Claims Linger for 9/11 Victims - Sep 12, 2004
Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently proclaimed the city "back in business," three years after the devastating World Trade Center attack of Sept. 11, 2001. Still, few New Yorkers would deny the lingering effects of the attacks. (Newsday )

Suspending Campaigns, Kerry, Bush Mark 9/11 Anniversary - Sep 12, 2004
On a day reserved for remembrance, President Bush and Sen. John Kerry stepped off the campaign trail Saturday to mark the three-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with warm words for the victims' families. (Chicago Tribune )

Fundraising For Memorial Has Yet to Begin - Sep 11, 2004
Eight months after the World Trade Center memorial design was unveiled, Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg have yet to find a prominent person willing to lead the foundation that's raising the money to build it. (New York Daily News)

Bush Now Supports Larger Role for New Intelligence Post - Sep 9, 2004
President Bush said on Wednesday that he wanted to give a new national intelligence director "full budgetary authority,'' a sharp shift from an earlier position and an acquiescence to a major recommendation of the Sept. 11 commission. (New York Times )

Bipartisan Bill Would Adopt All Recommendations of 9/11 Commission - Sep 8, 2004
An influential bipartisan group of members of Congress, backed by leaders of the Sept. 11 commission, said on Tuesday that they were offering a bill in the House and Senate to enact virtually all the commission's recommendations, including its call for a national intelligence director to oversee all of the government's spy agencies. (New York Times )

New York Officials Reject New Homeland Security Funding Plan - Sep 8, 2004
A Republican plan to give New York more anti-terror funding in time to mark Saturday's 9/11 anniversary hit a wall yesterday after Mayor Bloomberg and other lawmakers said the proposal is useless. (New York Post )

On Eve of Anniversary, A Look at Rebuilding Progress - Sep 8, 2004
The past year has seen plans move forward in re-developing the World Trade Center site, including the start of work on the Freedom Tower. In the following report, NY1’s Roger Clark takes a look at the progress as we close in on the third anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (NY1)

9/11 Commission Bill Among Priorities of Congress - Sep 7, 2004
House and Senate leaders are planning to advance legislation that carries out recommendations from the Sept. 11 commission report that was issued just before Congress recessed for six weeks. (New York Times )

Giuliani Boldly Uses 9/11 to Defend Bush in Convention Speech - Aug 31, 2004
President Bush must be re-elected because the nation owes it to the victims of 9/11 to continue his unrelenting war on terrorism, Rudy Giuliani declared last night. (New York Post )

Bloomberg, Thanking Bush for Help After 9/11, Gets Mixed Reception at Convention - Aug 31, 2004
Former Democrat Mayor Bloomberg yesterday welcomed Republicans to their convention, removing any doubt about where his political allegiances lie. He threw his support behind President Bush and thanked the GOP for aiding New York in the wake of 9/11. (New York Post )

Delegates Find Emotion and Debate at Ground Zero - Aug 31, 2004
Even more than usual, cultures clashed at ground zero. Ruled off limits to formal political protests or organized patriotic parades, the edges of the scarred 17 acres became a place for people to act out the stresses and strains that are natural when a tidal wave of Republicans washes up on a rocky Democratic shore. (New York Times )

September 11 Fund Prepares to Close - Aug 31, 2004
The September 11th Fund will close in December, having awarded more than $500 million in grants to 100,000 people affected by the 2001 terrorist attacks. (Associated Press)

Religious Group Call for More Aid to 9/11 Victims, Families - Aug 30, 2004
A local religious organization says it wants more help for victims and families of 9/11. (NY1)

9/11 Families Approach Convention From Different Perspectives - Aug 29, 2004
Jimmy Boyle, who lost his firefighter son Michael at the World Trade Center, will be attending the Republican National Convention. David Potorti, whose brother James was also killed on Sept. 11, is in the city for the event as well. But the two men are driven by very different motivations and will play very different parts. (Newsday)

Toys Showing Airplane Flying into Twin Towers are Recalled - Aug 28, 2004
Bags of candy left a sour taste when parents found it included a grotesque toy - an airplane flying into the World Trade Center. (New York Daily News)

Fire Testing is Questioned in Findings on Twin Towers - Aug 26, 2004
For more than two years, federal investigators have been struggling to resolve a critical and contentious question concerning the collapse of the World Trade Center towers: was the spray-on fireproofing initially placed on the twin towers' innovative lightweight floors sufficient to protect them in a major fire? Now, a series of federally sponsored tests that ended here today has produced a provocative but complex finding: the fireproofing, as it was installed during the construction of the trade center in the 1960's, met the standards of the day. (New York Times )

Speaker's Comments Anger New York Democrats - Aug 26, 2004
Some of New York's Congressional Democrats yesterday denounced what they saw as House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert's negative portrayal of their efforts to secure federal aid after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, accusing him of partisan politics less than a week before the Republican National Convention begins here. (New York Times)

Maloney Calls for Reopening Victims Compensation Fund - Aug 26, 2004
A bill on its way to Congress calls for reopening the federal Victim Compensation Fund. (NY1)

Comptroller Warns of Shortfall in Federal 9/11 Aid - Aug 25, 2004
Comptroller William Thompson asserted Tuesday that the city may not receive as much as $5.2 billion in World Trade Center aid. In a report issued days before the start of the Republican National Convention here, Thompson says the funding is in jeopardy because of long-term delays and a "failure to monitor the progress" of parts of the aid package. (Newsday)

House Leader Charges NY Officials With 9/11 Money-Grubbing in New Book - Aug 25, 2004
House Speaker Dennis Hastert is charging in a new book that New York lawmakers' attempts to win financial aid after the 9/11 attacks amounted to an "unseemly scramble" for money. (New York Post )

9/11 Commission Publishes Two Extra Reports - Aug 24, 2004
The 9/11 Commission has released two additional reports, one on terrorism financing and the other on customs failures. (NY1)

9/11 Commission Formally Disbands - Aug 21, 2004
The Sept. 11 commission was to close down Saturday, but its members plan to continue testifying before Congress and traveling the country to try to get the government to improve homeland security. (Associated Press)

9/11 Families Support Immigrant Driver's License Restrictions - Aug 20, 2004
Families of Sept. 11th victims backed yesterday a controversial state plan to revoke driver's licenses from hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who got them using fake Social Security numbers. (New York Daily News)

Environmentalists Accuse President of Misleading Residents on Air Quality - Aug 19, 2004
The Bush administration repeatedly misled New Yorkers on air quality around Ground Zero and played down the health problems suffered by residents and workers after the 9/11 attacks, an environmental group charged yesterday. (New York Daily News)

New York Democrats: Bush Exploits 9/11 - Aug 18, 2004
Congressional Democrats from New York Tuesday said President George Bush has exploited the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks for political gain. (Washington Times)

Parents to Lead Ceremony Honoring 9/11 Victims - Aug 17, 2004
The ceremony commemorating the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack will closely follow the script for last year's event. But officials said yesterday that there would be a change in the cast: instead of the victims' children taking center stage, the victims' parents and grandparents will. (New York Times)

Senate Continues Hearings on 9/11 Commission Report - Aug 17, 2004
Two Senate committees held hearings Monday on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. (NY1)

Watchdog Group Recommends Diversifying Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Board - Aug 15, 2004
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has failed to allocate its federal 9/11 recovery funds in a transparent way and has given undue preference to big businesses and organizations with ties to its board members, according to a report released this week by a budget watchdog organization. (Downtown Express)

Council Will Run Ads on Security Funding During Convention - Aug 13, 2004
Council and labor union officials will run newspaper ads just before the Republican National Convention to call for more federal money for local antiterrorism and education programs, Council officials said yesterday. (New York Times)

City Well on Its Way to Receiving Its $20 Billion in Federal Aid - Aug 12, 2004
Less than three weeks before the Republican National Convention comes to town, a report released yesterday says the Bush administration is well on the way to providing all the $20.5 billion it promised the city after the World Trade Center attacks. (Jersey Journal)

With 9/11 As His Tool, Giuliani Works to Promote Bush - Aug 12, 2004
Just weeks before the Republican National Convention hits his hometown, Rudolph W. Giuliani is emerging as a central player in the Bush re-election effort, attacking John Kerry, racing around the country campaigning and directly leveraging the events of Sept. 11 in ways that President Bush and many of his closest allies have not dared. (New York Times)

Tourist or Terrorist? - Aug 12, 2004
The family pictures depict what relatives say is the real Kamran Akhtar: a loving family man, not a video-shooting potential terrorist. (New York Daily News)

Pataki Signs Lower Manhattan Construction Act - Aug 11, 2004
New rules are being implemented for construction projects in downtown Manhattan, with the intention of ensuring high-quality work is done in a timely manner. (NY1)

Responding to Warning, Feds Take Over Helicopter Security - Aug 10, 2004
Federal security officers will take over the screening of all passengers on helicopter tours in New York City, after officials found that suspected Qaeda operatives in Pakistan had photographs, a brochure and other information about the tours. (New York Times)

City Using New Technology to Identify 9/11 Remains - Aug 9, 2004
Of the 2,749 victims of 9/11, investigators identified 738 using dental records and 827 through traditional DNA testing, according to the medical examiner's office. The city just hired Affymetrix, a California-based genetics company, that has developed a new technology officials say could succeed where others have failed. (New York Post )

New York's Share of Security Funds Dropped This Year - Aug 7, 2004
Despite ominous new threats of attacks, New York state's share of federal anti-terror money actually went down this year, according to a startling new congressional report released yesterday. (New York Post)

Health Registry Prepares for Final Registration Push - Aug 7, 2004
The World Trade Center Health Registry has become the largest registry in U.S. history, but the more than 50,000 enrollees still fall short of the city’s expectations for the program. In the three weeks remaining before the Aug. 31 cutoff, officials hope to enroll many more people, particularly Lower Manhattan residents. The effort aims to track the long-term physical and mental health consequences of the World Trade Center disaster. (Downtown Express)

Bloomberg Knew About Terror Warning in Advance - Aug 7, 2004
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday that he knew of the terror alerts concerning financial institutions in Washington and the New York region two days before the Bush administration publicly released the information. But Mr. Bloomberg, speaking on his weekly radio program, added that he decided not to alert city residents immediately because he wanted to give city officials time to make preparations and to respond to public concerns that would be raised. The alert was publicly issued on Sunday. (New York Times)

Mayor: Get Used to Tight Security - Aug 7, 2004
As police continued their tight grip on the city, Mayor Michael Bloomberg told New Yorkers on Friday to get used to the extra security because it's going to be around for some time. (Newsday)

WTC Cultural Institutions Tell Residents What to Expect - Aug 7, 2004
Representatives from the four cultural institutions selected for the arts and museum complex at the redeveloped World Trade Center site told residents what kinds of amenities they could expect when the complex opens in five years. (Downtown Express)

City Gains Control of Streets at Trade Center Site - Aug 6, 2004
New York City - and not the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - will own and control the streets and sidewalks that run through the World Trade Center site, under an agreement that lifts a 37-year-old cloud over ownership of the property. (New York Times)

9/11 Commission Urges Americans to Vote on Report - Aug 5, 2004
The chairman of the Sept. 11 commission said on Wednesday that voters in November's presidential election should weigh how President Bush and Senator John Kerry respond to the commission's final report in determining how they vote. (New York Times)

City Works on Skyscraper Evacuation Plans - Aug 5, 2004
More than 11 years after terrorists first struck at the World Trade Center, the city is still struggling to complete guidelines for evacuating high-rise buildings where thousands of workers would face vital questions of what to do if their skyscraper were to come under attack. (New York Times)

Restrictions on Trucks Entering Manhattan Eased - Aug 5, 2004
Three days after sharply increasing security in response to a federal alert about possible terrorist plots, the New York City Police Department last night partly lifted its ban on trucks and vans entering Manhattan. (New York Times)

Straining With Security Costs, City Officials Remind Washington of Funding Needs - Aug 4, 2004
The city's stepped-up security, which includes posting cops outside major financial firms and checking trucks for possible explosives, is costing New York an estimated $5 million a week, NYPD sources said. But don't expect the feds to pick up much of the tab, which comes amid new evidence Al Qaeda plotted to blow up the New York Stock Exchange and the Citigroup building. (New York Daily News)

Mayor Tried to Spin 9/11 Commission Report - Aug 4, 2004
More than a month before the 9/11 Commission released its final report, Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to persuade the commission to craft its findings in a way that would portray the city in a better light, according to a memo obtained by Newsday. (Newsday)

Bloomberg Takes Current Threat More Seriously Than Previous Ones - Aug 4, 2004
Since the day Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took office, his responses to numerous federal warnings about possible terrorist attacks have been almost identical. Without exactly being dismissive, he has told New Yorkers to leave security concerns “to the professionals,” and then promptly cantered around the city, spreading the word that the city is safe and open for business. This week, however, while continuing his breakneck tours of the five boroughs, Mr. Bloomberg has taken a slightly different tack, viewing the latest alert issued by the Department of Homeland Security in a very sober light. During a television interview yesterday, (New York Times)

9/11 Families Want Legislation Passed on Commission Report by Year's End - Aug 4, 2004
Relatives of those killed on Sept. 11 brought the fight over intelligence reforms to Congress's doorstep Tuesday, challenging lawmakers to act quickly to pass reform legislation by the end of the year. (Associated Press)

Following 9/11 Commission's Recommendation, Bush Endorses New Intelligence Czar - Aug 3, 2004
President Bush on Monday generally endorsed the two main recommendations of the 9/11 commission, saying he would support creation of a potentially powerful post, national intelligence director, and the establishment of a counterterrorism center to coordinate intelligence analysis and efforts to thwart attacks. (New York Times)

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Earmarks $495 Million for Security - Aug 3, 2004
The MTA has earmarked $495 million toward "enhancing security readiness" in an effort to protect the region's vast rail network, officials said yesterday. (New York Post)

Statue of Liberty Reopens For First Time Since 9/11 - Aug 3, 2004
On the way to the Statue of Liberty National Monument yesterday, visitors could pick up glossy brochures featuring a cutaway diagram of the statue's interior, complete with an image of tiny tourists ascending the spiral stairs to the crown. But when the base of the statue reopens to the public today for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001, people will have to be content with only their memories, or imaginings, of making the long, claustrophobic climb to the top. Like the torch, which was closed in 1916 after being damaged by a saboteur's bomb, the crown is now off limits. (New York Times)

Bloomberg Takes His Own Advice on Terror Alert - Aug 3, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg took his own advice yesterday and went about his day as usual - riding the subways, breaking ground on a new office tower, even hosting a relaxed barbecue at Gracie Mansion for city workers. (New York Daily News)

Terror Alert Means Busy Day for Police - Aug 3, 2004
A day after a chilling federal warning of a possible terror strike, reports of unattended bags had edgy cops racing from call to call throughout the city. Skittish residents watched with curiosity and fear. (New York Daily News)

Warnings Won't Affect Convention - Aug 3, 2004
New warnings about possible terrorist attacks on Manhattan financial institutions won't affect security for the upcoming Republican National Convention, authorities and security experts said Monday. (Newsday)

Bloomberg on Warnings: Go About Your Business - Aug 2, 2004
Go about your business. That was the message from Mayor Bloomberg yesterday. (New York Post)

Feds Plan to Extend Environmental Testing - Aug 1, 2004
Community members and scientific experts applauded an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to expand testing for 9/11 contaminants to residences and workplaces north of Canal St. (Downtown Express)

White House to Direct $2 Billion to Rail Link - Jul 30, 2004
The White House has agreed to let New York use $2 billion in Sept. 11 aid to help build a $6 billion rail link connecting the World Trade Center site to the Long Island Rail Road and Kennedy International Airport. (New York Times)

Spitzer Warns GOP Against Using 9/11 for Political Gain - Jul 30, 2004
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer had a blunt warning Thursday for Republicans opening their national convention late next month in New York City: Don't politicize the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Newsday)

9/11 Commission Seeks Private Funding to Continue Work - Jul 30, 2004
The leaders of the Sept. 11 commission said Thursday that they were seeking private, charitable donations and intended to open a small office in Washington that would continue the commission's work when its government money runs out at the end of next month. (New York Times)

Senate to Hear 9/11 Commission’s Proposals - Jul 30, 2004
With the momentum of last week's Sept. 11 commission report behind it, the Senate Government Affairs Committee is weighing politically touchy proposals to make massive changes to the intelligence community. (Associated Press)

9/11 Families Plan to Hold Congress to Commission's Recommendations - Jul 29, 2004
Families of Sept. 11 victims vowed yesterday to keep a "watchdog" list of any members of Congress who oppose legislation implementing changes recommended by the 9/11 commission. (Newsday)

Kerry Seeks Extension of 9/11 Commission - Jul 28, 2004
Democrats sought yesterday to capitalize on the Sept. 11 commission recommendations and inject a new urgency into their adoption as congressional leaders announced a stepped-up schedule of hearings that will start tomorrow. (Newsday)

9/11 Commission Chair: Attacks Could Have Been Prevented - Jul 27, 2004
The chairman of the 9/11 commission, Thomas Kean, said Sunday that he believes the attacks could have prevented. (NY1)

Cantor Fitzgerald Finds New Home in Midtown - Jul 27, 2004
Nearly three years after 658 Cantor Fitgerald employees were killed in the attack on the World Trade Center, the stock and bond trading company has found a new home five miles from ground zero, on the East Side of Manhattan. Cantor signed a lease last week to move into space now occupied by Bloomberg L.P., the business information company founded by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, at Park Avenue and 59th Street, where Cantor plans to erect a monument to the co-workers who died in the Sept. 11 attack. (New York Times)

Group Looks to Turn 9/11 Into Day of Volunteerism - Jul 26, 2004
Sept. 11 will always be a day of mourning, but in the near future it could also be a day of charity, volunteering and community service for every American. One Day's Pay, a nationwide non-profit organization that facilitates volunteering in memory of the Sept. 11 victims, has launched a campaign to recruit 2 million volunteers to go out on the next anniversary of the attacks to read to the blind, cook for the homeless or tutor children. (Newsday)

Representative Weiner Criticizes Bush Administration on Security Funding - Jul 25, 2004
Rep. Anthony Weiner slapped at the Bush administration yesterday, charging New York has gotten $61 million less in federal security cash since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The Queens-based Democrat and likely mayoral hopeful used the dollar figure to highlight Bloomberg's Republican registration. (New York Daily News)

Congress Will Hold Hearings to Discuss 9/11 Commission's Proposed Reforms - Jul 25, 2004
Senate and House committees will hold an unusual round of August hearings on intelligence reform after leaders of the Sept. 11 commission warned that America remained vulnerable to another deadly terror strike. (Associated Press)

Vets Protest Iraq War at Ground Zero - Jul 25, 2004
Flashing peace symbols and yelling “Congress has spoken, the people have spoken: No more Vietnams,” eight members of Veterans for Peace came to the World Trade Center Site for about 20 minutes Tuesday to protest the war in Iraq. None of them made any mention of Sept. 11 during the protest. (Downtown Express)

9/11 Commission Finds Much Wrong With Convention Wisdom about Attacks - Jul 24, 2004
When the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States set to work early last year to prepare the definitive history of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, it seemed that much of the hard work of the so-called 9/11 commission was already done, because so much of the horrifying story seemed to be known. But 19 months later, the commission released a final, unanimous book-length report last Thursday that, in calling for a overhaul of the way the government collects and shares intelligence, showed that much of what had been common wisdom about the Sept. 11 attacks at the start of the panel's investigation was wrong. (New York Times)

Bloomberg Says 9/11 Commission Wrong About City's Emergency Response - Jul 24, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg vehemently disagreed with the 9/11 commission's assessment that his administration has failed to establish clear lines of command among city agencies responding to a future terrorist attack. (New York Daily News)

Senator Clinton Criticizes Bush on Security Funding - Jul 24, 2004
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that President Bush has been an ineffective leader who "dithered" in supplying anti-terrorism money to the most threatened states. (Associated Press)

9/11 Commissioners Will Make Report Election-Year Issue - Jul 24, 2004
The five Republicans and five Democrats on the September 11th commission are vowing to make their unanimous recommendations an election-year issue. (NY1)

Firefighters Have Mixed Reactions to Report - Jul 24, 2004
City firefighters say they are still concerned about communication problems mentioned in the 9/11 commission report, but they agree with the panel's recommendation that cities which are prime terror targets should receive more homeland security funding. (NY1)

9/11 Commission Final Report Calls for Intelligence Overhaul - Jul 23, 2004
The bipartisan commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks concluded in its unanimous final report on Thursday that the attacks "were a shock but they should not have come as a surprise." It warned that without a historic restructuring of the nation's intelligence agencies and a new emphasis on diplomacy, the United States would leave itself open to an even more catastrophic attack. (New York Times)

9/11 Commission Criticizes New York’s Emergency Response, But Praises Individuals’ Improvised Rescue - Jul 23, 2004
In its chronicle of the blunders, lapses and shortsightedness that permitted hijackers to attack New York, the Sept. 11 commission found that the city's emergency response was plagued by many of the same failures of imagination and preparedness that it cited in the nation's antiterrorism policies. Yet that cascade of systemic failures and institutional weaknesses, while leading to its awful toll in human life, was overcome in part by the vigorous, improvised response in New York, where thousands of people escaped from the World Trade Center, the commission found. (New York Times)

New York City Not Getting Needed Security Cash, Says 9/11 Commission - Jul 23, 2004
New York City's anti-terror resources are being grossly underfunded by the White House and Congress, which treat the critical money as "pork-barrel spending," the new 9/11 report charges. (New York Post )

9/11 Families Ambivalent About Commission Report - Jul 23, 2004
As the nation digested a 567-page report detailing the failures of intelligence agencies, politicians and first responders before and on Sept. 11, 2001, many of those most directly affected by the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 found yesterday that they weren't particularly interested in its conclusions. (Newsday)

9/11 Commission Report to be Made Public Today - Jul 22, 2004
The 9/11 Commission's final report, scheduled to be made public on Thursday, will detail the intelligence and law-enforcement failures that preceded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. (New York Times)

Study Determines Location of Deaths on 9/11 - Jul 22, 2004
Now, nearly three years after the attack, federal investigators with the National Institute of Standards and Technology have come up with the most comprehensive, but still not final, tally of just who died where on Sept. 11, 2001. (New York Times)

Judge Tells WTC Developer, Architect, to Settle Dispute Through Mediation - Jul 22, 2004
A judge yesterday ordered World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein and disgruntled architect Daniel Libeskind to submit their $800,000 fee dispute to mediation. (New York Daily News)

Video Show Hijackers in Airport on September 11 - Jul 22, 2004
Surveillance video from Washington Dulles International Airport the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, shows four of the five hijackers being pulled aside to undergo additional scrutiny after setting off metal detectors but then permitted to board the fateful flight that crashed into the Pentagon. (Associated Press)

Business Leaders Lobby White House for Rail Link - Jul 22, 2004
A group of local business leaders took their case for the proposed Lower Manhattan to JFK Airport rail link to the White House Wednesday. (NY1)

Victims' Families Briefed on 9/11 Commission Report - Jul 22, 2004
Victims’ family members, Bush administration officials and lawmakers are being briefed on the 9/11 commission’s final report Wednesday, a day before the findings will be made public. (NY1)

