zero Planned - Apr 18, 2004
By late June or early July, nearly three years after the Twin Towers were destroyed, officials hope to restore the first safe and reliable way near the World Trade Center site for wheelchair-bound people to enter Battery Park City. State Transportation Dept. officials told Community Board 1Õs Battery Park City committee Tuesday that elevators on the east and west sides of the Vesey St. pedestrian bridge will be running by the early summer and should not have the same mechanical problems that have plagued the neighborhoodÕs other pedestrian bridge elevators in the winter. The escalator on the west side of the bridge is expected to open Friday, April 16, and the escalators on the east by mid-to-late June. (Downtown Express)
Environmental Protection Agency Watchdog Panel Looks to Expand Health Testing Downtown - Apr 18, 2004
Experts charged with reviewing the Environmental Protection AgencyÕs response to the World Trade Center collapse have recommended broader testing to determine what, if any, contamination remains from the disaster. (Downtown Express)
Downtown Has One Billion Dollars in Federal Funds Left - Apr 18, 2004
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board voted on Tuesday to earmark $176 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds Ă‘ most of which will go to buy and demolish the Deutsche Bank building. If the money is allocated, it will leave about $1 billion to pay for a competing set of priorities for Lower Manhattan including affordable housing, park space, part of a rail link to J.F.K. Airport and the Long Island Rail Road, a new school, a recreation center and cultural facilities. (Downtown Express)
New York Police Department's Ongoing Fight Against Terrorism - Apr 18, 2004
Hours after terrorist bombs killed 191 people on trains in Madrid, New York City Detective First Grade Mordecai Dzikansky, a bombing expert assigned to Tel Aviv, flew in to the Spanish capital. Within 17 hours, three more city cops joined Dzikansky, and the NYPD's Team Spain quickly connected with Spanish investigators. Less than two hours after the March 11 attacks, cops had poured into the New York subways to step up intensified patrols. Within days, the NYPD made a half-dozen tactical adjustments to how it safeguards the city's transit system, based on what the intelligence cops learned in Madrid. This is how it works in the new, post-9/11 NYPD, as Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly takes the fight against terrorism around the world. (New York Daily News)
Park Used Since 9/11 by Police Returned to Chinatown - Apr 17, 2004
The small stretch of asphalt is surrounded by 1 Police Plaza, Murry Bergtraum High School, a strip mall and the Gov. Alfred E. Smith Houses. Central Park it is not. But even a little bit of open space is better than none, so it was with some fanfare yesterday that residents and community leaders in Chinatown celebrated their reclamation of the park, James Madison Plaza, which the Police Department had been using as a parking lot since 2001. (New York Times)
Schumer Opposes Burying West Street - Apr 17, 2004
The loudest shot to date against the idea of building a short tunnel through Lower Manhattan was fired yesterday by Senator Charles E. Schumer, who said that he opposed the plan if it would divert money from other transportation projects. Mr. Schumer took issue with a plan to turn several blocks of West Street-Route 9A into a covered roadway between the World Trade Center site and Battery Park City. That plan is backed by Gov. George E. Pataki, but nearby residents have opposed it because of the potential disruptions. It is undergoing environmental review, with two others. (New York Times)
9/11 Commissions Find That Warnings of Attack Were Urgent and Persistent - Apr 17, 2004
The attacks of Sept. 11 seemed to come in a stunning burst from nowhere. But now, after three weeks of extraordinary public hearings and a dozen detailed reports, the lengthy documentary record makes clear that predictions of an attack by Al Qaeda had been communicated directly to the highest levels of the government. (New York Times)
Emergency Truck Is One Officer's 9/11 Legacy - Apr 16, 2004
George Howard's legacy weighs in at 12-1/2 tons - and saves lives. Howard, one of 37 Port Authority cops killed in the World Trade Center attacks, created the special rescue unit that handles emergencies at Kennedy Airport. Now his team is ready for plane crashes, hijackings and worse, thanks to the million-dollar rescue truck Howard designed before he died. (New York Daily News)
Deutsche Building To Come Down Piece by Piece - Apr 16, 2004
Later this year, if all goes according to plan, the monolithic 40-story office tower immediately south of ground zero - shrouded in black netting and far too like a 536-foot-high tombstone for many New Yorkers' tastes - will be coming down. Piece by piece. (New York Times)
City Agency Eyes Site of a 9/11 Memorial -- Without Considering Negatives - Apr 15, 2004
