Friday, February 7
In the days after rebuilding officials chose Daniel Libeskind and
the THINK team as finalists in the competition to design the World Trade
Center site, many have voiced skepticism that the Lower Manhattan
Development Corporation will really be able to bring a version of either
plan to Ground Zero. The agency will need to negotiate with the Port
Authority, city and state officials, developers and others. However,
development corporation board member Roland Betts has said that he is
"determined to be fatherly" about making sure that one of the designs is
built.
Before officials select one design team at the end of this month, the
two finalists will work to modify their plans based on discussions with
rebuilding officials and other key players, including World Trade Center
lease-holder Larry Silverstein.
Last week, Silverstein wrote a letter to Lower Manhattan Development
Corporation Chairman John Whitehead, saying that he didn't approve of
any of the nine designs, including the two named as finalists.
Silverstein said that any design with less than 10 million square feet
of office space jeopardizes the amount of insurance he can collect. The
developer also wrote that he wants more of a say in designing the World
Trade Center site's future.
On Friday, the White House tentatively agreed to free up about $980
million in federal 9/11 aid to help the city and state close budget
gaps. The Bush administration had been reluctant to loosen the
restrictions on how the disaster aid is spent. However, New York City
and state officials worked to convince federal officials that the
economic downturn is closely related to September 11.
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