9/11 Commission Not Expected to Say Attacks Could Have Been Prevented - Jul 21, 2004
The final report from the federal commission investigating the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks is due out in two days, and there's word Tuesday the panel will not conclude the attacks could have been prevented. (NY1)

9/11 Commissioner to President: Act Fast on Security - Jul 20, 2004
The head of the 9/11 commission urged the President yesterday to act quickly on the panel's recommendations to safeguard the country. (New York Daily News)

In Book, Firefighter Calls for Probe of 9/11 Radios - Jul 20, 2004
More than three years after a $14-million radio system for the city's firefighters failed in the field, no formal investigation of how the radios were purchased has been conducted. Now, a just-published book, co-authored by a city Fire Department captain, says the truth about the purchase of the Motorola XTS-3500 model radios never may be known without a full probe. (Newsday)

A Look at the 9/11 Commission's Work - Jul 20, 2004
The attack was unprecedented. So too was the investigation. Later this week, the federal commission investigating the September 11, 2001 terror attacks will release to the public its final report. What questions will be answered? What recommendations made. NY1’s John Schium takes a look back at the commission's work the past year and a half. (NY1)

New York Slow to Fix 9/11 Flaws, Says Commission - Jul 19, 2004
New York still has not fixed some of the crucial problems faced by city cops and firefighters on 9/11, the commission probing the 2001 terrorist attacks will say this week. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Commission Will Push Its Recommendations - Jul 18, 2004
Members of the independent Sept. 11 commission say they will mount an aggressive nationwide lobbying campaign to pressure the White House and Congress to overhaul the nation's intelligence agencies, an effort they say will begin this week with release of a unanimous final report criticizing virtually every element of the way the government collects and shares intelligence. (New York Times)

CIA Director Criticizes 9/11 Commission's Call for New Intelligence Post - Jul 18, 2004
Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin says he doesn't think the country needs a new cabinet-level post to oversee the nation's 15 intelligence agencies. (NY1)

Governor Open to Scrapping West Street Tunnel Plan - Jul 17, 2004
With his clothes still wet after kayaking to Tribeca, Gov. George Pataki indicated for the first time that he was open to not building a West St. tunnel. Pataki told Downtown Express that he would let the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. make the decision on the tunnel and he thought the state-city agency would also make significant investments on Downtown’s proposed commuter-airport rail link and the Hudson River Park. (Downtown Express)

9/11 Commission to Recommend Overhaul of Intelligence - Jul 17, 2004
The final report of the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks will recommend the creation of a cabinet-level post to oversee the nation's intelligence agencies, a position that would take power away from the C.I.A., the F.B.I., the National Security Council, the Pentagon and other agencies that face blistering criticism from the panel, government officials who have seen the report said. (New York Times)

Memo Reveals Asbestos Cover-Up After 9/11 - Jul 16, 2004
An Environmental Protection Agency memo claims city and federal officials concealed data that showed lower Manhattan air was clouded with asbestos after the World Trade Center collapse. And officials sat on the alarming information even as they told the public it was safe to return downtown, the internal memo says. (New York Post)

City Urges People to Sign up for Health Registry - Jul 16, 2004
The World Trade Center Health Registry is just seven weeks away from closing the enrollment books, and a new campaign is urging people to sign up while they still can. (NY1)

Over 700 Employees Prepare for Move Downtown - Jul 16, 2004
The revitalization continues in Lower Manhattan, as 730 state employees get set to move their offices downtown. (NY1)

Same-Sex Domestic Partner of 9/11 Victim Entitled to Payout - Jul 14, 2004
A lesbian who lost her life partner in the World Trade Center attacks is entitled to an award from the federal 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, a Brooklyn judge has ruled. (New York Daily News)

Family Members, Survivors Want 9/11 Commission Briefings in NYC - Jul 14, 2004
The 9/11 Commission is set to release some of its findings this month and plans to brief families in Washington, despite the fact that the bulk of the victims of the attacks died in the New York City area. Family members of New York victims are trying to persuade the members of the federal Sept. 11 commission to hold briefings for the relatives of the victims and survivors of the attacks in New York as well as in Washington. (Newsday)

City Opens Lab to Combat Bioterrorism - Jul 14, 2004
Nearly three years after anthrax attacks in New York City brought home the danger that bioterrorism poses to the world, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg yesterday announced the opening of a $16 million high-security laboratory to help detect and deal with future threats. (New York Times)

Workers Prepare for Demolition of Last Structural Obstacle to Freedom Tower - Jul 12, 2004
Deep within the smoke-blackened ruins of an underground parking garage, 30 workers are installing tendonlike bundles of steel cable, called tiebacks, to anchor the concrete perimeter foundation wall to bedrock. This will permit the demolition in coming months of the last major structural vestige of the old World Trade Center. (New York Times)

9/11 Commission May Finish Report This Week - Jul 11, 2004
Working in secret, the Sept. 11 commission is finishing a final report that several members believe will be done by week's end and have unanimous support. (New York Post)

Silverstein Wants to Use Remaining Liberty Bonds for Ground Zero - Jul 9, 2004
World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein wants all of the $3.5 billion or so that's left of the Liberty Bonds to go directly toward rebuilding the site. He may need it. (New York Daily News)

Grants Coming for Ground Zero Cultural Institutions - Jul 8, 2004
The agency leading the Ground Zero rebuilding is expected today to approve $1.5 million in grants for the creation of a cultural center at the site, sources said. (Newsday)

On Cornerstone, Inscription Speaks with Local Accent - Jul 8, 2004
It could have been imperial Trajan. Or elegant Bodoni. Or generic Helvetica. But the search for the ideal typeface to be inscribed on the Freedom Tower cornerstone at the World Trade Center site ended simply, in Gotham. (New York Times)

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Appoints New Board Member - Jul 8, 2004
Robert Balachandran has been appointed to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's Board of Directors. (NY1)

9/11 Commission Rebukes Cheney's Intelligence Claims - Jul 7, 2004
The leaders of the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks on Tuesday disputed Vice President Dick Cheney's suggestion that he probably had access to more intelligence than the commission did about possible ties between the Qaeda terrorist network and Iraq. (New York Times )

I Had to Settle Family Feuds, Says 9/11 Fund Chief - Jul 6, 2004
The man who divvied up the $6 billion compensation fund to relatives of the Sept. 11 attacks said he had to resolve some pretty prickly disputes among feuding family members. (New York Daily News)

Ceremony Marks Symbolic Start to Ground Zero Construction - Jul 5, 2004
New York took the first tangible step to recover its place at the pinnacle of the global skyline in a ceremony that was held within the trade center's foundation, in bright sunshine but far below street level, where bedrock begins. With many questions unanswered, symbolism was the order of the day at the hourlong ceremony. (New York Times)

For One Junior High Student, Groundbreaking Ceremony Meant a Big Performance - Jul 5, 2004
Julian Davis tried to focus on the words on the page as he took the stage at Ground Zero yesterday, and declared in a strong, clear voice "that all men are created equal." The 12-year-old, whose dad, Port Authority cop Clinton Davis, was killed on 9/11, read from the Declaration of Independence before a crowd of hundreds at the laying of the cornerstone of the Freedom Tower. (New York Daily News)

Mayor Backs Governor on Converting 9/11 Cash - Jul 1, 2004
Michael R. Bloomberg will support Gov. George E. Pataki's proposal to use billions of dollars in unspent Sept. 11 aid on building a rail link to connect the former World Trade Center site to the Long Island Rail Road and Kennedy International Airport, the mayor's aides said yesterday. Mr. Pataki has personally lobbied President Bush, a fellow Republican, to provide hard cash in place of a $5 billion tax-break package that Washington established to help spur construction in Lower Manhattan after the terrorist attacks. (New York Times)

Silverstein Executive Wants to Use Liberty Bonds at Ground Zero - Jul 1, 2004
During testimony at the first in a series of City Council hearings on funding for Lower Manhattan redevelopment, John Lieber, senior vice president of World Trade Center LLC, a Silverstein Properties company, issued a call that the funds remaining in the Liberty Bond pool should be allocated and preserved for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. That call was echoed by Community Board 1 and the Downtown Alliance. (Globe St. )

Pedestal of Statue of Liberty to Open August 3rd - Jul 1, 2004
Visitors will be able to again enter the Statue of Liberty on Aug. 3, after being closed for nearly three years of safety and security improvements, the National Parks Service said yesterday. (New York Times)

Bush Will Not Visit Ground Zero - Jun 30, 2004
President Bush will make no visits to Ground Zero during this summer's Republican National Convention, his campaign manager said yesterday. But he was quick to note that the president's not making the trip does not indicate any lack of respect. (New York Post)

Bloomberg Asks Cheney for More Security Cash - Jun 30, 2004
Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent a half hour at the St. Regis Hotel yesterday dunning Vice President Dick Cheney for more homeland security cash before switching the subject to their childhood baseball card collections. (Newsday)

9/11 Commission: Qaeda Operatives in US Knew of 9/11 in Advance - Jun 27, 2004
The FBI long has contended that not a single al-Qaida operative in the United States collaborated with the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks. Yet the commission investigating the attacks has identified two Muslim men who may have had advance knowledge of the plot. The commission found that two hijackers got substantial help from Mohdar Abdullah and Anwar Aulaqi after settling in California in 2000. The bipartisan panel created by Congress said it cannot discount the possibility the men knew the hijackers' plans. (Associated Press)

Assemblyman Says Governor Reroutes NYC Security Funds to Suburbs - Jun 27, 2004
A top Democrat is criticizing Gov. Pataki for redirecting millions of dollars in anti-terrorism aid from New York City and other high-need urban areas to the suburbs. Assemblyman Scott Stringer (D-Manhattan) said Pataki last year redirected as much as $19 million of the $125 million earmarked for New York City, with $12.5 million going to the MTA, and $2 million each going to the suburbs of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. (New York Post)

Amidst Public Frustration, Ground Zero Environmental Panel Debates What To Do - Jun 26, 2004
Members of the public told an Environmental Protection Agency panel on Tuesday that the agency was losing time and jeopardizing their trust in its efforts to determine whether World Trade Center toxins remain in their communities. Residents and workers voiced their frustrations about the pace of the panel’s inquiry during public comment periods at the June 22 meeting. (Downtown Express)

Head of Victims Compensation Fund Questions its Formula - Jun 25, 2004
With his work now complete, the special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is questioning the formula used to determine the awards. (NY1)

Port Authority Presents "Much More Than Just a PATH Station" to Public - Jun 24, 2004
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey presented plans to the public in Jersey City Tuesday night for the permanent World Trade Center PATH station. (New Jersey Journal )

Victims Compensation Fund Releases Final Numbers - Jun 24, 2004
The final numbers are in Wednesday, and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund says it has authorized payouts to more than 5,000 people totaling almost $7 billion. (NY1)

In Continuation of Feud Over Security Funds, Congressman Rips Bloomberg - Jun 23, 2004
The Ohio congressman dissed by Mayor Bloomberg for sinking a homeland security bill lashed back yesterday. "It's unfortunate that instead of really working with the Congress on the war against terrorism, the mayor instead chooses time and again to play these silly press games," said Rep. Bob Ney's spokesman Brian Walsh. (New York Daily News)

Bloomberg Explains His Lunch Offense on Security Funds - Jun 23, 2004
Diss my city and there will be political ramifications, a tough-talking Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday. The mayor was explaining why on Monday, he barred Ohio Rep. Bob Ney from a Republican congressional campaign committee get-together that had been scheduled at his Upper East Side townhouse. (Newsday)

Bloomberg Cancels Republican Fundraiser in Feud over Security Funds - Jun 22, 2004
A fund-raiser in Mayor Bloomberg's home for the National Republican Congressional Committee was abruptly dropped yesterday in a growing feud over the allocation of federal funds to fight terrorism. (New York Post )

Trauma Cases Related to 9/11 Continue to Emerge - Jun 21, 2004
An average of 179 firefighters a month - new cases all - seek help from the FDNY's counseling services unit to deal with Sept. 11-related trauma, according to the unit's director, Malachy Corrigan. (New York Daily News)

South Asians Still Suffering Economically Because of 9/11 - Jun 21, 2004
The South Asian community, which is yet to recover from the economic tailspin that began after the September 11 attack, is experiencing severe economic difficulties in New York City, a study contends. (rediff.com)

Planned Transportation Improvements Spur Real Estate Upswing Downtown - Jun 20, 2004
After a long lull, the commercial real estate market is gaining momentum Downtown, industry experts say. Lower Manhattan’s comparatively low rents, planned transportation improvements and government incentives are among the factors driving the recent upswing. Shrinking office stock in Midtown has also spurred firms to expand or relocate to the area. (Downtown Express)

Convention Gives City a Chance to Showcase Post 9/11 Security - Jun 20, 2004
This summer's Grand Old Party - the Republican National Convention - is New York's chance to showcase its post-9/11 appeal, but the challenge will be selling that message through the noise about security and protesters. (New York Daily News)

Fire, Not Planes, Caused WTC Collapse, Say Federal Investigators - Jun 19, 2004
The federal agency investigating the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center says it was likely fire, and not the impact of the hijacked planes that crashed into the twin towers, that caused the buildings to collapse. (NY1)

Twin Towers' Resistance to Wind Questioned in Report - Jun 19, 2004
The World Trade Center's designers may have severely underestimated the forces that wind exerted on the twin towers, leading them to design skyscrapers less able to handle the Sept. 11 attacks, a federal report says. (Associated Press)

House Votes Down New York's Security Funding Initiative - Jun 19, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg blasted an early morning House vote yesterday that rejected an effort by New York-area lawmakers to funnel homeland security dollars to high-risk cities. (New York Daily News)

NYC Drops out of National Association of Counties Over Homeland Security Dispute - Jun 19, 2004
New York City has dropped out of a national group of local governments that Mayor Michael Bloomberg accused of being a "pork barrel" lobbyist for rural areas on the issue of homeland security funding. (Newsday )

In Wrenching Detail, Commission Recounts Morning of 9/11 - Jun 18, 2004
The nation has relived that morning countless times since Sept. 11, 2001, but never with the harrowing detail and minute-by-minute drama of the staff report released Thursday by the independent commission investigating the attacks. The 29-page report recounts a frenetic 149 minutes unlike anything ever faced by the nation's aviation and military defenses. And it details moments both of unflinching calm, like actions by the air traffic controllers who managed to orchestrate the landings of all 4,500 flights aloft, and of maddening miscommunications, mangled coordination and broken chains of command. (New York Times)

9/11 Commission Questions Nearly Every Aspect of Response to 9/11 - Jun 18, 2004
For most of 2002, President Bush argued that a commission created to look into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks would only distract from the post-Sept. 11 war on terrorism. Now, in 17 preliminary staff reports, that panel has called into question nearly every aspect of the administration's response to terror, including the idea that Iraq and Al Qaeda were somehow the same foe. (New York Times )

9/11 World Trade Registry Now Largest in US History - Jun 18, 2004
The World Trade Center health registry has passed the 40,000 member mark, making it the largest public health registry in U.S. history. (NY1)

Administration Was Thrown Into Chaos On 9/11, Says Commission - Jun 18, 2004
Offering an extraordinary window into the government's chaotic response on Sept. 11, 2001, the commission investigating the terrorist attacks detailed on Thursday a series of communications breakdowns at the White House and the Pentagon that were so severe that military commanders did not tell fighter pilots that they had been given the authority by Vice President Dick Cheney to shoot down hijacked planes. (New York Times )

9/11 Commission Will Scrutinize Air Defense on Last Day of Hearings - Jun 17, 2004
The 9/11 commission is focusing on the nation’s air defenses on its final day of hearings Thursday, asking whether one or more of the hijacked airliners could have been intercepted if military jets had been scrambled faster. (NY1)

9/11 Commission: Iraq Not Involved in Attacks - Jun 17, 2004
The staff of the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks sharply contradicted one of President Bush's central justifications for the Iraq war, reporting on Wednesday that there did not appear to have been a "collaborative relationship" between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. The assertion came in staff reports that offer a chilling, richly detailed chronology of the Sept. 11 plot and rewrite much of the history of the attacks. (New York Times)

Victims Compensation Fund Ends Tasks, But Controversies Remain - Jun 17, 2004
The federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund may be closing its doors, but a number of controversies remain. Despite the fund's efforts to dissuade people from suing the airlines and others, 108 lawsuits have been filed in federal court, along with an unknown number of personal injury claims. (Newsday)

9/11 Families Want More Detailed Version of Plot from Commission - Jun 17, 2004
The narrative of the Sept. 11 terrorist plot unfolded in fresh, chilling detail on Wednesday, complete with maps and photographs. But for some listeners - family members of those who lost their lives in the attacks - the story was not nearly comprehensive enough. (New York Times)

American Air Defense Was Unprepared for Attacks, Says 9/11 Commission - Jun 16, 2004
The independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks has found that the Pentagon's domestic air-defense command was disastrously unprepared for a major terrorist strike on American soil and was slow and confused in its response to the hijackings that morning, according to officials who have read a draft report of the commission's findings. (New York Times)

Almost Three Years and $7 Billion Later, Victims Compensation Fund Completes Work - Jun 16, 2004
Nearly three years after establishing a fund to compensate the families of Sept. 11 victims, the federal government said yesterday that it had completed the task and that it would end up paying more than 5,000 families almost $7 billion. (New York Times)

Tapes From Hijacked Planes Reveal That Ground Personnel Muffled Attacks - Jun 16, 2004
Am FBI-organized briefing in New Jersey two weeks ago was attended by about 130 family members of victims. Previously unavailable calls from passengers and crew were to be played for families of victims of the four infamous flights that were turned into missiles by terrorists. Who knew what, and when? And what did the airlines and federal officials do about it? (New York Observer)

The Man Behind the Victims Compensation Fund - Jun 16, 2004
No one lived as deeply in the emotional and financial complexities of the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund as the person who designed it and became its public face: Kenneth R. Feinberg. (New York Times)

9/11 Commission Starts Last Round of Hearings - Jun 16, 2004
The commission investigating the September 11, 2001, attacks opens its final round of hearings Wednesday in Washington, focusing on the terrorists’ planning and how the country's air defenses responded. (NY1)

Final Round of 9/11 Commission Hearings To Be Held This Week - Jun 13, 2004
The 9/11 commission will meet Wednesday and Thursday in Washington to focus on the terrorist plot and the government's immediate response. (NY1)

House Speaker Predicts More Federal Funds for 9/11 Transportation Projects - Jun 12, 2004
The speaker of the House said Monday that he thought Congress would approve additional 9/11-related money to fund Lower Manhattan transportation projects. Asked by Downtown Express if he thought there would be more aid beyond the federal $21.4 billion package for New York, Rep. J. Dennis Hastert, speaker of the House of Representatives, said: “I think there will be some more. Some of that is for transportation.” (Downtown Express)

Victims' Compensation Payouts Near $6 Billion - Jun 12, 2004
The fund for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks has already agreed to pay out nearly $6 billion as the unprecedented program nears its final day of operation next week. (Associated Press)

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation President Hopes for New Sources of Funding for Rail Link - Jun 12, 2004
The president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation gave few clues last week about how the agency might distribute its remaining $1 billion, telling Downtowners only that officials hoped little, if any, would go toward the proposed rail link to J.F.K. airport. (Downtown Express)

9/11 Commission's Draft Report Avoids Criticism of Individuals, Goes After Intelligence Agencies - Jun 9, 2004
Hoping to avoid partisan attacks, the Sept. 11 commission has drafted a final report that avoids placing blame on individuals in the Bush or Clinton administrations but sharply criticizes the FBI and intelligence agencies for missteps prior to the catastrophe. (Associated Press)

Cultural Institutions for Ground Zero To Be ChosenThis Week - Jun 6, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Pataki plan to announce this week which cultural institutions will be included at the World Trade Center site, a major breakthrough following months of contentious debate, the Daily News has learned. (New York Daily News)

Planned Barrier Between Memorial, Battery Park City Removed - Jun 5, 2004
Officials with the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. said Wednesday that the proposed wall blocking the World Trade Center memorial from Battery Park City has been removed from the design, satisfying a neighborhood concern about the plan. (Downtown Express)

Bloomberg Calls on Homeland Security Chief to Stand Up to Congress on Funds - Jun 5, 2004
Michael R. Bloomberg called yesterday on the homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, to stand up to Congress over what the mayor has repeatedly characterized as its efforts to shortchange New York City on anti-terrorism money. (New York Times)

9/11 Environmental Panel Considers Next Move - Jun 4, 2004
The Environmental Protection Agency’s goal of retesting Lower Manhattan apartments by the end of June seemed remote as the agency’s expert panel grappled with how to measure lingering contamination from the World Trade Center collapse. At its third public meeting on May 24, the 17-member panel of government and independent experts continued discussing whether World Trade Center dust has a chemical fingerprint that would distinguish it from normal urban grit. This so-called signature would help scientists determine what, if any, contamination remains from the World Trade Center collapse. (Downtown Express)

FBI Criticizes NYPD for Stealing Glory in Terrorist Arrest - Jun 4, 2004
New York's FBI director has put his anger at NYPD officials into words - firing off an internal memo that blasted them for hogging the credit for last week's terrorist arrest. (New York Daily News)

Bob Kerrey Speaks About the 9/11 Commission - Jun 4, 2004
Bob Kerrey, former U.S. senator, currently president of New School University and member of the federal 9/11 commission, gave the Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce his views Tuesday on the World Trade Center attack and on his career since he came from Nebraska in 2001 to head the New School. (Downtown Express)

Kentucky Woman Quilts 9/11 Tribute - Jun 4, 2004
Nearly three years after the attack on the World Trade Center, Mary M. Henderson wants to let the city’s firefighters know she hasn’t forgotten their sacrifice and loss. The Kentucky grandmother spent more than a year cross-stitching the names and company affiliations of all 343 firefighters who died on 9/11 onto a king-sized quilt. Now that it’s done, Henderson, 48, would like to deliver her red-white-and-blue tribute to the firefighters in Ten House across from ground zero. (Downtown Express)

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Approves General Plan for World Trade Center - Jun 3, 2004
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation set the stage yesterday - that is, if all the needed money can be found and all the inevitable lawsuits can be won - for the full-fledged redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. The corporation board unanimously affirmed a general project plan, leaving open the possibility of restoring parts of Dey and Cortlandt Streets but perhaps turning a block of Washington Street into a truck security checkpoint. It also certified that the environmental review was complete. (Not all its critics agree, saying that the review did not sufficiently account for the impact of other large downtown projects.) (New York Times)

Fire Chief Urges 9/11 Commission To Avoid Unfair Criticism of FDNY - Jun 3, 2004
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta had a tough message for the 9/11 Commission during yesterday's Medal Day ceremony: Don't knock the FDNY. (New York Post)

As New York Fumes, Wyoming Says It Needs Antiterror Funding Too - Jun 1, 2004
It is hard to imagine there are many terrorist threats in a place where tumbleweeds regularly blow down the streets, as they do in Cheyenne, Wyoming's largest city and state capital. For those who doubt, however, Wyoming officials point to the two men, thought by the state police to be white supremacists, who were stopped while carrying nine pipe bombs in the rented trailer attached to their rented truck. Wyoming officials disposed of the bombs using a robot bought with a federal antiterrorism grant. That grant was part of the very antiterrorism program that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg recently called "pork barrel politics at its worst." (New York Times)