A city agency is planning to build a science park on the site of a Sept. 11 memorialÑbut it will "not reveal all negatives" of the project, according to an internal document obtained by The Observer. The cityÕs Economic Development Corporation (E.D.C.) is eyeing Memorial Park, which sits under a large white tent on the corner of East 30th Street and the F.D.R. Drive. Most of the tent is occupied by refrigerated trailers that hold unidentified body parts found at the World Trade Center siteÑ11,499 of these painful relics. The indoor park, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg dedicated at the end of 2002, is lined with shrines to the dead. (New York Observer)
Closing Arguments Begin in Silverstein Insurance Trial - Apr 15, 2004
Closing arguments began after a contentious, 10-week trial that World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein hopes is the first round in a bid to collect twice the $3.5 billion insurance policy he took out on the center, one for each tower that fell on Sept. 11, 2001. (Associated Press)
Activist Who Lost Mother on 9/11 Snaps Back into Action - Apr 15, 2004
Theresa M. MocGovern has never shied away from speaking her mind. But the death of her mother in the World Trade Center attack stunned her into silence. This public person became very private. Ms. McGovern is an assistant professor at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, though she is best known as the founder of the H.I.V. Law Project, where for a decade she fought to change policies affecting women and poor people with AIDS. Now, she is snapping back (New York Times)
Development's Effects on Fish and Birds Taken into Account at Ground Zero - Apr 15, 2004
Fish and birds, the smallest stakeholders in the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site, have been accounted for in the final environmental impact statement, which is to be made public today. And they may end up influencing some very large projects. (New York Times)
9/11 Commission Faults CIA in Failure to Act on Terror - Apr 15, 2004
George J. Tenet and his deputies at the Central Intelligence Agency were presented in August 2001 with a briefing paper labeled "Islamic Extremist Learns to Fly" about the arrest days earlier of Zacarias Moussaoui, but did not act on the information, the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks said on Wednesday. (New York Times)
Group of 9/11 Families Thanks Condoleezza Rice for Testimony - Apr 14, 2004
A group of 9/11 families has released an open letter thanking National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice for her testimony to the commission probing the attacks and saying it should end "the incredible notion" that President Bush knew 9/11 was coming and did nothing. (New York Post)
Extra $20 Million Earmarked for Demolition of Deutsche Bank Building - Apr 14, 2004
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. earmarked an extra $20 million in public funds yesterday to tear down the Deutsche Bank building next to Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)
Secret Service Worker Accused of Stealing Cars from Ground Zero - Apr 14, 2004
Hundreds of cars were destroyed when the World Trade Center collapsed. But several United States Secret Service cars listed as "crushed," prosecutors said yesterday, were actually stolen by the head of the agency's motor pool at 7 World Trade Center, a retired police sergeant who received a commendation for rescue work on Sept. 11, 2001. (New York Times)
Giuliani: No One To Blame For Missed Clues - Apr 14, 2004
Laying blame for missed clues that could have signaled the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is ``Monday morning quarterbacking,'' says Rudolph Giuliani, who was New York's mayor at the time. (Associated Press)
Noise and Congestion Downtown Until 2015, Says Revised Environmental Impact Statement - Apr 14, 2004
A decade of development at the World Trade Center site will create noisy, congested streets, cast longer shadows over parks and probably remove some remnants of the original trade center, a new report says. ``Some adverse impacts are inevitable'' in downtown Manhattan until 2015, when the site should be finished, according to the report issued Tuesday by the agency overseeing rebuilding. (Associated Press)
Associate Architect Chosen for Ground Zero Memorial - Apr 14, 2004
A decade after preparing a sweeping plan to revitalize the public spaces at the World Trade Center, the firm of Davis Brody Bond was designated yesterday as associate architect for the memorial that is to be built on the trade center site. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation also approved a $45 million contract with the Gilbane Building Company of Providence, R.I., to dismantle 130 Liberty Street, a 40-story building near ground zero. (New York Times)
9/11 Commission Criticizes FBI for its Handling of Terror Risks - Apr 14, 2004
The F.B.I. came under withering criticism on Tuesday from the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, with its chairman describing new staff reports on the bureau's performance before and after the attacks as an "indictment of the F.B.I." (New York Times)