Port Authority Police Had Problems on 9/11 As Well - Jun 1, 2004
With all the focus on the city's fire and police agencies, the role of the Port Authority Police in the Sept 11, 2001 response seemed almost overlooked during the 911 Commission hearings. About 200 Port Authority cops responded to the crisis, and 37 officers and supervisors were killed -- the largest single-day loss of life for a police department in the country's history. While the department played a key role in evacuations, the 911 Commission staff found in a preliminary report that its response was hampered by the same kinds of problems that the city police and fire departments experienced. (Newsday)

9/11 Commission Exposed Problems in Rescue Effort - Jun 1, 2004
The city's response on Sept. 11, 2001 wasn't the picture of coordination that former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and his emergency leaders painted for the 9/11 commission, the panel's staff concluded. Newsday offers a look at some of the conclusions reached, and detail developed, by the staff or in testimony before the commission in New York last month. (Newsday)

9/11 Commissioner Apologizes for Comments At Hearing, Says Giuliani - May 28, 2004
A week after saying that communication failures between the Police and Fire departments on 9/11 were "not worthy of the boy scouts," 9/11 commission member John Lehman apologized in person to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani this week. At least, that's the version offered yesterday by Giuliani, who said Lehman came to his Giuliani Partners office on Wednesday to meet with him and two top aides, former Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen and former Office of Emergency Management Chief Richard Sheirer. (New York Daily News)

Mistress of 9/11 Victim Sues His Widow For Greater Share of Benefits - May 28, 2004
The mistress of a Port Authority officer who died in the attack on the World Trade Center is suing his widow, seeking a greater share of benefits for a child from their affair (New York Post)

City, Federal Government Debate Use of $4 Billion in Rebuilding Funds - May 27, 2004
The White House, city officials and lawmakers have held private talks to see if they can reallocate unused money President Bush promised the city after the 9/11 attacks, The Daily News has learned. The secret negotiations have focused on giving the city more flexibility to spend some $4 billion in unused funds. (New York Daily News)

Officials Tell New Yorkers Not to Worry About Warnings - May 27, 2004
Relax, New York - and leave the worrying to us. That was the message of calm delivered yesterday by Gov. Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, even as the White House warned of possible terror attacks against the U.S. in the coming months. (New York Daily News)

News Program Offers Cops Federal Terrorism Information - May 26, 2004
Cops on the beat in New York and Vermont will be able to instantly check suspects against the U.S. government's terrorist watch lists under a first-of-its-kind, FBI-coordinated program announced Tuesday. FBI Director Robert Mueller said the system will give state and local police a way of checking 12 databases maintained by federal agencies, and provide officers with a direct line to federal agents to report suspicious activities. (Associated Press)

Governor Nominates 9/11 Widow for Port Authority Board - May 26, 2004
Christine Ferer, widowed when the 9/11 terror attacks took the life of Port Authority chief Neil Levin, was nominated yesterday by Gov. Pataki for a seat on the 12-member PA board. Levin, killed in the collapse of the Twin Towers, was executive director of the PA at the time. Before that, he served as state banking superintendent and later as state insurance commissioner. Ferer is currently a Pataki-appointed board member of Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which was created to oversee rebuilding in the wake of the attacks. She also serves as liaison for Mayor Bloomberg to families who lost relatives on 9/11. (New York Post)

Ridge Warns of Summer Attacks; Does Not Name NYC Specifically - May 26, 2004
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Wednesday that new information on a terrorist threat against the United States "talks about an attack" but said there is no need to raise the national alert level. New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said city officials had not been advised that terrorists were plotting an attack there. (Associated Press)

'Missing' Radio Worker Will Testify for 9/11 Commission - May 25, 2004
The World Trade Center official accused of failing to answer letters asking him to testify at the 9/11 commission hearings says he'll meet with commission members today. Lloyd Thompson, deputy fire safety director at 1 World Trade Center, insists he never got the panel's invitations. (New York Post )

1,700 Cops, Firefighters Sue City Over 9/11 Sicknesses - May 24, 2004
In a dramatic sign of escalating health problems stemming from 9/11, more than 1,700 cops and firefighters have filed lawsuits against the city claiming they were sickened by work at Ground Zero or the Fresh Kills landfill. To handle the unprecedented legal overload, the city's Law Department set up a special division to tackle 9/11 claims and appointed attorney Kenneth Becker as chief of the World Trade Center unit. (New York Daily News)

Kelly, Bloomberg Question 9/11 Commission's Judgement - May 24, 2004
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly took a parting shot at the 9/11 commission, labeling comments by panel member and former Navy Secretary John Lehman as "ludicrous" during a TV interview aired Sunday. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking at Sunday's Salute to Israel Parade on Fifth Avenue, questioned the panel's right to pass judgment on New York officials. (Newsday)

Developing New Standards for Emergency Preparedness after 9/11 - May 24, 2004
Newsweek’s Jennifer Barrett spoke with Arthur E. Cote, of the American National Standards Institute and the National Fire Protection Association two groups working together to establish national emergency preparedness standards. Cote spoke about what went wrong on September 11 and how the new standards will address those problems. Excerpts: (Newsweek)

In Time of Terror, Police Commissioner Gains Power - May 24, 2004
At a time when New York finds itself on the front lines in the worldwide battle with terror, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly is emerging as the city's top general, a city official with unparalleled influence in the Bloomberg administration. Perhaps the most powerful police commissioner in a generation, he wields enormous clout in City Hall as he strives to oversee the city's response to the terror threat and the safety of its streets, say former city officials and senior aides to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. (New York Times)

It May Take 2nd Attack To Fix Intelligence Problems, Says 9/11 Commissioner - May 23, 2004
It may take another catastrophic attack on America before there is the political will to fix problems with the nation's intelligence and counterterrorism efforts, the chairman of the 9/11 commission told the Daily News. The commission, which completed two days of emotional hearings in Manhattan last week, is drafting a blueprint for how Congress and President Bush can revamp the system that allowed 19 hijackers to conduct the most deadly terror attack in U.S. history. (New York Daily News)

Commission Believes City Still Isn't Prepared - May 23, 2004
Hard feelings persist in the wake of the 9/11 hearings in Manhattan, with one panel member insisting that the city's disaster planning "sucked." The two days of emotional hearings last week were punctuated with outbursts from audience members, tense exchanges between former city officials and the commissioners, even spats among people in the audience. (New York Daily News)

Senator Recommends Military-Like Communication for NYC's First Responders - May 23, 2004
Police, firefighters and EMTs should adapt military communication techniques and technology when responding to emergencies, Sen. Chuck Schumer said yesterday. Schumer is introducing a bill to establish a new agency responsible for keeping rescue workers on the same wavelength. (New York Post)

Man Sought by 9/11 Commission Emerges to Speak of Chaos - May 22, 2004
For several months, the national commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks has been searching in vain for a man it believes could help answer some of the most critical questions of what happened inside the World Trade Center that day. His name is Lloyd Thompson, and for much of that morning two and a half years ago he was posted at the epicenter of chaos. Yesterday, weeks after the commission began sending him letters, interviewing former colleagues and checking with employers, Mr. Thompson emerged to tell his story. (New York Times)

Police Commissioner Criticized 9/11 Commission - May 22, 2004
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has slammed the Sept. 11 commission's criticisms of the city as "uninformed." New York's top cop also said the city was prepared for further terrorism - and that the likelihood of another attack has increased. (New York Daily News)

9.11 Commissioner Admits that Giuliani Got Off Easy in Hearing - May 21, 2004
A member of the Sept. 11 commission expressed regret yesterday over the questioning of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on Wednesday and said the panel should have pressed him on failures in the city's response to 9/11 instead of praising him so lavishly. (Newsday)

City Tests Inter-Agency Radio for Emergencies - May 21, 2004
The city's emergency agencies have begun to test a device touted as a possible solution to radio communication gaps revisited in this week's 9/11 Commission hearings. (Newsday)

NYPD on Alert for Truck Bombers - May 21, 2004
Cops will begin checking trucks entering the Big Apple and other major cities today after the FBI received information that terrorists may use truck bombs to attack high-profile targets like the Empire State Building, The Post has learned. NYPD and Port Authority cops will check trucks entering the city via bridges and tunnels, sources said. They will also check trucks already in the city if they look suspicious. (New York Post )

'Missing' Fire Safety Officer From 9/11 Hiding in Plain Sight - May 21, 2004
A World Trade Center fire safety officer the 9/11 commission couldn't find — but who could shed light on why a crucial FDNY radio channel appeared to fail — is hiding in plain sight. "I live right here and I go to work every morning," said Lloyd Thompson, 48, outside his apartment in a large complex in Yonkers yesterday. (New York Post )

Giuliani Defends City's Response to 9/11 - May 20, 2004
Rudolph Giuliani's appearance yesterday before the 9/11 Commission was the first time that, under public inspection, the finely wrought legacy that he had acquired could be called into question. But Mr. Giuliani's measured and courtly performance, unruffled by conspicuously gentle questioning from the commission, left his reputation essentially unscathed. In unscripted testimony, he led the panel through his personal Sept. 11, a poignant narrative that captivated the audience. Every question from the panel was framed with praise and expressions of gratitude (New York Times)

Bloomberg: Lack of Funding Increases Likelihood of Terrorist Attack - May 20, 2004
Michael R. Bloomberg told the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks yesterday that the federal government is placing New York City in greater danger by providing too little money to defend the city against future terrorist attacks. Describing the nation's counterterrorism budget as "pork barrel politics at its worst,'' Mr. Bloomberg told the commission that under current spending formulas, states and cities with little threat of being attacked are getting far more in federal subsidies per capita than New York. "It's the kind of shortsighted 'me first' nonsense that gives Washington a bad name,'' the mayor said, and "has the effect of aiding and abetting those who hate us and plot against us." (New York Times)

Giuliani: Firefighers Heard Evacuation Order, But Stayed to Help Civilians - May 20, 2004
In the epic accounts of Sept. 11 provided over the last two days by former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and his aides, the Police and Fire Departments bravely worked together, and no catastrophic failure to communicate doomed scores of firefighters inside the World Trade Center. Instead, Mr. Giuliani testified, those firefighters heard an evacuation order, but still did not leave the building. They were "standing their ground" to make sure civilians got out, he said. (New York Times)

9/11 Families Object to Congratulatory Tone at Hearing - May 20, 2004
Families of Sept. 11 victims are furious at what they call the failure of the 9/11 commission to investigate the disaster that cost more than 2,700 lives. "Today was a joke," widow Beverly Eckert said of yesterday's wrap-up of two days of hearings into how city officials responded to the World Trade Center attacks. (New York Post)

Giuliani Recounts 9/11 in Vivid Detail - May 20, 2004
Rudy Giuliani held the 9/11 commission spellbound yesterday as he recounted a day in New York City that began like any other - "a clear, beautiful day" - and ended in untold horror. In a detailed and moving recollection of Sept. 11, 2001, the former mayor said he'd just had breakfast with an aide and was headed to City Hall when he got the word. (New York Post)

Giuliani Concedes Flaws - May 20, 2004
The panelists' questions were nothing but deferential, and his own benedictions about the heroes of that day were lengthy. But several times before the Sept. 11 commission, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani starkly conceded planning and communication flaws in the city's response to the World Trade Center attack. The acknowledgments came almost off-handedly, with the rationale that "no one ever had encountered an attack like this." (Newsday)

Fire Union Complains of Being Ignored by 9/11 Commission - May 20, 2004
The federal commission investigating the 2001 terrorist attacks left here Wednesday without hearing public testimony from a single firefighter, police officer or other city emergency worker who was at the site that day. Fire union officials were particularly angry at what they considered a snub. They argued that if commission members wanted to get to the bottom of what happened, they should have let emergency workers tell them and the public about problems at the scene. (Newsday)

9/11 Commission Criticizes Emergency Response on 9/11 - May 19, 2004
The independent federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks came to New York yesterday and offered the most detailed public accounting yet of how the heroic response of police officers and firefighters was undermined by poor planning, inadequate equipment, faulty communication and generations-old interagency rivalries. At an emotional hearing about a mile from the site of the catastrophe, several members of the commission said the city's emergency-response plan was badly flawed at the time of the attack and suggested that 32 months after the attacks, the nation's largest city remains dangerously unprepared to deal with another terrorist strike. (New York Times)

For Deputy Fire Chief, Panel Hearing Highlights Tragic Decision - May 19, 2004
As the television and radio murmurs of the 9/11 commission hearing flowed through Fire Department headquarters in Brooklyn yesterday, no one listened more intently than one thin, unassuming man with a notebook in his lap. Sometimes he jotted notes, sometimes he nodded and sometimes he just shook his head. In many ways, Sept. 11 now defines this man, Deputy Assistant Chief Joseph W. Pfeifer. He witnessed the first jet hit the north tower, and immediately reported that "it looks like the plane was aiming toward the building." He arrived very early on the scene, and stayed long after. At one point, he and his only brother gazed at each other for a few moments before Fire Lt. Kevin Pfeifer went up some stairs, never to return. (New York Times)

Panel Assails Agency Turf Battle and Lack of Communication - May 19, 2004
The 9/11 commission took a hard look at how the city handled the World Trade Center attack and found systemic flaws may have proved fatal that day. The commission discovered bravery and courage, but they also found communication breakdowns and dysfunctional coordination within and between agencies. (New York Daily News)

Former Fire, Police Chiefs React With Anger to Criticism at Hearing - May 19, 2004
The 9/11 commission hearing yesterday in Manhattan turned into a series of angry finger-pointing exchanges — and one panel member ripped the city's response to the World Trade Center attack as "not worthy of the Boy Scouts." The over-the-top charge from commissioner John Lehman drew a furious response from former Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, who branded it "outrageous" and "despicable." (New York Post)

Family Members Suffer Through 9/11 Once More - May 19, 2004
Grieving relatives of Sept. 11 victims yesterday were pierced once again with unspeakable pain and raging anger as the 9/11 commission presented graphic evidence about the World Trade Center attack. As family members braced themselves by holding hands or wrapping their arms around each other, the hearing began with a minute-by-minute reconstruction of the catastrophe, including video of the planes' impact with the towers and the skyscrapers' collapse. (New York Post)

Giuliani Left in Tough Spot After Testimony From His Former Commissioners - May 19, 2004
Three top aides to Rudolph Giuliani left the ex-mayor with much to explain today when he faces the Sept. 11 commission. Giuliani's last police, fire and emergency management chiefs bumped and weaved their way through the panel's questions, in the bureaucratic style they once honed before the City Council. (Newsday)

Questions About Radios Go Unanswered as Operator Cannot Be Found - May 19, 2004
The communication failures in the north tower on Sept. 11 have been widely blamed on technical problems. But the cause of the radio failure may have more to do with human error, not mechanical - and the human's name may be Lloyd Thompson. The only problem is, Thompson is nowhere to be found. Thompson is a former fire patrol officer for a private security company hired by the managers of the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Commission Will Focus on Lack of Coordination on 9/11 - May 18, 2004
Members of the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks say current and former city officials in New York will be confronted at public hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday about why New York was not better prepared to deal with a catastrophic terrorist attack and why the city is still struggling to coordinate the disaster-response plans of its police officers and firefighters. The commission members said that many of the questions would center on the city government's failure before Sept. 11 to insist on greater cooperation between the long-feuding Police and Fire Departments, especially since the city had been the victim of earlier terrorist attacks, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. (New York Times)

Profiles of Those Testifying at 9/11 Commission - May 18, 2004
The Sept. 11 commission convenes in New York City on Tuesday and Wednesday to examine the city's emergency response to the attacks. Here are some of the people scheduled to testify. (Newsday)

Many 9/11 Family Members Fear What Awaits Them At Hearings - May 18, 2004
Many relatives of people killed on Sept. 11, 2001 dread watching the latest round of hearings by the federal commission probing the attacks. Those hearings begin this morning at the New School with a recounting of the city's response. Even before the hearings convened, 9/11 families prepared to have raw wounds reopened. Family members say they sleep badly, have nightmares or are experiencing increased stress in anticipation of the graphic retelling of the worst terror attack in U.S. history. (New York Daily News)

Mayor Will Testify at 9/11 Commission Hearings - May 18, 2004
In a last-minute decision, Mayor Bloomberg will testify before the 9/11 commission tomorrow, amid indications the city's response to the attacks on the World Trade Center will come in for more praise than blame. (New York Post)

Strict Format for Hearings - May 18, 2004
Working under a rigid format, city officials will get to tell the country in a formal setting Tuesday what happened in the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001. The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States will hear from former and present police and fire commanders Tuesday and Wednesday, but it will limit formal statements from the witnesses to just a few minutes, according to those who have been invited to testify. (Newsday)

Police Department Gives Officers Guide for Identifying Terrorists - May 18, 2004
The Police Department has issued a pocket-sized reference card for patrol officers detailing guidelines it says are designed to help them spot terrorists. The department tells its officers to watch out for people with drivers' licenses from more than one state, passports from more than one country, and identification papers with different names and people videotaping or photographing bridges, tunnels, utilities, landmarks and government facilities. (New York Times)

9/11 Evacuation Instructions Will Be an Issue at Commission Hearings - May 17, 2004
As part of its hearings this week in New York, the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks will report on one of the most contentious issues of that morning: the contradictory evacuation instructions given in the World Trade Center, particularly public-address announcements made by an official in the south tower urging tenants to stay in the building even though fire was raging in the other tower. (New York Times)

Police Commissioners Offer Different Perspectives to Panel - May 17, 2004
When the city's top cop and his predecessor testify tomorrow before the Sept. 11 commission, they will bring two very different perspectives on the NYPD's role in a terror-plagued world. (New York Daily News)

Will Bloomberg Testify at 9/11 Commission? - May 17, 2004
The chances that Mayor Michael Bloomberg will testify before the panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks this week are "about 50-50," according to an official familiar with the situation. Bloomberg, who testified before the panel more than a year ago, is considering a reprise at the prompting of commission member former Democratic Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey. (Newsday)

Families Brace For Difficult Days at Commission Hearings - May 17, 2004
Families who have never stopped imagining their loved ones' last moments inside the burning World Trade Center are preparing to watch officials reconstruct that horrific day when the Sept. 11 commission comes to Manhattan this week. The panel will convene just miles from ground zero on Tuesday to examine the emergency response to the disaster, and officials are warning families that video footage of the attack and collapse of the towers will accompany detailed witness testimony. (Associated Press)

Mayor Assails Critics of Emergency Response Plan - May 17, 2004
Michael R. Bloomberg yesterday attacked critics who say his new plan to coordinate the city's response to emergencies does not go far enough to prevent squabbling and confusion between the Police and Fire Departments. "I don't know what they do for a living, but they should probably go back to whatever they do," Mr. Bloomberg said in his first public remarks since the new incident command system was announced Friday. (New York Times)

Emergency Plan Will Likely Get Federal Funding - May 16, 2004
A federal official responsible for approving the city's plan for responding to emergencies said yesterday that, while he had not reviewed the plan in detail, he believed it would meet the standards required for federal funding to be granted. (Newsday)

9/11 Commission Questions Fire Chief on Radio Use During Attacks - May 16, 2004
Questions about the radio system used by the Fire Department during the World Trade Center terror attacks are being raised anew by the 9/11 commission, which has grilled a hero FDNY chief whose brother died when the buildings crumbled. (New York Post)

Giuliani's Testimony at 9/11 Commission Could Hurt Ties With Bush - May 16, 2004
More than two years after leaving office, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will testify before the Sept. 11 commission this week in an appearance that could put him in the awkward position of criticizing fellow Republicans in the Bush administration just as he is seeking a more prominent role in the party. Giuliani will probably be asked by the commissioners whether the city was aware President Bush had reviewed an intelligence briefing a month before the attacks that said terrorists might be casing buildings in New York. (Associated Press)

Environmental Protection Agency Looks For 'Fingerprint' of Ground Zero Dust - May 16, 2004
Did the collapse of the World Trade Center produce dust with a particular imprint that distinguishes its origins beyond a doubt, and if so, what are its defining characteristics? That was one of the issues tackled during a May 12 conference call among experts charged with reviewing the Environmental Protection Agency’s response to the World Trade Center disaster. The panel held the two-hour telephone conference to prepare for its next public meeting, to be held on May 24 in Lower Manhattan. (Downtown Express)

Mayor Announces Plan to Coordinate Agencies During Emergencies - May 15, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg announced a new set of protocols yesterday that seeks to define which agency assumes control at emergency situations. Called the Citywide Incident Management System, the plan was released just days before the 9/11 Commission is set to convene in New York, in part to explore how emergency responders coordinated their efforts after the Sept. 11 terror attack. (New York Daily News)

Ground Zero's Top Fundraising Post Remains Unfilled, Threatening Delays - May 15, 2004
After being turned down by several top business executives, Gov. George E. Pataki is struggling to find someone prominent to lead the campaign to raise as much as $600 million for a memorial and cultural buildings at the World Trade Center site. Mr. Pataki's inability so far to find a leader for the campaign has contributed to a delay in deciding which cultural organizations will occupy the site, these people said. (New York Times )

New Emergency Plan Favors Police Over Fire Department - May 15, 2004
The Police Department - not the Fire Department - will take charge of the response to terrorist attacks like 9/11 under a new emergency plan released yesterday by City Hall. (New York Post)

Critics Say Emergency Plan Doesn't Answer Toughest Questions - May 15, 2004
Bracing for next week's appearances before the Sept. 11 commission, the Bloomberg administration Friday outlined a command structure for disaster scenes that left critics still questioning who's in charge when. (Newsday )

Senator Clinton Tells New Doctors of Ground Zero Health Problems - May 15, 2004
About 35,000 people who worked at ground zero still face health problems from the dust and debris, but government is not offering enough help to those who risked their lives for others, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told new doctors who graduated on Friday. (Associated Press)

9/11 Commission Draft Report Faults Lack of Coordination Among Rescuers - May 14, 2004
Draft reports from the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks praise the bravery of New York's emergency responders while two of the largest buildings in the world were crumbling, but say their efforts were severely hampered by institutional problems, according to people who have seen some or all the findings. (New York Times)

Liberty Bond Extension Moves Through Congress - May 14, 2004
A five-year extension of Liberty Bonds for post-Sept. 11 construction in New York is headed to congressional negotiators after the Senate unanimously approved it as part of an international tax bill. The program to provide $8 billion in tax-exempt bonds, originally estimated to cost the government about $1.2 billion as part of more than $20 billion in federal aid to the city, is set to expire at the end of 2004. (Associated Press)

Gang Members Charged With Terrorism Under New State Law - May 14, 2004
Five members of a Bronx gang of violent Mexican soccer enthusiasts have been charged with terrorism and other offenses under an anti-terror law that went into effect a week after 9/11, cops said yesterday. The five - members of the so-called St. James Boys - are accused of murder, manslaughter, weapons possession, assault and robbery, among other crimes. The gang members were the first suspects charged with terrorism under the state law, which went into effect Sept. 17, 2001. (New York Post)

Council: MTA Dragging on Terror Plans - May 14, 2004
The MTA's counter-terrorism plans are unfolding too slowly, according to City Council members who say the pace jeopardizes safety. Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials testified in a council hearing Thursday that the agency plans to spend at least $200 million of $591 million in available security funds. But they could not say when they would spend the rest of the money, triggering criticism from council members. (Newsday)

9/11 Commission Wants to Hear From Bloomberg - May 13, 2004
Bob Kerrey, a member of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, said yesterday that New York has unique status as the only city in the country to be a repeat target of foreign terrorists and that the panel should hear from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg when it meets here next week. (New York Times)

9/11 Commission Prepares for Trip to New York - May 12, 2004
The independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is coming to New York next week with plans to provide a definitive account in words, sounds and pictures of what happened that day, a process that will tread on sensitive ground and unsettled history. (New York Times)

9/11 Commission Won't Hear From Rescue Workers - May 12, 2004
When the federal commission investigating the events of Sept. 11, 2001 meets here next week, it will not hear the voice of rank and file emergency workers who responded that day. The unions representing the city's firefighters and other emergency workers said they had not been invited to testify. A spokesman for the commission, however, said at least 50 members of the fire service had given statements to commission staff, and that staff had also reached out to the unions but had gotten no response. (Newsday)

City's Building Safety Legislation Stems From 9/11 - May 12, 2004
The City Council is expected to vote next week on the building safety legislation stemming from the city's technical inquiry into the World Trade Center collapses. Councilwoman Madeline Provenzano (D-Bronx), chairwoman of the housing and buildings committee, said the latest version of the bill, which requires high-rise building owners to install emergency signage, sprinklers and other safety measures, will pass committee and come to a full council vote next Wednesday. (Newsday)

Ground Zero Environmental Impact Statement Still Lacking, Says Community Board - May 9, 2004
For all its 2,000 pages, a report on rebuilding the World Trade Center site did not go far enough in addressing specific public concerns, members of Community Board 1 said this week. In mid-April, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation released its final generic environmental impact statement on the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. The document was a revised version of a draft released in January, and in addition to repeating the expected impacts of the decade-long rebuilding effort it individually addressed some 671 comments submitted in response to the first draft. (Downtown Express)

Stock Exchange May Remove 9/11 Plaque Bearing Former Chief's Name - May 8, 2004
The New York Stocc Exchange may remove a plaque commemorating victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks because it features disgraced former chairman Dick Grasso's name, sources close to the matter told The Associated Press on Friday. (Newsday)

MTA Failing on Antiterror Measures, Says Ex-Engineer - May 7, 2004
The MTA could be doing a "faster and cheaper" job of protecting the subway system from a terror attack, and has failed to focus on the system's most vulnerable spots, such as the East River tunnels, a former transit engineer said yesterday. (New York Post)

Giuliani: World Safer Than Before 9/11 - May 7, 2004
The world is a safer place than before the Sept. 11 attacks because the threat of terrorism is being dealt with head on, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said Thursday. (Newsday)

In Rebuilding Update, Governor Backs New Tunnel Under East River - May 6, 2004
Governor George E. Pataki threw his political weight yesterday behind a plan to dig a new tunnel under the East River as part of a $6 billion rail link from downtown to Kennedy Airport and points east along the Long Island Rail Road. Mr. Pataki said the rail link would offer travelers a "one-seat ride to their terminal at J.F.K. in just 36 minutes" from Lower Manhattan. As an economic and political matter, the link would be even more important as the downtown gateway for up to 100,000 Long Island commuters, greatly expanding the capacity of businesses in the financial district to attract suburban workers who now live at least two train rides away. (New York Times)

Freedom Tower Draws First Tenants - May 6, 2004
The Freedom Tower got a vote of confidence yesterday from a pair of young entrepreneurs who plan to be the building's first private-sector tenants. Ronn Torossian and Adam Brecht committed to rent a 35,000-square-foot floor for their midtown firm 5W Public Relations at the 1,776-foot skyscraper at Ground Zero. "What happened on 9/11 was a terrible thing," Torossian, 29, told the Daily News. "We want to stand up and say we're not afraid of terrorists." (New York Daily News)

Freedom Tower Will Break Ground on July 4 - May 6, 2004
Groundbreaking for the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower - the signature new building at Ground Zero - will take place on the Fourth of July, Gov. Pataki said yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Giuliani, Kerrey, and the 9/11 Commission in New York - May 6, 2004
The real high drama when the 9/11 Commission comes to New York will be a low-key confrontation between two of New York’s most compelling, albeit nonpracticing, politicians, Bob Kerrey and Rudy Giuliani. (New York Magazine)

Jury Deals Another Blow to Silverstein in Ground Zero Insurance Case - May 4, 2004
A federal jury in Manhattan said yesterday that the single largest insurer at the World Trade Center was limited to a single payout of $877 million, not the double payment sought by the developer Larry A. Silverstein in his long-running legal battle over the downtown complex. It was another blow to Mr. Silverstein's 29-month campaign to collect $7.1 billion for rebuilding the trade center site and one that could ultimately force him to settle with 10 remaining insurance companies. Last week, the jury ruled that eight of the two dozen insurers at the trade center were not liable for double payments. (New York Times)

Governor Considers Two Options for Downtown/Long Island Rail Link - May 4, 2004
Searching for a rail link from Lower Manhattan to Kennedy Airport and Long Island, the Pataki administration is poised to choose between building a new tunnel or using the existing Montague Street tunnel on the M, N and R subway lines. The cost of a Long Island-Lower Manhattan link using the Montague Street tunnel has been put by officials and business executives at $5 billion to $5.5 billion. A new tunnel might add $1 billion to the cost. (New York Times)

Two Men Detained After 9/11 Sue Justice Department For Abuse - May 3, 2004
In a federal lawsuit to be filed today, two immigrants who were detained after 9/11 charge that they were abused in the harsh maximum-security unit of a federal detention center in Brooklyn - the one cited by the Justice Department's inspector general last year for widespread physical abuse of its detainees. The accusations are similar to those now being made against military officers guarding prisoners in Iraq. (New York Times)

Over 33,000 Sign Up For 9/11 Health Registry - May 2, 2004
The World Trade Center Health Registry has now enrolled more than 33,000 people who may have inhaled harmful debris following the collapse of the twin towers. Health officials want even more to sign up, and they are making a special appeal for parents of children who attended school below Canal Street to register. Residents below Canal Street, rescue and recovery workers and anyone who was south of Chambers Street on September 11, 2001, are also encouraged to sign up. (NY1)

World Trade Center Insurance Verdict May Limit Site's Development - May 1, 2004
Though it is neither their purpose nor their charge, the jurors in the insurance case involving Larry A. Silverstein, the commercial leaseholder at the World Trade Center site, may be reshaping the future of downtown. By significantly limiting the insurance proceeds to Mr. Silverstein, and therefore his construction financing, they have made it more likely that only one skyscraper, the Freedom Tower, will rise at ground zero in the foreseeable future. (New York Times)

Rebuilding Officials Say Insurance Verdict Won't Limit Development - May 1, 2004
A court decision may have left World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein billions short of the cash he needs to redevelop Ground Zero, but officials said yesterday plans will move along - with or without him. (New York Daily News)

Over One Third of 9/11 Injury Claims Rejected - May 1, 2004
More than a third of the injury claims to the government's Sept. 11 victim compensation fund have been turned down, mainly for lack of medical proof or because ailments had cleared up. The fund has received 4,419 injury claims, significantly more than administrators expected when the application period ended late last year. Fund officials said 1,595 have been rejected. (Associated Press)

Assembly Speaker Weighs In On Downtown Transportation Projects - May 1, 2004
The scene has been fairly typical over the last year. The governor or mayor or both call a press conference to make a big announcement about development in Lower Manhattan or the Far West Side. It usually hinges on a transportation investment, but the person who often is not there for the ceremony is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. It is a curious omission particularly since Silver, Albany’s most powerful Democrat, represents Downtown and as Assembly speaker, he has effective veto power over all Metropolitan Transportation Authority capital projects. (Downtown Express)

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)

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)

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 — the reverberations from the first jetliner crashing into the World Trade Center down the street — 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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

$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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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 )

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)

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)

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)

Environmental Protection Agency Watchdog Panel Looks to Expand Health Testing Downtown - Apr 18, 2004
Experts charged with reviewing the Environmental Protection Agency’s response to the World Trade Center collapse have recommended broader testing to determine what, if any, contamination remains from the disaster. (Downtown Express)

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)

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 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)

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 memorial—but it will "not reveal all negatives" of the project, according to an internal document obtained by The Observer. The city’s 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 site—11,499 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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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 )

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

9/11 Commission Grills Rice on Early Warning Signs - Apr 9, 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 — there was no new threat information." (New York Times)

Rice Knew of Al-Qaeda Surveillance of New York - Apr 9, 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)

New Yorkers React Favorably to Rice's Testimony - Apr 9, 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)

9/11 Families Rip Rice Over Testimony - Apr 9, 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)

Some 9/11 Families Skip Rice's Testimony - Apr 9, 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)

New York Could Be Liable for up to $350 Million in 9/11 Claims - Apr 9, 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)

Rice to Testify in Front of 9/11 Commission Today - Apr 8, 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)

Ten Members of the 9/11 Commission - Apr 8, 2004
The 10 members of the Sept. 11 commission, formally known as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States: (Associated Press)

Top Architecture Firms Eye Collaborating Role on Ground Zero Memorial - Apr 7, 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)

Federal Grant Gives $81 Million for 9/11 Health Monitoring - Apr 7, 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)

Four '9/11 Moms' Keep Heat on 9/11 Commission - Apr 7, 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)

9/11 Commission Plans Tough Questions for Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation - Apr 6, 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)

Senate Committee Seeks Statue of Liberty Foundation's Records - Apr 6, 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 Charity Will Give Artifacts Back to Fire Department - Apr 6, 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)

US Investigates How Donations to Reopen Statue of Liberty Were Spent - Apr 5, 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 5, 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)

Representative Calls For Investigation Into Statue of Liberty Foundation - Apr 5, 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 5, 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)

9/11 Commission Head: 9/11 Could Have Been Prevented - Apr 4, 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)

Extra Fund-Raising Put Off Statue Of Liberty Reopening - Apr 3, 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)

City Agencies Spar Over Roles In Future Disasters - Apr 3, 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)

In Storage, 9/11 Artifacts Vulnerable To Elements - Apr 3, 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)

9/11 Commission To Decide Whether Bush Inappropriately Held Back Clinton-Era Documents - Apr 3, 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)

Bush Aide Keep 9/11 Commission From Seeing Clinton-Era Papers - Apr 2, 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 1, 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 1, 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 1, 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)

Downtown's Economy Looking Strong - Mar 31, 2004
The reluctance of many New Yorkers to reside and work downtown because of what happened there — terrorist attacks and the ensuing loss of 3,000 lives — has just about vanished, according to real estate and city sources. Indicative of this: •Surging housing prices,up an estimated 10% to 12% year over year, and a steady flow of new residential construction,with a lot of it on a luxurious scale. •Major jobs recovery, with 78% of the nearly 9,900 jobs lost since the Septmber 11 attacks in 2001 having been regained as of March 2003, according to the Partnership for New York City. It further notes that 72 of downtown’s largest companies have made commitments for an average 10 years that will result in the retention of 60,000 jobs, while federal incentives for smaller firms have enabled 1,352 businesses to create and retain an additional 23,293 jobs. •A slew of new stores, resulting in an estimated 6% to 8% increase in retail space since 2002. One sign of the recovery of Lower Manhattan is the rebound in $1 millionplus condominium sales at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Battery Park, just a heartbeat away from where the twin towers once stood. A Ritz Carlton spokeswoman describes interest as strong, with only eight apartments left of the 115 offered for sale on the 15th to 40th floors perched above the hotel portion. (New York Sun)

Rice Will Testify In Front Of 9/11 Commission - Mar 31, 2004
President Bush bowed to growing political pressure on Tuesday and agreed to allow Condoleezza Rice, his national security adviser, to testify in public and under oath before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks. (New York Times)

Victims Compensation Fund Saving City $500 Million - Mar 31, 2004
The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund will likely save the city more than $500 million by averting lawsuits, the head of the fund said yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Daniel Pearl's Wife Files For 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund - Mar 30, 2004
A federal Victims Compensation Fund application was filed on behalf of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped in Pakistan, then beheaded by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, once Al Qaeda's top operational commander and the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 hijackings. (New York Times)

Clash Between Police, Firefighters Risks Homeland Security Funds - Mar 30, 2004
Cops and firefighters still have not agreed on how to work together during major emergencies, putting millions of dollars in federal anti-terror funds at risk, city officials said yesterday. The plan, known as citywide incident command system, must be in place by October - or else Homeland Security Department grants will dry up. (New York Daily News)

Fire Department Presents New Counter-Terrorism Plan - Mar 30, 2004
Thirty months after it lost 343 firefighters on Sept. 11, 2001, the Fire Department has produced a sweeping plan that lays out a two-year strategy to better prepare the department for future terrorist attacks. (New York Times)

Mayor Donates $100,000 for Statue of Liberty Security - Mar 30, 2004
Lady Liberty has a new man in her life and, just like her, he has lots of green. Mayor Bloomberg, one of the richest men in the world, has donated $100,000 to help reopen the shuttered Statue of Liberty, the Daily News has learned. (New York Daily News)

Rice: Bush Asked Clarke To Look Into 9/11 Iraq Link - Mar 29, 2004
The White House acknowledged Sunday that on the day after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush asked his top counterterrorism adviser, Richard A. Clarke, to find out whether Iraq was involved. Mr. Bush wanted to know "did Iraq have anything to do with this? Were they complicit in it?" Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, recounted in an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes." Mr. Bush was not trying to intimidate anyone to "produce information," she said. Rather, given the United States' "actively hostile relationship" with Iraq at the time, he was asking Mr. Clarke "a perfectly logical question," Ms. Rice said. (New York Times)

Federal Government Criticized For Leaving 9/11 Rescue Workers Without Medical Care - Mar 29, 2004
Hundreds of Ground Zero workers have lingering illnesses, but the government isn't paying for their care, said a leading doctor and two federal lawmakers. Of 700 workers in a treatment program at Mount Sinai Medical Center, three-quarters still suffer from upper-respiratory problems brought on by work at the World Trade Center site, said Dr. Robin Herbert, co-director of the hospital's Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine. More than 40% suffer post-traumatic stress, said Herbert. (New York Daily News)

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Doubles Police Budget - Mar 29, 2004
The MTA has nearly doubled its police budget over the last three years in an effort to beef up security at its sprawling transportation network, guarding against a terror attack, officials said. (New York Post)

Artist Who Worked With Ground Zero Dust Honored - Mar 29, 2004
A New York-based artist became the first winner of a new British art prize on Sunday for a work made from dust collected from the streets of Manhattan after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. (Associated Press)

Kerry Assaults Bush On 9/11 - Mar 28, 2004
Joining a debate that has dominated Washington for days, Senator John Kerry on Saturday accused the Bush administration of "character assassination" against critics and said that the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, should publicly testify under oath about the Sept. 11 attacks. (New York Times)

9/11 Families Accuse Clarke Of Exploiting 9/11 - Mar 28, 2004
A group of New York families of 9/11 victims came out swinging against Richard Clarke yesterday, accusing the former White House anti-terror chief of cashing in on the tragedy with his explosive book. (New York Post)

In Informal Deal, Bloomberg Cedes Control of Ground Zero to Pataki, Takes Lead On Far West Side - Mar 27, 2004
Gov. George E. Pataki and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg have each carved out a piece of Manhattan on which to fasten their economic development visions, with one another's blessing. Mr. Bloomberg has laid claim to the development of the far West Side. Mr. Pataki wants credit for the rebirth of Lower Manhattan. (New York Times)

New Bill Would Expand Services For Those Affected By 9/11 Dust Cloud - Mar 27, 2004
Thousands of people who live or work in Lower Manhattan and were exposed to the dust plume after the World Trade Center attack would be eligible to undergo health screening under a bill expected to be introduced in Congress on Monday. The legislation would greatly expand an existing health monitoring program that covers New York City firefighters and about 12,000 others who responded to the attacks. (New York Times)

White House Backs Down on Some 9/11 Claims - Mar 27, 2004
A member of the 9/11 commission said yesterday that national security adviser Condoleezza Rice indicated in a private session she was wrong to have once stated no one expected terrorists to use planes as missiles. The White House reportedly also backpedaled yesterday on whether President Bush pressed counterterror czar Richard Clarke the day after the attacks to find evidence that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was involved. (New York Daily News)

Environmental Protection Agency Report: Apartment Clean-up Downtown Was Successful - Mar 26, 2004
A report by the federal Environmental Protection Agency shows that the agency's efforts to clean up thousands of apartments in Lower Manhattan after the World Trade Center attack were successful in removing asbestos and other harmful materials. But a critic of the program said the report, released yesterday, confirmed nothing more than the inadequacies of the cleanup and the need for further testing. (New York Times)

Rice Will Meet With 9/11 Commission Again - Mar 26, 2004
Under mounting pressure from Democrats about its response to the investigation into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the White House offered Thursday to have Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, answer more questions from the Sept. 11 panel. At the same time, President Bush forcefully denied accusations that he had ignored the severity of the threat from Al Qaeda. (New York Times)

New Process to Guide Historical Preservation at Ground Zero - Mar 26, 2004
Criticized by preservationists and victims' relatives for indifference to the physical remnants of the World Trade Center, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation proposed yesterday to create a review procedure that would guide the treatment of historical elements at the site for 10 years. The corporation's proposal would open future decisions about structural remains to review by preservationists, civic groups, architectural and planning organizations and relatives' representatives. Those remains include column footings from the twin towers, the foundation wall, smoke-scarred ruins of the underground parking garage, the tubes and terminal of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad and a stairway leading to the vanished plaza. (New York Times)

9/11 Scammer Sentenced to Rikers - Mar 26, 2004
Everybody's working for the weekend - except millionaire 9/11 charity scammer Beatrice Kaufman. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Roger Hayes yesterday sentenced Kaufman to spend the next 52 weekends in Rikers Island for bilking relief organizations out of $78,000 and trying to scam them out of hundreds of thousands dollars more. (New York Post )

Richard Clarke:Terrorism Was Not Urgent For Bush - Mar 25, 2004
Former top counterterrorism adviser Richard A. Clarke told a special commission today that the Bush administration initially did not treat terrorism as "an urgent issue" and sidetracked his proposals to deal with the threat more aggressively. Clarke, appearing before the bipartisan commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, also criticized the FBI's performance in assessing domestic threats from the al Qaeda terrorist network before the attacks and called for the creation of a new domestic intelligence agency. (Washington Post )

Profile Of 9/11 Commission - Mar 25, 2004
The bi-partisan commission established by the US Congress to investigate the attacks of 11 September 2001 has received scant public attention outside Washington. But, with recent allegations by former anti-terror aide Richard Clarke that the Bush administration has done a "terrible job" in confronting terrorism, the panel has been thrust into the limelight. High-profile figures from the Clinton and Bush administrations have been testifying on how they confronted terror threats. (BBC News)

Suveillence Cameras Planned For Buses, Subways - Mar 25, 2004
Transportation officials are considering putting surveillance cameras in buses and subways, the Daily News has learned. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has been boosting security since the terror attacks, has been in discussions with a French-based company that is outfitting Paris-area buses with surveillance equipment, sources said. (New York Daily News)

City Wonders Whether It Will Ever Get Promised 9/11 Insurance Funds - Mar 25, 2004
A long-running legal stalemate between New York City and federal emergency authorities surfaced at a congressional hearing Wednesday, as New York officials questioned when a promised $1 billion insurance fund will be established. City officials have been frustrated by the yearlong talks with the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the agency's position that the city may have to pay $350 million in legal claims brought by workers at ground zero before the government steps in to pick up the rest. (Newsday )

Designers Struggle To Avoid Windswept Plaza Of World Trade Center - Mar 25, 2004
Austin J. Tobin Plaza was the official name of the vast open space at the World Trade Center. But most New Yorkers knew it as the Barren Windswept Plaza. There is a chance they will recognize its successor, too, just by the gusts. "Typically, pedestrian-level wind conditions will be in the comfortable range," the draft environmental impact statement said about the planned World Trade Center redevelopment. "However, during some limited time periods, uncomfortable conditions may occur and activities like sitting, standing and walking may be impeded." (New York Times)

9/11 Commission: Bush, Clinton Adminstrations Both Failed on Terror - Mar 24, 2004
Both the Bush and Clinton administrations missed diplomatic and military opportunities to capture or kill Osama bin Laden before Sept. 11, 2001, according to reports yesterday by a federally appointed commission investigating the attacks. (Newsday )

At 9/11 Commission Hearing, Terrorism Transcends Politics - Mar 24, 2004
Yes, election-year politics crackled in the air. Yes, Republican members of the 9/11 Commission prodded and scolded Bill Clinton's cabinet members, and Democrats did the same to President Bush's. But the secretaries themselves often agreed with one other, regardless of party, and their public presence was a powerful sign that terrorism transcends politics — and that blame abounds for failing to fully face the threat in time. (New York Times)

For Four Mothers Of 9/11 Victims, Hearing Leaves Questions Unanswered - Mar 24, 2004
Four moms from New Jersey, the World Trade Center widows whose tireless advocacy produced the broad investigation into the failures around the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, had high hopes for this week’s hearings, which are focused on policy failures. Instead, packed into the car at 4 a.m. in what has become a ritual for them, their hearts were heavy. The Four Moms had submitted dozens of questions they have been burning to ask at these hearings. Mr. Rumsfeld is a particular thorn in their sides. (New York Observer)

Answering Republican Criticism, Silver Proposes Anti-Terrorism Plan - Mar 24, 2004
A week ago, Gov. George E. Pataki and a chorus of Republican leaders accused the Democratic State Assembly of endangering the welfare of all New Yorkers by failing to act on a set of antiterrorism laws they have been pushing for two years. On Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver shot back, proposing his own wide-ranging set of laws that he said would combat terrorism by doing everything from cracking down on money laundering to tightening gun laws. (New York Times)

Silverstein Testifies in Insurance Trial - Mar 24, 2004
Just a day or two after the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, a friend warned World Trade Center landlord Larry Silverstein that he "was facing a major insurance] problem," the developer told a jury yesterday. After six weeks of testimony from witnesses for 13 insurance companies fighting over the size of his WTC payout, a subdued Silverstein took the stand for 24 minutes in his $7 billion lawsuit against the insurers. Silverstein said he started to focus on the insurance ramifications of the disaster on Sept. 12 or Sept. 13. (New York Post)

Silverstein Avoids Contempt of Court Charge - Mar 23, 2004
The developer Larry A. Silverstein narrowly escaped a civil contempt charge yesterday in the seventh week of a trial pitting him against his insurers for billions of dollars he seeks to rebuild the World Trade Center. (New York Times)

Killing Of Hamas Leader Has New Yorkers Worried About Security - Mar 23, 2004
The NYPD stepped up security across the city yesterday as members of the Hamas terrorist group vowed revenge for the killing of its founder by Israel, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. NYPD patrol cars were outside mosques and synagogues, and security was visibly increased at the UN and in front of the Israeli Consulate. (New York Daily News)