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Leans Towards JFK Rail Link - Apr 13, 2004
The remaining $1.2 billion in federal aid that the shepherds of Lower Manhattan's rebuilding have sitting in their treasury is, even in New York's exorbitant terms, no small amount of money. While the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the agency that controls the money, has been largely silent about how it should be spent, the agency's position can in some ways be gleaned by public statements from Gov. George Pataki and the corporation's president, Kevin Rampe. (Newsday )
Bloomberg Defends Bush's Pre 9/11 Actions - Apr 13, 2004
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday he stands behind remarks he made two years ago -- that it was "ridiculous" to believe President George W. Bush was warned about the Sept. 11 attacks and failed to act. But the mayor didn't repeat the adjective -- and shifted his focus to include calling the first World Trade Center bombing, during Democrat Bill Clinton's presidency, a missed "wake-up call." (Newsday)
Panel Calls For More Environmental Testing at Ground Zero - Apr 13, 2004
In a major breakthrough for advocates, a panel of experts looking at the 9/11 health fallout agreed yesterday to recommend the federal government do more comprehensive testing around Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)
Bloomberg: Drunken Firefighters Dishonor Memory of 9/11 - Apr 13, 2004
Furious about the weekend arrest of two firefighters on DWI charges, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday demanded that the city's Bravest clean up their act - and not dishonor their heroic brothers who died on 9/11. (New York Post)
New York, Feds End Dispute Over 9/11 Medical Claims - Apr 13, 2004
New York will not be held liable for up to $350 million in medical claims arising from the cleanup of the World Trade Center site, since city and federal officials said yesterday that they had resolved a dispute over the matter. (New York Times)
Draft Report by 9/11 Commission Critical Of Attorney General - Apr 13, 2004
Draft reports by the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks portray Attorney General John Ashcroft as largely uninterested in counterterrorism issues before Sept. 11 despite intelligence warnings that summer that Al Qaeda was planning a large, perhaps catastrophic, terrorist attack, panel officials and others with access to the reports have said. (New York Times)
Bush Defends Response To August Briefing on Al Qaeda Threat - Apr 12, 2004
President Bush said on Sunday that the intelligence briefing he received on Al Qaeda one month before the Sept. 11 strike contained no specific "indication of a terrorist attack" on American soil. He also defended the adequacy of his response to the warnings that terrorists in the United States might be planning hijackings. (New York Times)
Senator Schumer Criticizes Security at Passenger Ship Terminals - Apr 11, 2004
The failure to install high-tech "fingerscanners" at Manhattan's passenger ship terminal leaves a "gaping hole on the Hudson" for terrorists to exploit during the Republican National Convention, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Saturday. (Newsday)
FBI Gives 9/11 Commission Report on Islamic Fundamentalist's Attempt to Co-opt Mafia - Apr 11, 2004
The FBI last week turned over to the panel looking into pre-9/11 intelligence lapses a pile of documents detailing the efforts of terrorist Ramzi Yousef to recruit the American Mafia into a murderous alliance. (New York Post)
9/11 Commission To Question Giuliani in New York - Apr 11, 2004
Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will appear before the 9/11 commission when it comes to New York next month, to answer questions about the level of cooperation between federal and local law enforcement. The commission is scheduled to take testimony from Giuliani and others on May 18 and 19. The first date will be devoted to the city's emergency response and the second to the terror plot. (New York Post)
Investigation of Attack on USS Cole Almost Uncovered 9/11 Plot - Apr 11, 2004
The American investigators probing the October 2000 terrorist attack against the Navy destroyer Cole came tantalizingly close to detecting the Sept. 11 plot, F.B.I. and C.I.A. officials now say. But the government missed the significance of a series of clues because some investigators believed that the evidence fit narrowly into their case against the ship bombers and, others say, they did not have access to all the information. (New York Times)
Text: President's Daily Brief, August 6, 2001 - Apr 11, 2004
Following is the text of the president's daily brief for Aug. 6, 2001, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.," as provided by the White House. Omitted material is indicated by ellipses. (New York Times)
Pre-9/11 Secret Briefing Released; Said That Al-Qaeda Was Active In US - Apr 11, 2004