Mayor Meets With Senate Majority Leader To Discuss Security - Mar 23, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg had an unannounced private meeting with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist at City Hall yesterday to talk about homeland-security funding and the upcoming Republican National Convention. The hush-hush get-together comes as some observers claim the Republican mayor seeks to distance himself from his party as he plans his re-election campaign in the heavily Democratic city. Ed Skyler, the mayor's press secretary, said of the half-hour meeting, "They discussed federal aid for New York City, homeland-security funds, preparations for the Republican National Convention and transportation issues." (New York Post)

Rebuilding Funds Going To Organizations Run By Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Board - Mar 22, 2004
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board has handed out at least $19.6 million in the past year to organizations run by LMDC board members — raising questions about the federally funded corporation’s ethics and priorities. When former New York Stock Exchange CEO Richard Grasso was on the LMDC board, the corporation gave the stock exchange about $10 million to get rid of its jersey barriers and put up attractive security systems, like the iron gates Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg unveiled this winter. In July, the LMDC board voted to give $4 million to the Alliance for Downtown New York for “streetscape improvements” from Battery Park up to City Hall Park. Carl Weisbrod, an LMDC board member, runs the Downtown Alliance. (New York Sun)

Disagreement Over How To Spend $1.2 Billion In Federal Rebuilding Funds - Mar 21, 2004
here is only $1,163,955,348.58 left. Though that sounds like a lot, it is not enough to cover the many claims on the federal grants for rebuilding Lower Manhattan. These competing claims expose something of a divide between the established downtown, an unalloyed business hub, and the emerging downtown, with its residential overlay. It is not that businesses and residents disagree on the broad goal of creating a lively mixed-use area. But they may struggle over the spending needed to get there. (New York Times)

Taking Souvenirs From Ground Zero Common Practice For FBI Agents - Mar 21, 2004
Everbody does it. That's the response Jane Turner got when she told federal investigators that a fellow FBI agent had stolen a Tiffany globe found at the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. (New York Post )

Council Says Metropolitan Transportation Authority Is Wasting Terror Funds - Mar 19, 2004
With the train bombings in Madrid fresh in their minds, City Council members grilled city transportation officials yesterday over why they have not put nearly $600 million in federal anti-terror funds to use. Metropolitan Transportation Authority bosses appeared at a City Council budget hearing yesterday, but offered little information about what the agency plans to do with $591 million it received from the feds last summer. (New York Daily News)

Judge Bans Silverstein From Insurance Trials - Mar 19, 2004
A Manhatan Federal Court judge barred World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein from being a spectator at his $7 billion insurance trial after the developer violated a gag order. Chief Judge Michael Mukasey said he was holding Silverstein in civil contempt for conducting a news conference Monday. (New York Daily News)

Anti-Terror Money For Metrpolitan Transportation Authority Goes Unspent - Mar 18, 2004
The MTA has not spent any of the nearly $600 million in counter-terrorism funds that it received nine months ago, officials acknowledged Wednesday, explaining that building security projects takes time. (Newsday)

Agencies Clashed Over Terror Drill - Mar 18, 2004
When the city's Office of Emergency Management was scouting a location to test response to an attack with a weapon of mass destruction, it first settled on Penn Station. But the various sides, who in a real emergency would be expected to work together to save lives, couldn't agree on how to carry out the drill without disrupting riders and commerce. (Newsday)

Calls For More In-Depth Analysis In Responses To Environmental Impact Statement - Mar 17, 2004
It is hard to imagine a 2,000-page document missing anything. But critical comments on the draft environmental impact statement for the World Trade Center rebuilding project generally fault it more for what it does not say than for what it does. The comments, which were due Monday but kept trickling in yesterday to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, urged officials to assess more carefully and comprehensively the cumulative effects of several big projects - the office towers and memorial, the PATH terminal, the Fulton Street Transit Center and the reconstruction of West Street-Route 9A - that have been separated for public review. (New York Times)

Raw Confrontation In Albany Over Terror Bill - Mar 17, 2004
Against the backdrop of the terrorist bombings in Madrid, which Governor Pataki and Senate Republicans seized on as evidence that New York remains at risk, the emotional exchange showed how even two and a half years after the World Trade Center was destroyed, the issue can trigger a welter of strong feelings and tricky political equations. While Mr. Pataki has made the new terrorism laws, which were passed by the Senate on Tuesday, a priority of his administration, similar legislation was passed by the Senate last year only to die in the Assembly. The bills deal with everything from cyberterrorism to money laundering to safeguarding crops. This year, both because it is an election year for the lawmakers and because events overseas may serve as a reminder of the terrorist threat, Republicans are hoping the dynamic is different. (New York Times)

Bush Aides To Testify At 9/11 Panel Next Week - Mar 17, 2004
Senior officials of the Bush and Clinton administrations will testify next week before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and they will be asked to explain their decisions on terrorist threats and "how they handled the most pressing security threat to our country," the panel said Tuesday. (New York Times)

Whistle-Blower Group Wants Rumsfeld Investigated For Taking Ground Zero Souvenirs - Mar 16, 2004
Law enforcement agencies should investigate Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and FBI agents for possessing mementos from the World Trade Center and other sites of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a group of attorneys said Monday. (Associated Press)

After 9/11 Charity Draws Fire, Mayor Cautions New Yorkers Think Before Donating - Mar 16, 2004
Amid questions of a Sept. 11 charity's philanthropy, Mayor Bloomberg cautioned the public yesterday to do its homework before making donations. (New York Daily News )

Schumer Calls For Tighter Security On Trains - Mar 14, 2004
The Madrid train bombings should serve as a wake-up call to protect the subway and American railways from terrorist attacks, Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday. Standing on the uptown platform of the No. 6 train at 33rd Street, Schumer called on the federal government to speed up development of bomb-detecting sensors for subway and rail stations. (Newsday)

Downtown Street Corner To Be Named After Two Brothers Who Died on 9/11 - Mar 14, 2004
In a reversal of its earlier position on naming streets after 9/11 victims, a Community Board 1 committee voted to co-name the northeast corner of Beach St. for two Tribeca brothers who died in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Mark and Stephen Colaio, third-generation Downtowners, worked together at Cantor Fitzgerald and lived close to one another in Tribeca. Their sister, Jean Colaio Steinbach, and Mark’s wife, June, appeared before the board on March 4 to request that a street corner where Mark lived at 260 W. Broadway be co-named “Colaio Way.” (Downtown Express)

Rumsfeld, High FBI Officials, Took Souvenirs From Ground Zero - Mar 13, 2004
The removal of souvenir debris from the scenes of the Sept. 11 attacks reached the highest levels of government, including Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and FBI Director Robert Mueller's chief of anti-terrorism, a Justice Department investigation has found. The practice was so widespread inside the FBI that it even forced prosecutors in Minnesota to drop plans to prosecute a company that had taken a fire truck door from the World Trade Center, according to a still-confidential report obtained by The Associated Press. (Associated Press)

Mayor Defends Bush's Ads -- And Kerry's - Mar 13, 2004
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg refused to be drawn into the partisan politics of the looming presidential race yesterday, jumping in to defend first President Bush and then his main Democratic rival, Senator John Kerry, on his weekly radio show. Mayor Bloomberg was asked by the radio show's host, John Gambling, about the Bush campaign ads focusing on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The mayor, a Democrat who switched to the Republican Party to run for office, responded by saying that he supported the campaign strategies of both candidates, even though the question was about only one of them. (New York Times)

Madrid Bombings Cause Concerns About US Train Security - Mar 13, 2004
In the hours after the attacks, officials busily moved to put more bomb-detection teams, electronic devices and other measures in place from Washington to New York to Seattle. Transportation experts said, however, that the Madrid bombings underscored the fact that rail security had lagged woefully behind aviation improvements since the 9/11 attacks. And Democrats in Congress quickly proposed a $500 million commitment for rail security to help narrow the gap. Federal officials were most concerned about subway and train systems in and around New York City, Washington and other major Eastern cities. (New York Times)

Officials Tell New Yorkers To Stay Calm After Madrid Attacks - Mar 13, 2004
A day after nearly 200 people were killed in a horrific train bombing in Madrid, Gov. Pataki reassured jittery New Yorkers yesterday that they were safe from terrorism. "Go about your lives just as if it were prior to Sept. 11," Pataki said at a hastily arranged press conference at Grand Central Terminal. Hours earlier, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Peter Kalikow had ridden with subway riders cheek by jowl, inspecting the heightened security measures put in place after the Madrid attack. (New York Daily News)

Subway Security Up After Madrid Bombing - Mar 12, 2004
Hours after deadly terrorist bombings at Madrid's train stations, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday that police and transportation officials had taken steps to increase security in New York's subways. (New York Times)

President Dedicates Long Island 9/11 Memorial - Mar 12, 2004
President Bush wept with 9/11 families yesterday as he helped break ground on Long Island for a memorial to honor those killed in the Twin Tower attacks. Anti-Bush protesters marched outside Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, but the flap over the brief shots of Ground Zero in Bush's recent TV ads seemed far away as hundreds of family members lined up, each with a single white rose pinned to a lapel. (New York Post)

New York Drops Out Of Anti-Terrorism Database - Mar 12, 2004
New York has dropped out of a multistate crime database program that civil-liberties groups have criticized as an invasion of privacy, state officials said yesterday. Questions over federal funding for the Matrix database and its potential benefits led state officials to withdraw from the program, said Lynn Rasic, a spokeswoman for the state Office of Public Security. State officials had also previously cited privacy issues as a concern. (New York Post)

Tribeca Film Festival Receives $3 Million Pledge From Lower Manhattan Development Corporation - Mar 12, 2004
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Thursday announced a two-year, $3 million commitment to the Tribeca Film Festival, which was the first major event to be held in Lower Manhattan after the September 11th attacks and has attracted hundred-of-thousands of visitors and millions of dollars in revenue to the downtown area since it debuted in 2002. (Newsday)

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Claiming That Firefighters Had Faulty Radios On 9/11 - Mar 11, 2004
A judge dismissed a lawsuit yesterday that alleged firefighters who responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11 were equipped with faulty radios. (New York Daily News)

Bush Agrees To Answer All 9/11 Commission's Questions - Mar 10, 2004
The White House said Tuesday that President Bush would privately answer all questions raised by the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks and suggested that the interview might go beyond the one-hour limit originally offered to the panel. (New York Times)

GOP Head "Insults" 9/11 Families Who Oppose Bush's 9/11 Ads - Mar 10, 2004
The head of the Republican Party angered 9/11 families again yesterday by saying only a "small segment ... who are very anti-war" objected to President Bush's use of Ground Zero scenes in his reelection ads. The father of one 9/11 victim called the comment "insulting." (New York Daily News)

Class Action Suit Filed Against Environmental Protection Agency For Misleading Post-9/11 Statements - Mar 10, 2004
Residents and workers in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, saying the agency improperly let thousands of people return to their homes and businesses after the World Trade Center collapsed. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan accused the agency of making misleading statements about air quality after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. (Associated Press)

White House Vs. 9/11 Commission - Mar 9, 2004
Ever since first opposing the 9/11 commission's formation, the Bush administration has clashed with the 10-member bipartisan panel over a range of access issues, including aviation records and presidential intelligence briefings. (Washington Post )

Passengers Tried To Stop Plane From Crashing Into Towers - Mar 9, 2004
The widow of a Gulf War veteran aboard doomed United Airline Flight 175 revealed for the first time yesterday that passengers tried to stop hijackers from crashing the plane into one of the Trade Center towers. (New York Daily News)

Brothers Become Firefighters To Honor Friend Killed On 9/11 - Mar 9, 2004
Brothers Salvatore and Randy Ranieri grew up admiring their friend Kenny Watson, a firefighter who died Sept. 11. And yesterday, they made good on their vow to honor his memory when they became the newest members of New York's Bravest. (New York Post)

Senator Clinton, Environmental Protection Agency, Announce Panel To Examine 9/11 Response - Mar 8, 2004
A panel of government and independent experts will review the Environmental Protection Agency’s response to the World Trade Center disaster in an attempt to bolster public confidence in the cleanup process, officials announced on Monday, March 1. (Downtown Express)

Downtowners React To Law Banning Vendors From Ground Zero - Mar 8, 2004
Downtowners on both sides of the selling tables had strong reactions to the ground zero vending ban approved by lawmakers on Monday, March 1. (Downtown Express)

Bush Defends Ground Zero Scene In First Public Comments About Controversial Ads - Mar 7, 2004
In his first direct comments on the advertisements with Sept. 11 images, President Bush showed no sign of backing down. The White House has been embroiled all week in criticism from families of some victims of the attacks, as well from Mr. Kerry and his allies, that the commercials have crassly politicized a tragedy. (New York Times)

Group of 9/11 Families Issue Letter Supporting Bush's Ads - Mar 7, 2004
More than a dozen families who lost relatives in the Sept. 11 attacks released an "Open Letter to America" Saturday declaring their support for President Bush and his use of images of the destroyed World Trade Center in campaign ads. (Associated Press)

Opinions Vary On Which Parts Of Ground Zero Are Historic - Mar 6, 2004
A debate with few precedents in American historic preservation - what are the meaningful physical remnants of a place that was all but destroyed? - has turned into a confrontation between preservationists and state officials. Yesterday, the National Trust for Historic Preservation called on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to let the keeper of the National Register of Historic Places determine which remnants of the World Trade Center deserved heightened scrutiny; for example, the severed cast-iron PATH tubes or the smoke-scarred ruins of an underground parking garage. (New York Times)

Mayor Declines To Criticize Ground Zero Ads - Mar 6, 2004
Walking a fine political line, Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused Friday to criticize political ads being aired by President George W. Bush, a fellow Republican, that some Bush critics said was creating political capital out of 9/11. (Newsday)

Advocates Ask That Federal Money Be Used For Housing, Jobs - Mar 6, 2004
Community members rallied at the headquarters of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation on Feb. 27, urging the corporation to direct some of its remaining $1.2 billion towards jobs and affordable housing. (Downtown Express)

Pataki Signs Law Banning Vendors From Ground Zero - Mar 6, 2004
Gov. Pataki yesterday signed into law legislation reinstating restrictions on peddlers in Midtown Manhattan while also barring vendors from around Ground Zero. The law takes effect immediately. (New York Post)

New Design Guidelines For Ground Zero - Mar 5, 2004
Building setbacks, the proportion of towers to their bases, the angle of the rooftops, facade materials, paving and landscaping, the width of sidewalks, even the color and typography of signs - are all covered by the proposed design guidelines for Ground Zero. However, the current draft still leaves open the significant question of who would administer the rules over the many years it may take to complete the reconstruction. (New York Times)

New Design Guidelines For Ground Zero Are Less Restrictive - Mar 5, 2004
A confidential draft of the new desing guidelines for buildings at Ground Zero, obtained yesterday by the Daily News, shows guidelines for building heights and construction materials that are less restrictive than an earlier version. (New York Daily News)

Bush Campaign Will Use Giuliani To State Its Case On 9/11 - Mar 5, 2004
Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will be used by the Bush campaign to get its side across in the national debate over the Sept. 11 attacks, top White House advisers said. (New York Post)

Bush Television Ads Feature Ground Zero -- Angering Families Of Victims - Mar 4, 2004
The Bush reelection campaign yesterday unveiled its first three campaign commercials showcasing Ground Zero images, angering some 9/11 families who accused President Bush of exploiting the tragedy for political advantage. (New York Daily News)

Bush Campaign Defends Ground Zero Ads - Mar 4, 2004
The Bush re-election campaign and the White House stepped up today their defense of three new advertisements that use images of the smoldering remains of the World Trade Center, arguing that the device is appropriate in an election campaign that will be waged, in part, on the candidates' abilities to fight the war on terror. (New York Times)

Arad Demands Full Control Of Memorial, Creating Tension With Officials - Mar 4, 2004
Ground Zero memorial designer Michael Arad is pushing to gain total control of the project’s $350 million budget, as well as the power to personally hire construction and engineering firms, determine the treatment of the western slurry wall that was a feature of architect Daniel Libeskind’s plan for the site, and make all long-term scheduling decisions, according to several sources close to the rebuilding effort. (New York Observer)

Two New Documentary Films Look Back On 9/11 - Mar 4, 2004
In the two and a half years since they occurred, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, have become so enmeshed in politics, speculation and debate that in looking back one can be distracted from the trauma of the terrorist attacks themselves. Two documentaries, "Collateral Damages" and "The First 24 Hours," both by Étienne Sauret, return to the primal events. (New York Times)

Arad: Dispute Over Control Threatens Memorial - Mar 3, 2004
Ground Zero memorial designer Michael Arad has warned development officials in a letter that an escalating dispute over how to run the $350 million project could "prevent" his design from being built, sources told The Post. (New York Post)

Refusing White House Conditions, 9/11 Commission Calls For Bush, Cheney To Testify In Public - Mar 3, 2004
The independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is refusing to accept strict conditions from the White House for interviews with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney and is renewing its request that Mr. Bush's national security adviser testify in public, commission members said Tuesday. (New York Times)

Breaking Silence, City Planning Commission Weighs In On Trade Center Site Plan - Mar 2, 2004
Breaking its conspicuous public silence on the World Trade Center redevelopment plan, the City Planning Department called yesterday for many changes that would open more of the streets, sidewalks and public spaces on the site. (New York Times)

Vendors Banned From Streets Near Ground Zero - Mar 2, 2004
Legislators voted yesterday to limit the number of vendors who can hawk their wares on crowded Manhattan sidewalks, and to ban street sales near Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)

A Difficult Journey For Downtown's Disabled - Mar 1, 2004
Like many Battery Park City residents, Joseph Gibney works near Wall St. where the commute includes a short walk over or across the West Side Highway. Gibney guesses the trip would have taken him 10 minutes on his motorized wheelchair before Sept. 11, 2001 and thinks it could be just as quick now. (Downtown Express)

Investigators Probe World Trade Center Absestos Clean-Up - Feb 29, 2004
Investigators have launched a sweeping probe into possible fraud by companies hired to remove asbestos from the World Trade Center site and other Port Authority facilities, The Post has learned. (New York Post)

Beautiful, But Temporary, Architecture Downtown - Feb 28, 2004
The PATH station at Ground Zero is not intended to be permanent. And it certainly was not intended to be gorgeous. But like much of the temporary cityscape of Lower Manhattan, full of ephemeral landmarks that will disappear by the end of the decade, the station can sometimes feel sublime. (New York Times)

Deutsche Bank Will Be Demolished - Feb 27, 2004
Deutsche Bank reached agreement yesterday with the state, insurers and downtown rebuilding officials on the fate of a 40-story skyscraper near the World Trade Center site that still stands despite being badly damaged in the Sept. 11 attacks. The tower at 130 Liberty Street, which is draped in a black shroud to hide a deep 24-story-long gash in its northern facade, would be demolished, according to several executive and government officials who had been briefed on the negotiations. (New York Times)

FBI Agents Took Souvenirs From Ground Zero - Feb 26, 2004
Thirteen agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation took mementos, debris or valuables from the Staten Island landfill that held the rubble of the World Trade Center, and the F.B.I. now plans to formally ban the removal of crime-scene items as a result, officials said on Wednesday. (New York Times)

9/11 Commission Urges Rice To Testify Publicly - Feb 26, 2004
The federal commission reviewing the Sept. 11 attacks expressed disappointment Wednesday with national security adviser Condoleezza Rice for refusing to testify in public. (Associated Press)

Nationwide Anti-Terror Network Launched - Feb 25, 2004
Hundreds of federal, state and local intelligence and law enforcement agencies will be able to share threat reports, investigative leads and potential evidence instantaneously under a new counter-terrorism computer system announced yesterday by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. (Washington Post)

CIA Chief Defends Handling of Hijacker - Feb 25, 2004
The director of central intelligence on Tuesday defended his agency's handling of information it received about one of the Sept. 11 hijackers some two and a half years before the attacks, saying, "We didn't sit on our hands." (New York Times)

New Look For Wall Street Security - Feb 25, 2004
The double ranks of pickup trucks that now control seven intersections leading to the New York Stock Exchange will be replaced with retractable posts, wedgelike vehicle barriers and custom-designed barricades resembling small sculptural bronze boulders. These and other elements of high-security landscaping, which were approved yesterday by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, are intended to protect the exchange from terrorists without sacrificing the public realm to the almost warlike blockades, including the trucks, that have been in place since Sept. 11, 2001. (New York Times)

Firefighter Accused Of Stealing From Ground Zero Kept A Collection Of Gory 9/11 Photos - Feb 25, 2004
A retired Manhattan firefighter, on trial for stealing grisly "souvenirs" from Ground Zero, kept a macabre collection of body-part photographs from the tragedy - including a gilt-framed portrait of himself holding a human hip bone. (New York Post)

Federal Goverment Was Given Name Of 9/11 Hijacker Year Before Attack - Feb 24, 2004
American investigators were given the first name and telephone number of one of the Sept. 11 hijackers two and a half years before the attacks on New York and Washington, but the United States appears to have failed to pursue the lead aggressively, American and German officials say. (New York Times)

Museum Displays Painting Of Children Who Lost Loved Ones On 9/11 - Feb 24, 2004
Two-and-a-half-year-old Andrew Cappers yesterday showed Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg where his hand, dipped in paint and pressed against a small piece of canvas, had left its mark in memory of his father, James C. Cappers. Andrew's handprint appears in one of scores of canvas panels now on display at the American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West, in an exhibit of work by children who lost their parents in the Sept. 11 attack and in the attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. (New York Times)

Roundup Of Public Comments On Ground Zero Environmental Impact - Feb 22, 2004
Community members spoke about the study, called the draft generic environmental impact statement, or d.g.e.i.s., at two public forums held on Feb. 18 at Pace University. More than 100 people attended the afternoon session, and 60 people testified at that session. Concerns were varied, and often contradicted one another. (Downtown Express)

Mayor Gently Criticizes Edwards For 9/11 Comment - Feb 21, 2004
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday that Senator John Edwards was wrong when he suggested on Thursday that Republicans were holding their convention in New York to exploit the Sept. 11 tragedy, and that the city's economy was a shambles. But Mayor Bloomberg, a Republican, also softened his earlier criticism of Senator Edwards, a Democratic presidential candidate from North Carolina, saying that his comments were "just political verbiage" and that he did not hold them against the senator. (New York Times)

John Edwards Accuses President Of Exploiting 9/11 With New York Convention - Feb 20, 2004
Democratic underdog John Edwards kicked off the battle for New York yesterday with A-Rod quips and a charge that President Bush is trying to "exploit" the 9/11 tragedy at this coming summer's Republican convention here. (New York Post)

Mixed Reactions At Ground Zero Environmental Impact Hearing - Feb 19, 2004
The controversy that has surrounded nearly every aspect of the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site spilled over to the project's impact on the environment yesterday as New Yorkers had their first chance to express concerns publicly about traffic, air pollution and the availability of public space. (New York Times)

Criticism For Ground Zero Development At Envirornmental Impact Hearing - Feb 19, 2004
Critics sharply attacked a draft environmental impact statement concerning the rebuilding at Ground Zero yesterday, challenging the report's main conclusion that the project poses no adverse effects. (Newsday)

Memorial Contestant Accuses Jury Of Fraud - Feb 19, 2004
One of the 5,200 losing competitors in the World Trade Center memorial design competition has filed a complaint with the state Ethics Commission alleging fraud and impropriety in the selection process, the Daily News has learned. (New York Daily News)

Some Families Still Not Happy With Order Of Names On Memorial - Feb 19, 2004
It matters how large the voids will be that mark the twin towers. And it matters how the grounds will be landscaped and how the horror will be evoked by crushed fire trucks and twisted steel columns. But no issue at the World Trade Center memorial will be so vexing - perhaps even irreconcilable - as the smallest and most personal. The names. (New York Times)

Rumsfeld, Tenet To Testify Publicly For 9/11 Commission - Feb 18, 2004
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and CIA Director George Tenet will testify publicly next month in a federal commission probe into who should be held accountable for the Sept. 11 attacks. (Associated Press)

As State Security Agency Gets On Its Feet, Some Question Whether It Is Necessary - Feb 17, 2004
Set up by Gov. George E. Pataki in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to reassure a jittery public and shape the state's response to terrorist threats, the still-evolving state Office Of Public Security passes along to localities hundreds of millions in federal aid intended to shore up the nation's defense against terrorism. Yet more than two years after it was formed, few state legislators or members of the public know exactly what it does or how it operates, and some question whether it is even necessary. (New York Times)

Federal Government Should Pay For Statue Of Liberty Security, Says Congressman - Feb 17, 2004
Rep. Anthony Weiner slammed President Bush yesterday for not including $5 million in his new $2.4 trillion budget to reopen the interior of the statue, which has been closed to visitors since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. (New York Daily News)

For Second Consecutive Winter, Pedestrian Bridges Aren't Up To Par - Feb 16, 2004
Despite Governor George Pataki's assurance that everything is being built on schedule at Ground Zero, people in wheelchairs and pushing strollers have no reliable, car-free way to cross the six-lane highway on West St. highway, for the second consecutive winter. (Downtown Express)

President Bush To Give Limited Testimony To 9/11 Commission - Feb 16, 2004
The White House said yesterday that President Bush plans to meet only with a limited number of representatives from the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, despite a statement issued Friday that suggested he would meet with the whole panel. (Washington Post)

A 9/11 Memorial For Hoboken - Feb 16, 2004
Two Downtown designers who have made their mark in Lower Manhattan are among the four finalists to design a memorial to the 57 Hoboken residents who died in the Sept. 11 attack. (Downtown Express)

Police Department Prepares For Catastophe - Feb 15, 2004
The New York Police Department, working with city health officials, federal authorities and other agencies, has been preparing for a possible attack with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, perhaps the most daunting threat facing municipalities in a post-9/11 world. (New York Times)

Federal Government Stiffing New York On Funds For Police Communication, Says Senator - Feb 15, 2004
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused the federal government yesterday of once again stiffing New York City out of critical security funds, this time money needed to upgrade communications between the Fire and Police departments. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Commission To Seek Bush Testimony - Feb 13, 2004
The federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks will soon ask President Bush, former President Clinton and their vice presidents to testify in public about possible warnings they might have received from U.S. intelligence sources before the attacks. (Associated Press)

Rebuilding Officials Say That World Trade Center Site, But Not Structural Remnants Of Buildings, Is Historic - Feb 13, 2004
The struggle between preservationists and rebuilding officials over ground zero escalated this week with a preliminary finding by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation that the site's location, setting, feeling and association - not the structural remnants of the World Trade Center - render it historic. (New York Times)

Flexing Muscles, City Calls Special Ground Zero Planning Meeting - Feb 13, 2004
The Bloomberg administration is reasserting itself into the rebuilding at Ground Zero, setting a special city planning session next month. The hearing is significant because it's one of the city's only chances to play a formal planning role in the World Trade Center site - which is owned by the Port Authority and under the sway of Gov. Pataki. (New York Daily News)

Bloomberg: We Should Be Proud Of Being The World's Number One Terrorist Target - Feb 12, 2004
Congratulations, New Yorkers! We're the No. 1 target for terrorists - a distinction that should make us "proud," Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Stewardess Identified Hijackers Early, Transcripts Show - Feb 11, 2004
The politically divided 9/11 commission was able to agree on a public airing of four and a half minutes from the Betty Ong tape, which the American public and most of the victims’ families heard for the first time on the evening news of Jan. 27. But commissioners were unaware of the crucial information given in an even more revealing phone call, made by another heroic flight attendant on the same plane, Madeline (Amy) Sweeney. They were unaware because their chief of staff, Philip Zelikow, chooses which evidence and witnesses to bring to their attention. Mr. Zelikow, as a former adviser to the pre-9/11 Bush administration, has a blatant conflict. (New York Observer)

9/11 Commission To Get Greater Access To Documents - Feb 11, 2004
The federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks will get greater access to classified intelligence briefings prepared for President Bush under an agreement announced Tuesday with the White House. (Associated Press)

Wife Of Man Who Made 9/11 Claim Alive In Florida - Feb 11, 2004
Donna Laskowski's name appears on the most recent list of victims whose relatives are seeking money from the federal September Eleventh Victim Compensation Fund. The problem is that 57-year-old Laskowski is alive in central Florida. (Associated Press)

An Emotional Start To World Trade Center Insurance Battle - Feb 10, 2004
A lawyer for Ground Zero developer Larry Silverstein choked up yesterday as he described the impact of the 9/11 attacks in front of a federal jury, accusing the Twin Towers insurers of "trying to rewrite history" to escape a nearly $7 billion payout for the disaster. (New York Post)

Insurers Say Fax Proves That 9/11 Was A Single Event - Feb 10, 2004
On September 12, 2001, with four of his colleagues missing and presumed dead, Silverstein Properties insurance manager Robert Strachan faxed a letter to lenders and the Port Authority. From the start of the court case over how much insurance money Larry Silverstein is entitled to, the lead lawyer for the insurance companies, centered on the Strachan fax. (Newsday)

Ground Zero Photographer Sues After Falling Off Garbage Truck - Feb 10, 2004
A freelance photographer who suffered brain damage after falling off a garbage truck he climbed atop to take pictures of Ground Zero is suing the carting company for $50 million. (New York Daily News)

Court Case On Trade Center Insurance Opens, With Billions At Stake - Feb 9, 2004
Opening statements are expected to begin today in the long-brewing court battle between the developer Larry A. Silverstein and two dozen insurers over how much money will be available for rebuilding the vast commercial complex at the World Trade Center site. (New York Times)

State Comptroller To Audit PATH Construction Costs - Feb 8, 2004
State Comptroller Alan Hevesi will audit the Port Authority's $566 million World Trade Center PATH station construction job to see whether cost overruns were justified and whether the project had proper oversight, his office says. (New York Post)

Residntial Liberty Bonds Close To Being Used Up - Feb 8, 2004
City and state officials said last week that the residential allotment of Liberty Bonds designed to rebuild Lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attack would likely run out by the program’s original Dec. 31 deadline. (Downtown Express)

Debating The Options For Downtown Rail Links To Long Island - Feb 8, 2004
Downtown can count the last time it saw a new train service in terms of decades, nearly $3 billion has already been allocated in post-9/11 transportation projects and there is no definite plan to bring any new rail service to Lower Manhattan – at least not yet. State and city officials released four ways to build a link to the Long Island Rail Road and J.F.K. Airport on Wednesday and say they will come up with a plan and a way to pay for it by this April. (Downtown Express)

Calatrava Receives Star Treatment At Community Board One - Feb 8, 2004
Community Board 1 has seen a number of celebrities over the years, but probably none of them received the amount of star-treatment afforded to renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, who politely signed a few autographs Wednesday after presenting his plan for the World Trade Center train station. (Downtown Express)

Ground Zero Merits Historic Status, Say Redevelopment Officials - Feb 7, 2004
History does not have to wait its customary half-century. Even now, the World Trade Center site merits inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, according to a determination made on Friday by three government agencies. (New York Times)

9/11 Commission Meets With Condoleezza Rice - Feb 7, 2004
The independent commission reviewing the Sept. 11 attacks met with Condoleezza Rice President Bush's national security adviser Saturday in an interview commissioners described as candid and productive. (Associated Press)

Bush, In Reversal, Supports More Time For 9/11 Commission - Feb 5, 2004
The White House reversed itself on Wednesday and said it would support a request from the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks to extend its deadline until late July, even though that would mean the panel's final report would be released closer to the height of the presidential campaign. (New York Times)

Four Options Presented For Airport Rail Link - Feb 5, 2004
In a presentation that was high in lofty ambitions but short on important details, officials unveiled four options yesterday for a rail link to connect Lower Manhattan to Kennedy Airport and Long Island. (New York Times)

Families Of 9/11 Victims Unsatisfied With Extension Of Commission's Deadline - Feb 5, 2004
Bowing to pressure from a Sept. 11 survivors group, President Bush agreed yesterday to extend the deadline for the federal 9/11 commission report - but not as long as many wanted. Bush agreed to give the panel 60 extra days, until July 26, but relatives of victims killed in the terror attacks, and some members of Congress, wanted the extension to stretch beyond the elections. (New York Daily News)

The Workings Of The 9/11 Commission - Feb 5, 2004
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice has agreed to be interviewed by the bipartisan 9/11 commission on Feb. 7, after weeks of resistance from the White House to the bipartisan panel’s requests, The Observer has learned. (New York Observer)

Jury Set For World Trade Center Insurance Case - Feb 5, 2004
A Manhattan federal judge yesterday named five women and seven men to a jury in the $7 billion legal fight between developer Larry Silverstein and his Twin Towers insurance companies. (New York Post)

Several Options Considered To Bring Airtrain To Manhattan - Feb 4, 2004
Long-awaited plans for a train that would whisk airport travelers and suburbanites to lower Manhattan will be unveiled today, and officials vow they won't railroad subway riders. (New York Daily News)

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Board Member Takes Job With Tribeca Film Group - Feb 4, 2004
She is on so many boards focusing on Lower Manhattan that it may seem like she has always had a fulltime job, but Madelyn Wils has just been hired by Robert De Niro and his film partners to become president and C.E.O. of the Tribeca Film Institute, and in February, she will start collecting her first regular paycheck in three years. (Downtown Express)

Antiterror Budget Rises, But Critics Say System Still Shortchanges New York - Feb 3, 2004
The budget President Bush proposed on Monday would nearly double the pool of money that the federal government would set aside for the 2005 fiscal year to help defend New York City and other localities considered vulnerable to terrorist attacks. But his proposal did not include a major change that New York lawmakers had been demanding in the federal budget: a strict limit on the number of cities entitled to the money. (New York Times)

States Consider Common Terror Database - Feb 1, 2004
Although privacy worries led several states to pull out of a federally funded crime and terrorism database project, others are actively considering joining and thereby sharing information on their citizens, The Associated Press has learned. (Associated Press)

The Unchosen Memorials - Feb 1, 2004
5,201 designs were submitted in the 9/11 memorial competition, from 63 countries and 49 states, from individuals of all ages, many without any design experience. An unscientific survey revealed everything from scaled-down twin towers to classical references to sources at which observers can only guess. Here is a sampling of 10, culled from Web sites, blind submissions to The New York Times and word-of-mouth recommendations. (New York Times)

Bush To Seek Extension For Liberty Bonds - Jan 31, 2004
President Bush plans to ask Congress to extend until 2009 the Liberty Bond program, which provides tax-free financing to help New York City rebuild after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The program permits the state and city to issue a total of $8 billion in tax-exempt bonds for commercial and residential construction projects, primarily in Lower Manhattan. Financing with such bonds lowers the cost of the projects. (New York Times)

17,300 Sign Up For World Trade Center Health Registry - Jan 31, 2004
The New York City Department of Health said Friday that more than 17,300 people had so far enrolled in its World Trade Center Health Registry, which tracks the health of people who were exposed to dust and debris after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on lower Manhattan. (1010 Wins)

Senators To Introduce Legislation To Extend 9/11 Commission's Deadline - Jan 30, 2004
The two key Senate authors of the bill that created an independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 attacks said Thursday that they would introduce legislation next week to extend the panel's deadline by eight months, to next January. (New York Times)

Judge Says 1993 World Trade Center Lawsuits Can Proceed - Jan 30, 2004
More than 175 lawsuits filed over the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center against the agency that owns the site may proceed to trial, a Manhattan judge ruled Thursday. State Supreme Court Justice Stanley Sklar refused to dismiss the lawsuits, saying one of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's own committees had warned as early as 1984 that the trade center site, which included the now-destroyed twin towers, was a vulnerable and likely terrorism target. (Associated Press)

Battle Over 9/11 Commission Becomes Political Challenge For President - Jan 29, 2004
Long-simmering tensions with the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks became a more immediate problem for the White House this week as the panel released a series of damaging revelations about missed opportunities to stop the al Qaeda hijackers and opposed the administration by asking for more time to complete its work, according to panel members and political experts (Washington Post)

British Citizen Faces Deportation Over 9/11 Scam - Jan 29, 2004
A British citizen who tried to scam redevelopment officials out of $12,000 in downtown residential grants intended for post-9/11 relief has been sentenced to six months in jail and will be deported. (New York Post)

In One Family, Ugly Court Battle Over How 9/11 Money Is Spent - Jan 29, 2004
As the sole heir of deceased World Trade Center firefighter William Lake, 9-year-old Kyler Lake received a small fortune in charity funds and death benefits. How that money is being spent is at the heart of a vitriolic court battle, the longest-running and most hotly contested Sept. 11 case in Kings County Surrogate's Court. (Newsday)

9/11 Commission Says It Needs More Time - Jan 28, 2004
The independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks announced on Tuesday that it was seeking an extension of its deadline to complete the investigation until at least July, raising the prospect of a public fight with the White House and a final report delivered in the heat of the presidential campaign. (New York Times)

9/11 Hijackers Used Mace, Pepper Spray - Jan 28, 2004
The hijackers of Sept. 11, 2001, blasted Mace or pepper spray at flight crew members and passengers to keep them away from the cockpits and wielded knives in their orchestrated takeovers of the aircraft, according to a report issued yesterday by the commission investigating the attacks. (Washington Post)

ACLU: 9/11 Suspects Mistreated - Jan 28, 2004
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint with the United Nations Tuesday, alleging that many immigrants imprisoned and deported during the probe into the Sept. 11 terror attacks were denied fundamental rights under international law. (Newsday)

New York Officials Criticize Homeland Security Funding - Jan 27, 2004
New York politicians in both parties say they are troubled that federal antiterrorism money specifically intended for the nation's most vulnerable cities is being spent in parts of the country that do not have urgent security needs. (New York Times)

9/11 Commission Faults US For Letting Hijackers In - Jan 27, 2004
The U.S. government fumbled repeated opportunities to stop many of the men responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks from entering the country, missing fraudulent passports and other warning signs that should have attracted greater scrutiny, according to a preliminary report released yesterday. (Washington Post)

Battery Park City Residents Face Rent Hikes As 9/11 Grants End - Jan 27, 2004
Battery Park City is bracing for change as the bulk of 9/11 rental assistance winds down and residents evaluate whether they can afford to remain in the area without the monthly government subsidy. (Downtown Express)

Nuts And Bolts (And Water) Challenge Memorial Design - Jan 26, 2004
The jury has reached its verdict: two enormous square voids, set on the spots where the twin towers once stood, will be the centerpiece of the World Trade Center memorial. But now a jury of a different kind must weigh in: the engineers, horticulturists, carpenters, electricians, and plumbers who will actually build it. (New York Times)

Peter Walker: Memorial Designer - Jan 22, 2004
Peter Walker is secure that he, a landscape doctor with a proclivity for transforming negative urban spaces into positive ones, is the man to refine Michael Arad's design. "To cut two giant holes in the ground, and do it in a way that will get people to read it the most dramatic way, is the discipline behind the plan. At this point, I think Michael and I are joined at the hip: what we're trying to do is make emptiness visible." (New York Times)

Deutsche Deal Near At Ground Zero - Jan 22, 2004
Development officials hope to work out a deal to buy the damaged Deutsche Bank building next to Ground Zero in coming weeks, at the same time they resolve an insurance dispute that has threatened to stall downtown rebuilding plans, sources told The Post. (New York Post)

Next For Ground Zero: Noise And Traffic - Jan 21, 2004
Snarled traffic, long shadows and noise - a decade's worth of noise - will be the inevitable byproducts of the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site, according to a 2,000-page study approved yesterday by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. (New York Times)

A New Contract For Memorial Designers - Jan 21, 2004
In approving a contract renewal Tuesday with the winning designers of the World Trade Center memorial, the board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation established, for the first time, the consulting fees the two men will be paid. (Newsday)

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Chief Quits To Work On Jets Stadium - Jan 21, 2004
Matthew Higgins, chief operating officer for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, said yesterday that he was leaving the agency to join the New York Jets, where he will assist the football team in building a proposed stadium and convention center on Manhattan's West Side. (Newsday)

Silverstein Agrees To Safety Checks, But Critics Remain Unsatisfied - Jan 21, 2004
In an effort to reassure the public that new buildings at the World Trade Center site will meet government-mandated safety standards, the Port Authority and developer Larry Silverstein have agreed in principle to subject their construction projects to several new and independent safety checks, according to a draft of the proposal obtained by The Observer. But members of a post–Sept. 11 advocacy group, whose criticism of Port Authority safety policies helped bring the issue to the fore, labeled the proposal a "sham," citing what they saw as a lack of enforcement powers. (New York Observer)

At Ground Zero, Rebuilding With Nature In Mind - Jan 20, 2004
While most of the anguished debate about ground zero has focused on recreating and remembering what was once there, another effort has been moving forward to create on the site something that never existed, an environmentally sensitive city within a city that is attuned to nature as well as the real estate market. (New York Times)

9/11 Disability Pensions Raise Questions - Jan 20, 2004
Four top fire union officials who left or were voted out of office after Sept. 11, 2001, and who had spent most of the previous eight years doing administrative work have retired on tax-free disability pensions, city records show. (Newsday)

Stories of the Memorial Jury - Jan 19, 2004
Above all else, it was a jury. It was sequestered, for six months, from those who would intrude. Its members were trapped in deliberation until consensus could be established. It called for expert testimony, then called for it again. It quarreled. It soul-searched. It schmoozed and, yes, it laughed. (New York Times)

Police Commissioner's Security Measures - Jan 18, 2004
Interview: Police Commissioner Ray Kelly Discusses His Department's Work At Fighting Terrorism And General Crime (WNBC)

Bloomberg Would Have Preferred Ground Zero School To A Memorial - Jan 17, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg disclosed that he would have built new schools where the World Trade Center once stood - instead of a memorial commemorating the dead. Talking on his weekly radio show yesterday, Bloomberg was careful not to criticize the winning design for the memorial, titled Reflecting Absence. But he suggested that a better approach would have been building new schools. (New York Daily News)

Victim Compensation Fund Enrollment At 98 Percent - Jan 17, 2004
Ninety-eight percent of the families of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks have applied for federal compensation, the special master of a government fund said Friday. Kenneth Feinberg said 2,925 families have applied. The official death count was 2,976. (Associated Press)

Revisions Please Some, Leave Others Wanting More - Jan 15, 2004
Reaction to the revised Reflecting Absence varied within the network of victims' family groups, with some embracing Arad's model and others saying the plan needed further adjustment. (Newsday)

Victims' Families Renew Request For 9/11 Records - Jan 15, 2004
Families of victims of the World Trade Center terrorist attack said Wednesday they will go back to court to find out more about the final hours of their relatives' lives on September 11, 2001. (CNN)

New York Senator Criticizes Security At New York's Passenger Ship Terminal - Jan 14, 2004
New York's Passenger Ship Terminal does not use the new travelers fingerprint-identification system to check cruise ships - making the city more vulnerable to a terrorist attack, Sen. Charles Schumer said yesterday. (New York Post)

Families Of 9/11 Victims Start Fundraising Drive For Cultural Events - Jan 13, 2004
Relatives of Sept. 11 victims said yesterday they hope to raise $9.11 million by the third anniversary of the terror attack for educational and cultural programs tied to the Ground Zero memorial. Monica Iken, a World Trade Center widow who heads a family group called September's Mission, said money raised through the "9/11 Campaign" will pay for things like museum displays or workshops. Money for the construction of the memorial will be raised through a separate foundation being organized by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (New York Post)

Freedom Tower Struggle Far From Finished - Jan 13, 2004
It's not unusual for developers, politicians, and architects to clash over real estate projects in New York City. But there's never been anything like the battle over the World Trade Center site. (Fortune Magazine)

As Complaints Mount, Memorial Is Revised - Jan 12, 2004
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the agency in charge of rebuilding the trade center site, and the selection jury it appointed have been trying to strike a delicate balance between artistic independence and responding to public concerns while considering revisions to Reflecting Absence, recently selected as the 9/11 memorial for Ground Zero. (Associated Press)

Firefighters Still Calling For Name Distinction In Memorial - Jan 12, 2004
Firefighters who want the names of 9/11 rescue workers listed separately in the Ground Zero memorial renewed calls yesterday for Gov. Pataki to back their demands. (New York Post)

9/11 Effects Still Straining Relationships - Jan 12, 2004
Mental-health professionals said they were not surprised at the real-life soap operas that emerged after the twin towers fell. An initial screening of 7,000 World Trade Center workers at Mount Sinai Hospital found that a high percentage experienced relationship problems after 9/11. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Ideas For JFK Rail Link To Be Presented This Month - Jan 8, 2004
Four options for a direct rail link from lower Manhattan to Kennedy Airport will be unveiled this month and one will be selected in April for development, Gov. Pataki announced yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Woman Who Scammed 9/11 Charities Sentenced to Prison - Jan 6, 2004
A 9/11 scammer who snookered charities out of $80,000 was tossed in the slammer for at least two years yesterday. (New York Post)

Better Security Needed On Cargo Planes, Says Congressman - Jan 5, 2004
The federal government hasn't done nearly enough to thwart terrorists who might target cargo planes flying in and out of New York airports, Sen. Chuck Schumer warned yesterday. (New York Post)

Congressman Defends Times Square Security Comment - Jan 3, 2004
Connecticut Rep. Chris Shays said yesterday that he doesn't regret warning people to stay out of Times Square on New Year's Eve, even though the celebration went off without a hitch. (New York Daily News)

Maritime Security Lags - Jan 1, 2004
Almost 5,000 ships and about 80 percent of the nation's ports, ferry terminals and fuel-chemical tank farms did not meet yesterday's deadline to submit maritime security plans spelling out how they will deal with terrorism threats, the Coast Guard said. (New York Post)

Bloomberg Criticizes Congressman For Times Square Security Remark - Jan 1, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday questioned the character of a congressman who said he wouldn't spend New Year's Eve in Times Square because of fear over a terrorist attack. Bloomberg went on three TV network morning shows to decry remarks Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) made on Tuesday saying that he "wouldn't go to Times Square" because it's a "tempting target" for terrorists. (New York Post)