The classified briefing that President Bush received 36 days before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks reported that the Al Qaeda terrorist network had maintained an active presence in the United States for years, was suspected of recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York and could be preparing for domestic hijackings. But the briefing did not point to any specific time or place of attack and did not warn that planes could be used as missiles. (New York Times)
Bush Was Warned Of Attack In August, 2001 - Apr 10, 2004
President Bush was told more than a month before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that supporters of Osama bin Laden planned an attack within the United States with explosives and wanted to hijack airplanes, a government official said Friday. The warning came in a secret briefing that Mr. Bush received at his ranch in Crawford, Tex., on Aug. 6, 2001. A report by a joint Congressional committee last year alluded to a "closely held intelligence report" that month about the threat of an attack by Al Qaeda, and the official confirmed an account by The Associated Press on Friday saying that the report was in fact part of the president's briefing in Crawford. (New York Times)
Clinton, Gore Meet With 9/11 Commission - Apr 10, 2004
Former Vice President Al Gore met with the Sept. 11 panel privately Friday, a day after President Clinton told commissioners that intelligence wasn't strong enough to justify a retaliation against al-Qaida for the 2000 bombing of a Navy ship. (Associated Press)
Politics of 9/11 Has Republicans Second-Guessing New York Convention - Apr 10, 2004
When the Republican Party chose New York City as the site of its 2004 nominating convention, the symbolism was apparent: the G.O.P. would be rallying around its nominee in the city that had come to embody the nation's resolve in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, a place where President Bush once stood on a pile of debris at ground zero, rallying the nation to unite in the war on terror. Now, as the administration faces increasing scrutiny of its handling of pre-9/11 terror threats and the wisdom of extending the war on terrorism into Iraq, the question has emerged whether New York is the best place for the Republicans to be gathering this summer. (New York Times)
Some 9/11 Families Skip Rice's Testimony - Apr 09, 2004
While some families of Sept. 11 victims eagerly awaited Rice's nationally televised testimony, others chose not to watch. They said they didn't care to hear her speech or had more pressing daily concerns. (Associated Press)
Rice Knew of Al-Qaeda Surveillance of New York - Apr 09, 2004
Condoleezza Rice told the 9/11 Commission Thursday that the Bush Administration was aware of al-Qaida's "surveillance" of buildings including the Federal Courthouse in lower Manhattan and threats that the building could be the target of a possible terrorist attack. (Newsday)
9/11 Families Rip Rice Over Testimony - Apr 09, 2004
Relatives of the Sept. 11 victims ripped into Condoleezza Rice yesterday after she insisted the Bush administration had no clue the U.S. would be attacked. "Shame," Terry McGovern, a New Yorker whose mother was killed, yelled at the national security adviser during Rice's testimony before the 9/11 commission (New York Daily News)
New Yorkers React Favorably to Rice's Testimony - Apr 09, 2004
A politically diverse panel of New Yorkers assembled by The Post generally gave Condoleezza Rice high marks yesterday for showing grace under pressure during her appearance before the 9/11 commission. (New York Post)
Advisory Committee For Cultural Complex Selected - Apr 09, 2004
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation yesterday introduced a 24-member Memorial Center Advisory Committee to assist it in developing a cultural complex at the World Trade Center site. (New York Post)
Impact of Ground Zero Still Powerful - Apr 09, 2004
The topic of Sept.11 was a powerful draw on Tuesday. Local older residents flocked to the Inn at HillenVale to hear Carl Askew, Columbus American Red Cross director of labor relations, speak about his experiences during three months at Ground Zero. Askew used his labor and union background to act as the liaison between the ARC and the AFL-CIO union during the three months immediately following the terrorist attacks in New York. During that time, the current Apple Valley resident became deeply immersed in the disaster relief efforts. (Mount Vernon News)
New York Could Be Liable for up to $350 Million in 9/11 Claims - Apr 09, 2004
New York City may be liable for up to $350 million in medical claims as a result of a tangle with the federal government over who is responsible for the claims of workers who cleaned up the World Trade Center site. The dispute focuses on a federal program that would provide $1 billion in liability coverage to New York City and the four construction companies whose workers toiled at the site. They could not get coverage because commercial insurance companies had refused to issue such policies, contending that the financial risk there was too great. (New York Times)
9/11 Commission Grills Rice on Early Warning Signs - Apr 09, 2004