New Years Security Will be Highest Ever - Dec 31, 2003
Citing credible intelligence that terrrorists mention New York as an end-of-year target, federal and city law enforcement officials yesterday pumped up security to its highest level ever to ensure a safe New Year's Eve celebration tonight. (New York Daily News)

Community Board One Debates Liberty Bond Extension - Dec 31, 2003
Community Board 1 is backing an extension of the tax-free Liberty Bond program but opposes using more of the money on residential buildings because members say it is encouraging too many small, luxury-rent apartments. (Downtown Express)

9/11 Air Traffic Controller Transcripts Released - Dec 30, 2003
A set of tape transcripts released yesterday open a small window onto the flow of information among aviation authorities on Sept. 11, 2001, showing that air traffic officials in New York knew no more about the attacks than anyone watching television. (New York Times)

Heightened Security For New Years - Dec 30, 2003
With the city at a heightened state of alert, unprecedented security measures will be in place on New Year's Eve in Times Square, where revelers will have to pass through metal detectors borrowed from city schools for the night, officials said yesterday. (New York Times)

Transcripts Show That Cops Feared More Planes On 9/11 - Dec 30, 2003
Worried that the Sept. 11 attacks could escalate, jittery Port Authority cops asked La Guardia Airport traffic controllers if any other planes were headed the city's way, newly released police communications transcripts reveal. (New York Post)

Queens Assemblyman To Push Bill To Return Ashes To Ground Zero - Dec 30, 2003
A Queens assemblyman said yesterday he will introduce legislation requiring Ground Zero debris carted to a Staten Island landfill to be returned to the World Trade Center site for burial. The bill will mirror a law signed last week by New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey that calls for the bistate Port Authority to put the debris in containers for its ultimate return to lower Manhattan. (New York Daily News)

4,000 File For 9/11 Injuries - Dec 30, 2003
More than 4,000 people claiming Sept. 11-related injuries have applied for federal compensation, surprising fund administrators with a deluge of last-minute applications. (Associated Press)

Tourists Return to New York - Dec 29, 2003
The tourists are back. Official statistics are hard to come by. But for the last week, more than 1,000 tourists a day have been dropping by NYC & Company's Visitor Information Center, a level not reached since before Sept. 11, 2001, a spokeswoman said. (New York Times)

$1.2 Million in 9/11 Aid is Returned - Dec 27, 2003
A major program to help small businesses in Lower Manhattan recover from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack has taken back $1.2 million in erroneous payments it made to 66 companies, according to the state agency administering the program. The agency, the Empire State Development Corporation, said the money was recovered from businesses that were found to have been overpaid, in some cases because financial information they submitted did not hold up in audits, though their applications were not necessarily fraudulent. (New York Times)

New Jersey Law Calls For Return Of WTC Ashes To Ground Zero - Dec 25, 2003
The Port Authority must collect the ashen remains of World Trade Center victims now piled at the Fresh Kills landfill, under a law signed by New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey. The law calls for the ashes - remains of everything incinerated in the WTC attacks - to be stored in containers for eventual use at the Trade Center's permanent memorial. (New York Daily News)

A Few Families Reject Compensation Fund - Dec 24, 2003
A handful of families have eschewed the money available to victims of the terrorist attacks, filing neither a lawsuit nor a claim through the federal Victims Compensation Fund. The exact number of families who filed is not yet known, because claims that were postmarked by the Monday deadline are still trickling in. As of yesterday, though, the Justice Department said that the families of 2,833 victims - more than 95 percent of the 2,976 killed on Sept. 11 - had filed claims. (Newsday)

Silverstein, Port Authority, Close Deal for $229 Million - Dec 24, 2003
Developer Larry Silverstein got more than $229 million in cash - all wrapped up in time for the holidays - when he closed a deal yesterday with the Port Authority to restructure the finances of his World Trade Center lease. The holiday bundle includes the return of the $98.5 million that Silverstein and his partners plunked down as equity when they leased the trade center from the Port Authority in July 2001, just weeks before the terror attacks. (New York Post)

Bloomberg Confirms City Request For Air Patrols - Dec 24, 2003
Ah, Christmas in New York. The tree in Rockefeller Center. Roasted chestnuts from street vendors. And F-16 fighter jets roaring overhead. Mayor Bloomberg confirmed yesterday that the NYPD has asked to have military jets patrol the skies over the city in response to the country's latest terrorism alert. (New York Daily News)

City Asks For Resumed Air Patrols - Dec 23, 2003
City officials are so concerned terrorists will use jetliners as terror weapons again that they're talking to the Pentagon about resuming regular air patrols over New York, police commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday. (Newsday)

Applicants Rush to Meet Deadline As 9/11 Compensation Program Ends - Dec 23, 2003
After a last-minute surge, 95 percent of eligible relatives of Sept. 11 victims had applied to join the government's ambitious but much-criticized compensation effort as the deadline neared last night. Officials with the federal Victim Compensation Fund, who worried just weeks ago that many eligible survivors would not sign up, said applications had come in by the hundreds as the hours to the midnight deadline wound down yesterday. (New York Times)

Freedom Tower Follows Windmill Trend - Dec 23, 2003
The growing popularity of windmills as a clean way to generate electricity was on display Friday, when officials unveiled the design of the building that will be erected on the World Trade Center site. The plan calls for an unspecified number of windmills to be installed in the uninhabited top-third of the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, where they will catch the wind off the Hudson River and generate 20 percent of the building's electricity. (Newsday)

Firefighters' Families File Suit Against City For 9/11 Radio Failure - Dec 23, 2003
The families of 12 firefighters who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks filed a lawsuit yesterday against New York City, claiming that the firefighters died unnecessarily because the city had issued them radios that did not work in high-rise buildings. The families have already filed with the federal Victim Compensation Fund, which required that they waive their right to most civil actions. However, their lawyers say that the language of the law that established the fund allows an exception for suing to recover money from insurance companies and similar sources. (New York Times)

9/11 Fund Applications Surpass Goal - Dec 22, 2003
With the deadline for applications to the Sept. 11, 2001 victims' compensation fund only hours away, more than 90 percent of families who lost loved ones in the attacks had filed claims, the fund's chief administrator said Monday. (Newsday)

City Reacts to Heightened Security Threat - Dec 22, 2003
National Guard units specially trained in counterterrorism will be posted in the city through the holidays, city officials said yesterday after the federal government raised its threat alert level. The national alert level was raised to orange, the same one the city has been under since the months after Sept. 11, 2001. (Newsday)

Slow Down! says Giuiliani - Dec 22, 2003
STOP. Start over. It is not too late to get it right. So argues Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has studied the eight designs being considered for a World Trade Center memorial and does not like what he sees. (New York Times)

Despite Clamping the City Down, Bloomberg Urges People to Enjoy the Season - Dec 22, 2003
Faced with a rising national terror alert, Mayor Bloomberg ordered a new security clampdown yesterday even as he urged New Yorkers to enjoy the holidays in "the safest city in the world." (New York Daily News)

Deadline For Federal Victims Compensation Fund Looming - Dec 21, 2003
People who lost loved ones or were injured in the 9/11 terrorist attacks have until midnight tomorrow to file with the federal Victims Compensation Fund. Officials expect nearly 90% of those eligible to file, depite a slow start and months of controversy. (New York Daily News)

Pataki Served as Mediator in Architects’ Feud - Dec 20, 2003
The relationship between Childs, who was charged with designing the tower, and Libeskind, the master planner of the site, was so difficult, both sides agreed, that several weeks ago the two architects practically stopped speaking and Gov. George Pataki had to mediate. (Newsday)

Pataki to Release Freedom Tower Design on Today Show - Dec 19, 2003
Gov. Pataki will unveil plans for Ground Zero's new skyscraper on national television this morning, drawing criticism that he's playing politics with the rebuilding effort. Pataki will offer the first glimpse of the Freedom Tower to Katie Couric, the popular host of NBC's "Today" show, prompting gripes that the governor is using the Sept. 11 tragedy to bolster his own national political ambitions. (New York Daily News)

Guards Abused Detainees After 9/11 - Dec 19, 2003
As many as 20 guards in a Brooklyn federal prison abused detainees after 9/11, according to a Justice Department report released yesterday. In June, the Justice Department concluded that there were "significant problems" with the treatment of prisoners detained for immigration violation. Yesterday's report recommends discipline for ten of the guards involved, and counseling for another two. (New York Post)

Kids of 9/11 Victims To Get Cash From State - Dec 18, 2003
The state's World Trade Center fund is handing out the rest of its cash to children who lost a parent in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, officials said yesterday. The fund has roughly $4 million left and will spread the proceeds to about 2,800 children who lost parents in the terror attacks of 9/11, Gov. Pataki said. The fund also will dole out up to $3,000 a person to those certified by the American Red Cross as being injured in the attacks. (New York Daily News)

Lead Analysis Indicates Minimal Effect from 9/11 - Dec 18, 2003
Downtowners may never know the exact source of the elevated lead found in nearly one-third of apartments cleaned and tested by the Environmental Protection Agency after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, experts say. Cities often have high background amounts of lead, making it difficult to pinpoint whether the amounts found in Lower Manhattan apartments come from the World Trade Center or other sources that can include lead found in paint or soil. (Downtown Express)

Jury Member Breaks Silence - Dec 17, 2003
One of the 13 people who will select the design for the World Trade Center memorial broke the group’s public silence last week and responded to some of the criticism that has been leveled at the eight proposed plans he and his fellow jurors picked in November. The juror, James Young, an English and Judaic studies professor at the University of Massachusetts, also said he is looking for a design that will be able to evolve over generations. (Downtown Express)

Architects Reportedly Near Compromise on Freedom Tower - Dec 15, 2003
Warring architects Daniel Libeskind and David Childs are inching toward a compromise on the design of the Freedom Tower, and officials hope details can be finalized as early as today, sources said. Gov. Pataki had initially set today as the deadline for the architects to present him with a fully realized scheme for the tower. (New York Post)

Trade Center Fireproofing Tests Suggest A Wider Problem - Dec 14, 2003
Hundreds of buildings nationwide with fireproofing similar to that used in the World Trade Center could be far more prone to structural damage during major fires than previously thought, according to preliminary calculations by federal investigators. The investigators are studying the precise causes of the World Trade Center collapse. Their work includes calculations of how heat moves through steel building components with small gaps or imperfections in fireproofing insulation. Their inquiry, which is still in its early stages, shows that during a fire such flaws can act as sluice gates for heat, allowing it to enter the steel, where it becomes trapped, weakening the structure. (New York Times)

Pataki Vetoes 9/11 Pension Bill - Dec 13, 2003
Gov. George E. Pataki vetoed a bill late Friday that would have given thousands of city workers who responded to the Sept. 11 attacks better retirement benefits by allowing them to claim many medical problems that stemmed from the hazardous conditions at the site. (New York Times)

Democrats Protest Use of Liberty Bonds for Queens Power Plant - Dec 13, 2003
A group of Democratic lawmakers yesterday denounced New York State's offer to a Massachusetts-based energy company of $400 million in tax-exempt Liberty Bonds, which are intended to revive Lower Manhattan after the attack on the World Trade Center. A state-run agency administering the Liberty Bond program announced on Thursday that it had awarded the bonds to Astoria Energy to help finance the 1,000-megawatt power plant it seeks to build in Astoria, Queens. (New York Times)

Federal 9/11 Victim Compensation Program May Cost Far Less Than Expected - Dec 13, 2003
The unprecedented program to compensate victims of the Sept. 11 attacks may cost far less than its original $6 billion estimate, the fund's administrator told The Associated Press. The total payout from the program could run as low as "$2 to $3 billion -- well under what had been estimated," Kenneth Feinberg, the fund's special master, said in an interview just days before the Dec. 22 deadline for families to file for compensation. (Newsday)

Number of Firefighters Rises to Pre 9/11 Level - Dec 12, 2003
It took more than two years, but the Fire Department finally has built back its staffing to where it was before the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when the department lost 343 men. With the new class of probationary firefighters that began training this week, the department has 8,660 firefighters on its rolls, 12 more than on Sept. 10, 2001. (New York Daily News)

First Beam Up at 7 World Trade Center - Dec 12, 2003
The final shape of the new World Trade Center may still be in doubt, but one part of the complex started going up yesterday. The first steel beam that will support the weight of office space was erected yesterday at 7 World Trade Center, marking the formal start of tenant floor reconstruction. The beam was headed for the 11th floor, where the first office tenants will rent space. The first 10 floors, already partially built, will house transformers for a Consolidated Edison substation that will supply electricity to much of lower Manhattan. (Newsday)

Goldman Sachs Wants to Build Tower Across from Ground Zero - Dec 12, 2003
Goldman Sachs is seeking subsidies to build in New York, where its headquarters have long been located. Henry M. Paulson, the firm's chairman, has told the governor and the mayor that Goldman wants its own tower, on what is known as Site 26 at Battery Park City, and wants some of the same cash grants, tax breaks and tax-free financing that are available downtown right now, according to state and city officials who are working with the bank. (New York Times)

Liberty Bonds Issued to Queens Power Plant - Dec 12, 2003
A massive new power-plant project in Queens, opposed by a group of city politicians, got $400 million in Liberty Bonds yesterday, sparking calls for a federal probe. The bonds were approved by the New York Liberty Development Corporation (NYLDC), which is considering issuing an additional $200 million in bonds to back the proposed 1,000- megawatt plant in Astoria. (New York Post)

EPA Releases Downtown Lead Tests - Dec 11, 2003
Lead was the most common contaminant found among the 263 Lower Manhattan apartments the Environmental Protection Agency tested for a range of possible 9/11-related toxins, according to results released on Monday. Of the 222 apartments E.P.A. contractors tested before and after cleaning, 70, or 31.5 percent, had lead levels before cleaning that exceeded the agency’s conservative benchmark of 25 micrograms per square foot. After cleaning, 16 apartments still had levels of lead above the E.P.A. standard. E.P.A. spokesperson Mary Mears cautioned that urban environments often have background lead, making it hard to tell whether the lead detected in wipe tests came from the World Trade Center collapse. (Downtown Express)

Man Convicted of Crime Avoids Jail Because of Service on 9/11 - Dec 11, 2003
At ground zero, David Margules was a celebrated figure. He took thousands of photographs of the firefighters at work and captured a famous image of crossed beams, which he called "Crucifix." One of his pictures, he says, is in the White House. But Mr. Margules had a festering problem that dated from before the terror attacks. Yesterday, his two worlds collided in Federal District Court in Brooklyn whenhe came before Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis for sentencing for securities fraud. (New York Times)

Police Left in the Dark On Terrorism Intelligence, Complains State Official - Dec 10, 2003
Nearly 70,000 cops across New York who could be used as "foot soldiers" in the war against terror are out of the loop when it comes to accessing vital intelligence, a counterterrorism expert warned yesterday. "Not using police and sheriffs who are out there on the streets and highways and in our communities effectively in this regard is inexcusable," said James Kallstrom, Gov. Pataki's senior adviser on homeland security. (New York Daily News)

Bob Kerrey is Put on Federal 9/11 Commission - Dec 10, 2003
Bob Kerrey, the former Democratic senator from Nebraska, was appointed on Tuesday to the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a panel he will join with six months left in its inquiry. Mr. Kerrey, who was a vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee when he was in Congress and who is president of the New School University in Manhattan, will replace Max Cleland, the former Democratic senator from Georgia. (New York Times)

Assemblyman Doesn't Want Liberty Bonds Used for Queens Power Plant - Dec 7, 2003
A Queens assemblyman is threatening legal action to stop the backers of a proposed power plant from using New York Liberty Bonds to fund the troubled project. "This is a continuing pattern of preferential treatment over more worthy projects," said Assemblyman Mike Gianaris, a Democrat from Astoria, who's weighing a lawsuit to block the bond issue. (New York Post)

Corporate Incentive Program Being Rewritten to Focus on Lower Manhattan - Dec 6, 2003
A deal has been struck to renew a major corporate incentive program that will help lure jobs to lower Manhattan from outside the city, The Post has learned. The Relocation and Employment Assistance Program, known as REAP, will provide companies with $3,000 per job for 12 years if they come to downtown from outside the city. (New York Post)

Judge Rules Against Forcing Disqualified Memorial Design into Contest - Dec 5, 2003
A Manhattan judge yesterday sank the Twin Piers proposal for a Ground Zero memorial, refusing to order development officials to include it among the finalists being judged by the 9/11 jury. State Supreme Court Justice William Wetzel ruled that Twin Piers designer Fred Bernstein tried to get around the rules of the memorial competition, which barred a person from submitting more than one proposal. (New York Post)

Ex-Senator to Leave 9/11 Panel - Dec 5, 2003
Max Cleland, a former senator from Georgia and one of five Democrats on the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, is expected to resign within weeks, creating a vacancy with only six months left in the inquiry, commission officials said today. (New York Times)

Bloomberg Agrees to Give Transcripts of Emergency Calls to Federal Commission - Dec 4, 2003
In an abrupt reversal, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City announced on Wednesday that he had agreed to release records of emergency 911 calls and other materials sought by the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Mr. Bloomberg's action comes nearly two weeks after the commission announced that it had issued a subpoena to New York City for records related to the attacks. The panel said that the city's refusal to turn over the information had "significantly impeded" its investigation. (New York Times)

Feds Deliver $2.85 Billion in Tranportation Aid to Lower Manhattan - Dec 4, 2003
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta jetted to the Big Apple yesterday to announce the delivery of $2.85 billion in transit funding for lower Manhattan. The cash - part of a $4.5 billion federal transportation aid package stemming from 9/11 - will help fund three downtown projects. More than half the dough will help transform the new temporary World Trade Center PATH terminal into a permanent facility. The remaining $1.1 billion will go toward creating a Fulton Street transit center that will link 12 subway lines and the PATH train, and expanding the South Ferry subway terminal. (New York Post)

Memorial Jury Wanted to Avoid Public Pressure With Single Stage Contest - Dec 4, 2003
Anticipating a frenzy of public criticism, the Ground Zero memorial jury pushed to keep all the designs secret until a winner was picked - but officials running the competition insisted on putting the eight finalists on display, sources told The Post. Numerous jury members, including Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer Maya Lin, warned that unveiling the finalists before a second stage of judging would make it difficult for them to do their job without coming under intense public pressure, said the sources, who are familiar with the panel's concerns. (New York Post)

Host Marriott Gets $370 For Loss at Ground Zero - Dec 4, 2003
Host Marriott Corp., the owner of the New York World Trade Center Marriott and New York Marriott Financial Center, announced yesterday that it has received about $370 million worth of insurance payments, resolving virtually most of its outstanding issues relating to the Sept. 11 attacks. The announcement comes about two months after Bethesda, Md.-based Host Marriott entered into an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to surrender the site and terminate a 99-year lease that was to expire in 2094. (Newsday)

City Passes Resolution to Honor 9/11 Priest - Dec 4, 2003
An effort to award FDNY chaplain Mychal Judge a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom got a boost yesterday from the City Council. The council passed a resolution calling on Congress to honor the Rev. Judge, a beloved Franciscan friar who was killed in the 9/11 terror attacks. (New York Post)

Jury Can Change Memorial Plans - Dec 3, 2003
The 13-member jury deciding on the final design of the World Trade Center memorial will have the flexibility to make changes, Kevin Rampe, president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., said Tuesday. "There's a high chance the selected design will be different from any of the eight you see out there now," Rampe told more than 500 attendees at a breakfast sponsored by Crain's NY Business, where he also discussed his vision for transportation and bond financing for lower Manhattan. "What was seen in the press was more of a first draft." (Newsday)

Liberty Bonds Should Focus on Downtown, Says Rebuilding Official - Dec 3, 2003
A top downtown rebuilding official took a swipe at City Hall yesterday, saying it was "a mistake" to use tax-free Liberty Bonds outside lower Manhattan. The comment was the sharpest yet in a fight brewing between Gov. Pataki's office and Mayor Bloomberg over how to spend $8billion in bonds created to spur downtown development after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack. (New York Daily News)

Community Board One Rejects One Memorial Design, Criticizes the Rest - Dec 3, 2003
Community Board 1’s World Trade Center redevelopment committee quickly ruled out one of the eight proposals for the ground zero memorial then spent most of the rest of Monday night lamenting at the lack of vision in the other seven. The board’s executive committee is expected to vote on a memorial resolution at its next meeting on Dec. 10, 49 Chambers St., room 709 at 6 p.m. in the hopes the 13-member memorial jury put together by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. will listen to the board’s recommendations. (Downtown Express)

New Vision for Wall Street Will Look Nicer - Dec 3, 2003
The new plan for the financial district is to replace the pick-up trucks that obstruct Wall St., Broad St. Exchange Pl. and New St. for a couple of blocks with less unsightly security barriers. At Broadway and Wall St. and Broadway and Exchange Pl., there will be bollards to block vehicles. A few days before last Wednesday’s announcement, the silver metal “bicycle rack” barricades blocking pedestrians and vehicles from the Big Board’s building were replaced with black decorative fencing. In addition to the aesthetic improvement, the change increased the space where people can walk on Wall and Broad Sts. (Downtown Express)

Nadler Criticizes Maloney's Memorial Bill - Dec 3, 2003
A proposed bill by U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney about the World Trade Center memorial has angered Downtown leaders and reignited her rivalry with U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who accused his fellow Democrat of “invading my district.” The bill would authorize a study to see whether it is feasible to preserve the bedrock area where the Twin Towers once stood. If the area was subsequently landmarked before construction on the memorial began, the bill’s detractors say it would lead to delays, particularly since none of the eight possible designs announced in November preserve the entire footprint bedrock area. (Downtown Express)

Councilmember Thinks Bloomberg Should Push Harder for Security Cash - Dec 2, 2003
The chairman of the City Council's public safety committee thinks the Bloomberg administration should be doing a lot more to squeeze additional homeland security funding from the federal government. In a letter he sent to Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) threatened to hold public hearings in January if the mayor didn't turn over detailed accounting of the city's homeland security expenses. (Newsday)

Police Commissioner Lobbies for Security Funds - Dec 2, 2003
Kelly, regarded among the country's top counter-terrorism experts, isn't that sanguine when it comes to the way the Bush administration has been shortchanging this city. He doesn't hide his frustration at the fact that the city is getting about 6 percent of the anti-terror funding, down from 25 percent two years ago. Kelly has been shuttling back and forth between New York and Washington trying to convince politicians who dispense the money to understand that New York is still the No. 1 target. (Newsday)

Port Authority Pays Silverstein's Debt - Dec 2, 2003
The Port Authority agreed yesterday to use $710 million in World Trade Center insurance proceeds as part of a reordering of the project's tangled finances - buying back the rebuilding rights to the WTC mall and paying off the mortgage of Twin Towers leaseholder Larry Silverstein. (New York Post)

How Poorly Did the Environmental Protection Agency React to 9/11? - Nov 30, 2003
From the first days after Sept. 11, 2001, the fears and unknowns about health and air quality in Lower Manhattan were compounded by the politics that swirl, as always, around the Environmental Protection Agency. An arm of the federal government that is second-guessed and distrusted as perhaps no other had been put in charge of the environmental response. What was in the air and what people in Washington and New York believed about the E.P.A. were immediately intertwined. (New York Times)