In her long-awaited sworn testimony before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, Ms. Rice acknowledged that the special intelligence briefing that had been requested by Mr. Bush and presented to him on Aug. 6, 2001, at his Texas ranch had carried an ominous title: "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States." Under often harsh questioning from Democratic members of the panel, Ms. Rice dismissed the importance of the still-classified August 2001 report that had been prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency, describing it as "historical information based on old reporting Ă‘ there was no new threat information." (New York Times)
Transit Workers Will Be Included In Anti-Terror Training - Apr 08, 2004
Transit workers will take part in anti-terror exercises, police said yesterday - a day after the Daily News detailed union gripes about being shut out of the training sessions. (New York Daily News)
Ten Members of the 9/11 Commission - Apr 08, 2004
The 10 members of the Sept. 11 commission, formally known as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States: (Associated Press)
Rice to Testify in Front of 9/11 Commission Today - Apr 08, 2004
US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice is set to give her defence of the White House to the body looking into the 11 September attacks. After weeks of refusal, President Bush has agreed to let one of his closest aides testify publicly about policy in the months before the attacks. (BBC News)
Four '9/11 Moms' Keep Heat on 9/11 Commission - Apr 07, 2004
Mashing spinach in her kitchen in East Brunswick, N.J., for a family Seder on the first night of Passover, Lorie Van Auken can hardly have looked like one of the driving forces behind new developments with the 9/11 commission as she cradled a telephone in the crook of her neck and spoke with this writer, firing off a list of angry questions that she wants to ask Ms. Rice. (New York Observer)
Federal Grant Gives $81 Million for 9/11 Health Monitoring - Apr 07, 2004
Firefighters and volunteer rescue workers who toiled at Ground Zero for months after the Sept. 11 attacks will now be eligible for a long-term health screening program paid for by an $81 million federal grant, officials announced Tuesday. (Newsday)
Transit Workers Say They're Being Left Out of Anti-Terror Training - Apr 07, 2004
Transit workers complain they're being left out of NYPD anti-terror training exercises - potentially putting riders in greater danger if there's an attack. Concerns over the Madrid train bombings and a federal warning that New York buses and subways could be targeted prompted union leaders to demand a role in the training sessions. (New York Daily News)
Top Architecture Firms Eye Collaborating Role on Ground Zero Memorial - Apr 07, 2004
Some of the best-known, largest and most prolific design firms in New York are vying to be named associate architect for the World Trade Center site memorial. Technically, the associate's role would be to help Michael Arad and Peter Walker realize their competition-winning plan, "Reflecting Absence," with two voids where the twin towers stood. But the caliber of the firms being considered by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation suggests that they might also play an influential role in refining the evolving design. (New York Times)
9/11 Charity Will Give Artifacts Back to Fire Department - Apr 06, 2004
A New York charity that draws raves from educators but ran afoul of city fire marshals because of its traveling exhibit of Sept. 11 artifacts has agreed to return some items to the FDNY. (New York Post)
Low Crime Rates in Subway Attributed to Post 9/11 Tactics - Apr 06, 2004
Police are on track to beat last year's historic low tally of subway crimes - and cops are crediting part of the ongoing decline to anti-terror efforts. Crime in all major categories combined is down about 2% from last year, which was the lowest in more than three decades. From January through Sunday night, there were 775 felonies, compared with 789 during the same period last year. (New York Daily News)
Bloomberg: Reopen Statue of Liberty Completely - Apr 06, 2004
A week after Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended a ceremony in which federal officials announced that the Statue of Liberty would remain closed to visitors, he said Monday the statue should be reopened, even if each tourist is escorted by a police officer. (Associated Press)
Senate Committee Seeks Statue of Liberty Foundation's Records - Apr 06, 2004
The Senate committee that oversees charities' compliance with the nation's tax laws requested records yesterday of contracts, staff salaries and other financial information from the nonprofit foundation managing the reopening of the Statue of Liberty. The Finance Committee, prompted by reports that the statue's opening had been stalled because of governmental delays and fund-raising by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, wants the foundation to justify staff salaries that exceed $100,000 and explain any contracts that were awarded without competitive bidding. (New York Times)
9/11 Commission Plans Tough Questions for Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation - Apr 06, 2004
Current and former leaders of the Justice Department and the F.B.I. are expected to come under criticism from the commission investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at public hearings next week, with Attorney General John Ashcroft and Louis J. Freeh, the former F.B.I. director, being called to account for their agencies' failures before the attacks, panel officials say. (New York Times)
Memorial to British 9/11 Victims Planned for Hanover Square - Apr 05, 2004
Sculptor Anish Kapoor is to create a memorial in New York to the British victims of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre. The 19.5ft (6m) sculpture, Unity, will form the centrepiece of a memorial garden in Hanover Square, near the twin towers site. (BBC News)
Architect Who Designed Glass Wall for Times Warner Center Will Work on Fultron Street Transit Center - Apr 05, 2004
James Carpenter, 54, whose work includes the astonishingly transparent cable-net glass wall at the new Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, was awarded a $340,000 contract by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last week to join the architectural and engineering team working on the Fulton Street Transit Center, which is to be completed in 2007. (New York Times )
Representative Calls For Investigation Into Statue of Liberty Foundation - Apr 05, 2004
U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner called Sundayy for a federal investigation into a non-profit organization that raises funds for the Statue of Liberty that he said misled contributors by telling them their donations were needed to re-open the monument. (Newsday)
9/11 Commission: White House Won't Block Final Report On Security Grounds - Apr 05, 2004
Leaders of the commission looking into the Sept. 11 attacks don't expect the Bush administration to order major changes to the commission's final report on national security grounds (Associated Press)
Charity Displaying 9/11 Artifacts Under Investigation - Apr 05, 2004
A New York charity that runs a traveling exhibit of Ground Zero "artifacts" - including part of a plane, pieces of destroyed buildings and earrings, shoes and eyeglasses belonging to victims - is under investigation by city fire marshals, The Post has learned. (New York Post)
US Investigates How Donations to Reopen Statue of Liberty Were Spent - Apr 05, 2004
Federal investigators have begun an inquiry into the National Park Service's dealings with a nonprofit foundation it relied on to handle the reopening of the Statue of Liberty, according to a government official. The inspector general of the Interior Department, which oversees the Park Service, is investigating how the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation spent donations it raised for projects at the monument and whether it followed federal guidelines on competitive bidding for certain contracts, the official said. (New York Times)
US Investigates How Donations to Reopen Statue of Liberty Were Spent - Apr 05, 2004
Federal investigators have begun an inquiry into the National Park Service's dealings with a nonprofit foundation it relied on to handle the reopening of the Statue of Liberty, according to a government official. The inspector general of the Interior Department, which oversees the Park Service, is investigating how the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation spent donations it raised for projects at the monument and whether it followed federal guidelines on competitive bidding for certain contracts, the official said. (New York Times)
9/11 Commission Head: 9/11 Could Have Been Prevented - Apr 04, 2004
The terrorist strikes of Sept. 11, 2001, could have been prevented had the United States government acted sooner to dismantle Al Qaeda and responded more quickly to other terrorist threats, the chairman of the commission investigating the attacks said today, even as the White House sought to dispel the notion that the attacks were avoidable. (New York Times)
9/11 Commission To Decide Whether Bush Inappropriately Held Back Clinton-Era Documents - Apr 03, 2004
The federal panel reviewing the Sept. 11 attacks will determine early next week whether thousands of classified counterterrorism documents from the Clinton administration were unduly held back by President Bush's aides. (Associated press)
Clinton Calls For $570 Million For Tunnel Security - Apr 03, 2004
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that the current wave of terrorism concerns surrounding the nation's railways make it imperative for officials to increase security around New York City's rail tunnels. (Associated Press)
Man Who Left Family Collects On Their 9/11 Cash - Apr 03, 2004
A heartbroken mother whose son was killed in the 9/11 attacks blasted a court ruling that allows her ex-husband - who abandoned the family 30 years ago - to cash in on her son's estate. (New York Daily News)
FBI To Return Paperweight Taken From Ground Zero To Its Owner - Apr 03, 2004
The Justice Department is looking for the rightful owner of a Tiffany globe paperweight taken by an FBI agent from the wreckage of the World Trade Center - the same paperweight that a New Jersey woman whose son died on Sept. 11 claims belonged to her son. (New York Post)
In Storage, 9/11 Artifacts Vulnerable To Elements - Apr 03, 2004
Water, daylight, gravity and salt air have taken their toll as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - improvising a curatorial mission no one could have imagined - has transformed an abandoned Tower Air hangar, five miles from the Atlantic Ocean, into a storehouse, conservation workshop, temporary museum and shrine. (New York Times)
City Agencies Spar Over Roles In Future Disasters - Apr 03, 2004
More than two and a half years after the World Trade Center attacks exposed weaknesses in New York City's emergency response system, the city still lacks what many experts say is the most basic and essential tool for handling disasters: a formal agreement governing which city agency would lead the response at the scene of any catastrophic accident or terrorist strike. (New York Times)
Extra Fund-Raising Put Off Statue Of Liberty Reopening - Apr 03, 2004
Millions of dollars held by the nonprofit Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation have long been available for the monument's emergency needs but went unspent. The National Park Service, which is responsible for the landmark, never asked Congress to provide the $2.3 million that they initially estimated was needed to do the work. (New York Times)
Victims Compensation Fund Has Paid Out $2.6 Billon - Apr 02, 2004
The federal compensation fund for Sept. 11 victims has paid out more than $2.6 billion so far, officials said Thursday. The fund, created to compensate those killed and injured in the attacks while protecting U.S. companies from potentially crippling litigation, is scheduled to finish processing claims June 15. (Associated Press)
10,000 Police Officers Train in Terror Preparedness For Convention - Apr 02, 2004
Police officers from across the city played out terrorist scenarios yesterday, from a gas attack in a hotel room to an explosion in a subway in preparation for the Republican National Convention in August. The two-day drill, called COBRA training, is part of a goal of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to train 10,000 members of the department in terrorist preparedness for the upcoming convention. (Newsday)
Health Concerns Keeps Some Businesses Away From Downtown - Apr 02, 2004
When Gov. George E. Pataki announced plans 21 months ago to move 750 to 1,000 state employees to Lower Manhattan, he said he was doing so to show confidence in its viability as it struggled to rebuild. The only problem is that 425 State Health Department employees do not want to go. They are concerned about health conditions at 90 Church Street, the Art Deco tower at the edge of ground zero where the state is negotiating a lease. (New York Times)
Bush Aide Keep 9/11 Commission From Seeing Clinton-Era Papers - Apr 02, 2004
The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks said on Thursday that it was pressing the White House to explain why the Bush administration had blocked thousands of pages of classified foreign policy and counterterrorism documents from former President Bill Clinton's White House files from being turned over to the panel's investigators. (New York Times)
The 'Jersey Girls' Behind the 9/11 Commission - Apr 01, 2004
Kristen Breitweiser was at home in Middletown, N.J., cleaning out closets. Patty Casazza of Colts Neck was dashing to the dry cleaners. Lorie Van Auken of East Brunswick was headed out to do grocery shopping. Her neighbor Mindy Kleinberg had just packed her children off to school. Then came word, Tuesday morning, that President Bush had agreed to allow his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, to testify publicly about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. All at once, the cellphones started ringing and the e-mail started flying and "the Jersey girls," as the four women are known in Washington, were getting credit for chalking up another victory in the nation's capital. (New York Times)
Federal Panel Split On Clean-Up Of Ground Zero - Apr 01, 2004
A panel of experts began its critical review yesterday of the federal government's cleanup of Lower Manhattan after the collapse of the World Trade Center, and immediately found itself torn between the needs of science and the health concerns of residents. The 17-member panel, meeting publicly for the first time, released the outlines of a plan to retest 250 to 1,000 of the 4,167 apartments that were tested and cleaned by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2002 and 2003. (New York Times)
Stock Exchange Is Now Policing Public Streets Downtown - Apr 01, 2004
At the present time, a private police force controls the public streets in the vicinity of the New York Stock Exchange," Justice Walter B. Tolub of State Supreme Court wrote last month. "The specter of private police forces patrolling public streets is unacceptable," he concluded, "and private entities may not take the law into their own hands, no matter how well intentioned." (New York Times)