Coast Guard's Defense Against Terrorist Threat in New York - Nov 30, 2003
The Coast Guard's 91106 six-boat fleet is the government's eyes and ears against water-borne terrorism for New York and New Jersey. It is part of the federal Marine Safety and Security Team, within the Department of Homeland Security, that made its debut in New York Harbor two years ago. (Newsday)

New Money for Security, Appearance Downtown - Nov 27, 2003
The heavily guarded area around the New York Stock Exchange will be beautified, and its security revamped, with a $10 million grant announced yesterday by state and city officials. (New York Post)

Schumer Asks Anonymous Republican to Stop Blockage of 9/11 Bill - Nov 27, 2003
Senator Charles Schumer has asked the mystery Republican lawmaker blocking a 9/11-compensation bill to let the measure go before the Senate. "This is a Thanksgiving plea to the solitary senator who is holding this bill up anonymously," Schumer said yesterday. "It's only humane to let this go." The bill would extend the deadline to file for claims from the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. (New York Post)

Ground Zero Workers Dropping Lawsuits Against City - Nov 29, 2003
Hundreds of workers who got sick after working on the World Trade Center recovery and cleanup are dropping their lawsuits against the city, officials said yesterday. (New York Daily News)

An Old Sign, Touting Marvels Of World Trade Center, Still Up On Church Street - Nov 28, 2003
hile "World Trade Center" signs around the new PATH station startled commuters and visitors this week, a smaller but even more poignant graphic remnant of the past was hiding in plain sight across Church Street. "What has 200 elevators, 1,200 restrooms, 40,000 doorknobs, 200,000 lighting fixtures, 7 million square feet of acoustical tile ceilings, more structural steel than the Verrazano Narrows Bridge — and was built for a final cost of over one billion 1970s dollars?" asks the colorful sign between seven-foot cast-iron posts, outside Century 21, near the corner of Cortlandt Street. "That's right, the World Trade Center." ...the sign would stay in place at least a year (New York Times)

Senate Rejects Extension of 9/11 Compensation Program - Nov 26, 2003
Congressional officials from the New York area conceded yesterday that their last-gasp attempt to extend the deadline for the federal government's extraordinary program to compensate the relatives of Sept. 11 victims had all but failed. (New York Times)

Republican Senator is the Reason for Block on Extension - Nov 26, 2003
A Republican senator is using a special rule to block efforts to extend the deadline for filing claims with Sept. 11 victim compensation fund, leaving family members fearful they may miss out. "A lone, anonymous Republican senator is holding up the bill," declared Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), speaking on the Senate floor. (New York Post)

Statue of Liberty Could Open in 2004, After Generous Donations - Nov 26, 2003
A higher-security Statue of Liberty could open to the public as early as next year, officials said yesterday. The American Express Corp. has pledged at least $3 million of more than $5 million needed. The company contributed to past improvements of the 117-year-old monument. (Newsday)

State Officials Press Washington on Security Cash - Nov 25, 2003
Reacting to a Daily News report that shows Wyoming reaping far more per person in anti-terror funds than New York, state leaders vowed to work to revamp the formula so awards are based on threat levels - not pork-barrel politics. (New York Daily News)

Per Capita, New York Gets Least Federal Money for Security - Nov 24, 2003
New York, the world's premier target for terror, gets less homeland security funding per person than virtually any state in the nation. Man for man and woman for woman, Wyoming (population 493,782) does better - $38.31 per person, compared with the paltry $5.47 in counterterrorism funds spent on each New Yorker. (New York Daily News)

As Deadline For 9/11 Aid Nears, Many Families Haven’t Filed - Nov 22, 2003
Members of New York's Congressional delegation say the federal government's ambitious effort to compensate the relatives of Sept. 11 victims will fall far short of its intent if Congress does not act soon to extend the Dec. 22 deadline for filing claims. Were such a shortfall to occur, it would amount to a major disappointment in what was seen as an extraordinary attempt to compensate thousands of people quickly and generously for one of the worst catastrophes on American soil. (New York Times)

NYC Will Challenge 9/11 Subpoena - Nov 22, 2003
Citing privacy of Sept. 11 victims, the mayor's office vowed to fight a federal commission's subpoena seeking documents that detail the city's response at the World Trade Center. The commission, which is investigating the nation's preparedness before the 2001 attacks and its response to them, said Thursday it wants tapes and transcripts of 911 calls as well as internal firefighter interviews conducted afterward. (Associated Press)

Silverstein To Get Cash Back in 9/11 Deal - Nov 22, 2003
The developer Larry A. Silverstein and his investors are getting back most of the cash they put up for their winning bid more than two years ago to take control of the World Trade Center in the largest real estate deal in New York history. Even so, Mr. Silverstein will remain in control of rebuilding the 10 million square feet of office space that is planned for the trade center site in the next 10 or 15 years. In the end, according to people who have been briefed on the deal, he will have little of his own money at risk for one of the most important corners of the Manhattan landscape. (New York Times)

NY Senators Warn Congress Against Taking Away 9/11 Money - Nov 22, 2003
Sens. Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer are warning congressional budget writers to keep their hands off the money sent to New York City after the 9/11 attacks. (New York Post)

Federal Subpoena for 9/11 Police Tapes - Nov 21, 2003
The 9-11 Commission has voted to subpoena the city for failing to hand over documents related to the city's response to the World Trade Center attack. The panel said the city's refusal to hand over the material had "significantly impeded the commission's investigation." (Newsday)

Department of Homeland Security Going in Wrong Direction, Say City Police - Nov 21, 2003
Department of Homeland Security officials are "going in the wrong direction" when it comes to protecting high-threat areas like New York City, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Thursday. (Newsday)

A Call for Better Emergency Plans for Skyscrapers - Nov 20, 2003
A federal commission studying the Sept. 11 attacks should press for wholesale improvements in the construction, fireproofing and evacuation of high-rise buildings, two skyscraper-safety advocates said Wednesday. (Associated Press)

Opponents to West Street Tunnel Speak Out - Nov 20, 2003
More than a dozen people lined up at the microphone during a public information meeting to denounce the proposal, supported by Gov. George E. Pataki, to spend $860 million to bury a half-mile section of the road alongside the planned World Trade Center memorial site. Most of the comments were familiar: the tunnel plan was too expensive; construction would disrupt traffic for too long; the money would be better spent elsewhere; the tunnel ramps would be dangerous to pedestrians. (New York Times)

Families of 9/11 Victims Get Preview of Memorial Finalists - Nov 19, 2003
After seeing the eight finalists in the 9/11 memorial competition, family members of those killed in the attack used words like "reverential" and "respectful" to describe the designs. And "overwhelmed" when speaking of their own feelings. But some expressed disappointment that the plans did not set aside more of the twin towers' foundations as a setting for the memorial. (New York Times)

Competition's Confidentiality Pact Raises Questions - Nov 19, 2003
Don't talk about it. Don't criticize us. We own all of the information (including your notes). That's the message in the open-ended confidentiality agreements that Lower Manhattan Development Corp. officials required memorial competition finalists to sign, according to a blank copy obtained by Newsday. (Newsday)

Intelligence Officials Warn of Security Risks - Nov 19, 2003
The U.S. intelligence community must improve its performance to prevent another terrorist attack in New York City and around the country, a panel of experts said last week. (Downtown Express)

Families of 9/11 Victims Ask Park Service to Take Over - Nov 18, 2003
Families of 9/11 victims made a last-minute plea yesterday for the National Park Service to intervene at Ground Zero and preserve the area where the majority of the dead were found. The families asked that the "historical ruins" where the twin towers once stood be saved and included in a memorial to the terrorist attacks' 2,752 victims. (New York Daily News)

Disqualified Designer Sues LMDC - Nov 18, 2003
A Ground Zero memorial designer who was disqualified as a finalist went to court yesterday to force officials to put his plan back in the running - but redevelopment officials accused him of a "shell game." The judge in the case said he may force the LMDC to reinstate the design. (New York Times)

Officials Oppose Plan to Put Park Service in Charge of Memorial - Nov 17, 2003
Just days before eight Ground Zero memorial designs are made public, development officials yesterday criticized a proposed federal study aimed at putting the National Park Service in charge of the tribute. They said a bill introduced in Congress by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) that authorizes the study could cause delays in rebuilding if it is passed But Maloney and 9/11 family members said the study is needed to determine whether the Twin Towers' "footprints" should be given landmark status - which could keep anything but the memorial from being built on them. (New York Post)

Extra Security at NYC Landmarks After Bombing in Turkey - Nov 17, 2003
Police have stepped up security at synagogues and major public places in New York in response to the terrorist bombings of Jewish temples in Turkey, officials said yesterday. The measures include posting police cars outside some synagogues and ordering patrol cars or beat cops to pass by others more frequently. Increased police presence was also ordered for city landmarks like Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the East River bridges and other high-profile spots, sources said. (New York Post)

Firefighters May Receive Subpoenas From New 9/11 Probe - Nov 14, 2003
More than two years after the attack on the World Trade Center, city firefighters have been told they may have to relive that day again - under subpoena if necessary - in yet another investigation. Fire union officials say they can see no benefit in the planned interviews by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal agency that is looking into technical issues surrounding the collapse of the towers. (Newsday)

New York Times seeks Liberty Bonds For New Building - Nov 13, 2003
The New York Times' development partner, Bruce Ratner, is seeking $150 million in Liberty Bond, to help finance the newspaper's new midtown tower. But an executive at the Empire State Development Corporation, one of the two main government agencies controlling the purse strings of the Liberty Bonds, doesn’t think Mr. Ratner’s gambit to use federal 9/11 program money to save the Times tower is going to work. (New York Observer)

Heart Attacks Linked to 9/11 - Nov 13, 2003
Heart attack cases rose sharply at a Brooklyn hospital within weeks following the World Trade Center disaster, suggesting that emotional stress can trigger severe cardiac problems, researchers reported yesterday. Researchers from New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, looking at a total of 1,249 patients divided into three groups, found heart attacks rose by 35 percent in the 60 days after the terrorist attacks and tachyarrhythmias, irregular heart beats, by 40 percent. Irregular heart rhythms often cause sudden death. (Newsday)

Wife of Police Officer Who Died on 9/11 Won't Get His Pension - Nov 12, 2003
Less than three weeks before his death in the World Trade Center, NYPD Officer Santos Valentin and his wife signed a separation agreement. Now a Manhattan judge has ruled that although the agreement did not specifically remove her as his beneficiary, Selena Valentin will not get her husband's pension, which is worth an estimated $2 million. (New York Post)

Schumer Sees Terror Threat to NYC Cruise Ships - Nov 10, 2003
Sen. Charles Schumer yesterday called on the U.S. Coast Guard to assess security at Manhattan's Hudson River cruise ship passenger piers - saying the terminals were ripe for terrorist attacks. "The security here at cruise terminals is not up to snuff," said Schumer in a press conference at the West 48th Street pier operated by P & O Ports. "We ought to have the same kind of security here as we do at the airports." (New York Post)

St. Paul's Churchyard Reopens - Nov 7, 2003
The western gates to St. Paul's Chapel on Church Street, which had been padlocked for no one knows how long, were reopened this week. So was the churchyard itself, which had been closed since Sept. 11, 2001. Suddenly, there is a contemplative public space — brand new but 237 years old —on the edge of ground zero. The open gates allow visitors to approach the chapel as they would have in the 18th century, across a lawn dotted with headstones, through trees so tall they almost obscure the wooden steeple. (New York Times)

Woman Who Cheated 9/11 Charities Convicted - Nov 6, 2003
A woman was convicted in a 9/11 scam November 5, hours after she was locked up - because a juror found a note proclaiming the woman's innocence in a courthouse restroom. Evelyn Wellens and her co-defendant, Matthew Weissman, were found guilty of cheating Sept. 11 charities out of $80,000. Wellens had been freed after her arrest, but yesterday, Justice John Bradley jailed her after the note was discovered in the women's bathroom, courthouse sources said. Another juror found a note in the men's room, but it was unclear if he went to the judge. A search turned up seven notes, the sources said. All the notes said, "Evelyn Wellens is innocent," a source said. (New York Post)

Toxin Levels in Lower Manhattan to be Retested - Nov 5, 2003
Some Lower Manhattan residences will be retested for World Trade Center toxins as part of an agreement reached by Senator Hillary Clinton and government officials. But details of the plan remained foggy last week, even as the Environmental Protection Agency reported elevated levels of lead in 13.5 percent of the wipe samples the agency tested for metals and other toxins before cleaning the apartments in response to 9/11. The lead results were released at an Oct. 28 Congressional hearing on the health effects of the W.T.C. disaster held at Mount Sinai medical center and attended by U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler. (Downtown Express)

Firefighter returns 911 medal to protest firehouse closings - Nov 4, 2003
Retired firefighter Girard Owens has sent back the Survivor medal he earned for heroism on 9/11, demanding that Mayor Bloomberg reopen a Williamsburg firehouse closed in May. "I cannot accept this award at this time. I would rather have my neighborhood properly protected," wrote Owens in a letter sent to the mayor and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta. (New York Post)

Memorial Designs To Be Unveiled By Nov. 17 - Oct 31, 2003
New Yorkers next month will get their first look at eight designs chosen as the finalists for a Ground Zero memorial, Gov. Pataki said yesterday, as he announced steps to move forward with the rebuilding of lower Manhattan. The eight designs will be unveiled the week of Nov. 17 in an exhibit at the Winter Garden, the governor said. (New York Post)

De Niro Investing In TriBeCa Hotel - Oct 31, 2003
Actor Robert De Niro is an investor in a deal to build a new luxury hotel in TriBeCa, to be funded with $38 million in tax-free Liberty Bonds, Gov. Pataki said yesterday. The actor - who last week revealed that he is fighting prostate cancer - wants to break ground on the six-story, 83-room hotel at Greenwich and North Moore streets before the end of the year. (New York Post)

Cost and Timetable for Rebuilding Lower Manhattan In Question - Oct 30, 2003
As Gov. George Pataki prepares to make a major speech today on rebuilding the World Trade Center, he faces questions about the master plan, the cost and the timetable. The overall cost of the project seems to have risen. The source of the money remains unclear. And as Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff noted in a letter to the Port Authority released Tuesday, no clear cost estimates or schedule has been made available. (Newsday)

Mayor Fears Costs of WTC Pension Bill - Oct 30, 2003
Mayor Bloomberg is urging Gov. Pataki to reject legislation that could boost retirement payouts for thousands of emergency workers who responded to the World Trade Center attacks. In an unusually forceful letter, obtained by The News, Bloomberg suggested the measure could cost the city and state up to $260 million a year. (New York Daily News)

Mayor's Office Seeks More Retail Space at Ground Zero - Oct 29, 2003
After many months of playing a backstage role in planning the new World Trade Center, the Bloomberg administration stepped forward yesterday and declared that the master plan would have to include far more streetfront retail space and one more full-fledged street than it now calls for. (New York Times)

Pataki Backs Libeskind in Tower Debate - Oct 24, 2003
Gov. Pataki yesterday backed Daniel Libeskind's vision for a Ground Zero Freedom Tower - weighing in on a dispute over the structure's design that threatens to stall the progress of lower Manhattan's recovery from 9/11. "I think it's very important that the vision that was enunciated for the master site plan be ultimately what is constructed at Ground Zero," Pataki said, when asked about the fight between Libeskind and David Childs, the tower's lead architect. (New York Post)

Visions for Tower Clash at Trade Center Site - Oct 23, 2003
Only 10 months before groundbreaking is expected to take place for the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site, the master planner of the site and the architect for the tower's developer, who are supposed to be collaborating, have reached an impasse on how the skyscraper should look. (New York Times)

Test Runs of PATH Train Stop at WTC - Oct 23, 2003
A PATH train, carrying only a conductor and an engineer, zipped under the Hudson River and eased into a bare-bones station at Ground Zero yesterday. The commuter train came to a stop at 1:42 p.m. - weeks ahead of schedule. There was no fanfare. No political speeches. But the moment foreshadowed a significant triumph in the long, hard recovery of lower Manhattan. (New York Daily News)

65,000 call for special 9/11 honors - Oct 22, 2003
A group pushing for special recognition for rescue workers at the Ground Zero memorial brought petitions signed by 65,000 people to Gov. Pataki's midtown office yesterday. Leaders of the group, Advocates for a 9/11 Fallen Heroes Memorial, said they hope that the governor will influence the 13-member panel choosing the memorial design to include separate recognition for firefighters and police officers. (New York Daily News)

Community Board Postpones Decision on 9/11 Street Names - Oct 22, 2003
Faced with a heart-wrenching request from family members, Community Board 1 officials decided last week to postpone any decisions on renaming area streets for Sept. 11 victims until plans for the World Trade Center memorial are announced. (Downtown Express)

Grasso Leaves Development Corporation - Oct 18, 2003
Disgraced former Big Board boss Richard Grasso yesterday quit another board - the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Grasso had been appointed to the 16-member LMDC board by then-Mayor Giuliani shortly after the corporation was created to spearhead the post-9/11 rebirth of downtown Manhattan. Grasso was known during his tenure for his poor attendance record at LMDC meetings. (New York Post)

New York City to Extend Lease on Airports - Oct 16, 2003
Ending a feud that has lasted nearly a decade, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced yesterday that New York City would extend its lease of La Guardia and Kennedy Airports to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey until 2050 in exchange for a $700 million upfront payment and a steep increase in annual rents. The agreement formally ended talks of a so-called land swap in which the city was to have traded the land under the two airports, which it owns, to the Port Authority in exchange for the World Trade Center site, which the authority owns. (New York Times)

On Columbus Day, President Praises 9/11 Hero - Oct 14, 2003
President Bush marked Columbus Day yesterday by remembering New York City Fire Chief Peter Ganci, saying his death in the World Trade Center as he evacuated his men embodied the Italian-American spirit. In brief remarks at the White House, Bush said the sons and daughters of Italy "take special pride in the deep tradition of service to this country." (New York Daily News)

Pataki Wants Insurance Settled So Trade Center Work Can Begin - Oct 10, 2003
Gov. George E. Pataki is attempting to forge a settlement between the developer Larry A. Silverstein and his insurers in their long-running battle over how much money will be available to rebuild the World Trade Center. With a revised master plan for the 16-acre site now in hand and a recent setback in Mr. Silverstein's legal case, downtown executives say that Governor Pataki wants the issue resolved quickly so that rebuilding can proceed without more money being squandered on lawyers. (New York Times)

Details Emerge on Post-9/11 Clash Between White House and EPA - Oct 10, 2003
Tensions between the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Council on Environmental Quality over informing the public about air safety after the collapse of the World Trade Center may well have been greater than revealed in a report issued by the E.P.A.'s inspector general in August, according to newly released documents. (New York Times)

Wrangle Over Downtown Rebuild Funds - Oct 8, 2003
The chairman of the agency overseeing downtown revitalization took a shot at the Bloomberg administration in a growing feud over $2 billion in tax-free bonds earmarked for rebuilding after Sept. 11, 2001. Mayor Bloomberg wants to use the federally subsidized bonds to build office and residential buildings around the city. But last week, Lower Manhattan Development Corp. boss John Whitehead sent a memo to board members showing at least a dozen sites near Ground Zero where new office towers could be built using the tax-exempt Liberty Bonds. (New York Daily News)

Report Fuels Fear That City Won't Get All of Promised 9/11 Aid - Oct 6, 2003
New York officials have long worried that the city will get billions of dollars less in federal aid to rebuild Lower Manhattan than the $21.4 billion President Bush promised after the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Although the White House, Gov. George E. Pataki and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg have dismissed those concerns, a new report by the General Accounting Office is helping to increase them. (New York Times)

White House to Help Review Downtown Air Quality After 9/11 - Oct 1, 2003
The White House has agreed to work with Congress and independent environment experts to review the quality of air in lower Manhattan immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, Sen. Hillary Clinton said yesterday. The review will seek to determine whether air near Ground Zero was safe to breathe and whether toxins continue to linger in buildings near the attack site. (New York Daily News)

Kevin Rampe on Buses, Deutche Bank and Park Row - Oct 1, 2003
The president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. said he has not ruled out building a tour bus garage under the World Trade Center memorial, but he thinks there will be enough room for buses at the preferred site across the street from the site. (Downtown Express)

Court Ruling on 9/11 Fund - Sep 30, 2003
A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that the government's Sept. 11 victim compensation fund can loosely limit award amounts - but criticized any attempt to cap their size. The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court judge, who tossed out three lawsuits challenging the victim's fund and its special master, Kenneth Feinberg. But the decision offered some encouragement to families who think they're being shortchanged. (New York Daily News)

Cost of Rebuilding Ground Zero Skyrockets - Sep 29, 2003
When federal, state and local government officials agreed to spend billions to rebuild the World Trade Center site, they signed on to repair damage to infrastructure and transportation in an effort to spark private reinvestment in the area. Over the past two years, that original scope expanded to include a range of other expenditures that could reach $1 billion. (Newsday)

Mayor, Governor Back 9/11 Funds for Midtown - Sep 25, 2003
Mayor Mike Bloomberg said last week it is “perfectly appropriate” to use money intended to help New York recover from the attack on the World Trade Center to construct offices in Midtown. Gov. George Pataki pledged to help the mayor achieve his goals. (Downtown Express)

Opposition to South Ferry Subway Project Grows - Sep 25, 2003
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s proposed $400-million-dollar renovation of the South Ferry subway station is getting a cold reception Downtown. The proposal for renovation of the station, which serves the 1/9 subway lines in Lower Manhattan, includes relocating the platform and making it accessible to all 10 train cars for easier passenger boarding. Currently, passengers must walk to the first five cars of the vehicle to exit, a lengthy process that can cause schedule delays. The sharp curve of the tracks at the current station also causes schedule delays. (Downtown Express)

Clinton Blocks EPA Nominee - Sep 24, 2003
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday charged that the White House orchestrated a deliberate effort to mislead New Yorkers about the city's air quality after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Clinton used a Senate hearing on the nomination of Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency to reiterate her demand that the administration again test the air quality of residences and businesses in lower Manhattan. (Newsday)

Federal Probe Seeks 9/11 Survival Stories - Sep 18, 2003
Federal investigators probing the collapse of the twin towers urged survivors to come forward yesterday and help them understand what happened inside the doomed buildings. The information could help explain why the skyscrapers fell and lead to better evacuation procedures. (New York Daily News)

Schumer``Report Card'' Finds Gaps in Homeland Security Efforts - Sep 15, 2003
The federal government receives a C- for how it's securing the New York region against another terror attack, according to grading by Sen. Charles Schumer Sunday. The mediocre grade factors in failing marks for truck security, but a B+ for bio-terrorism, according to Schumer's report. (Newsday)

Whitman: EPA Did All it Could - Sep 14, 2003
Christie Whitman, who headed the federal Environmental Protection Agency on 9/11 and afterward, said yesterday her agency did everything it could to warn rescue teams they needed to worry about their own health and safety while conducting their heroic work. (New York Post)

Victims' Families Protest at Ground Zero - Sep 11, 2003
Chanting "Liar! Liar!" hundreds of relatives of Sept. 11 victims converged at Ground Zero a day before the anniversary of the terrorist attacks to accuse Gov. Pataki of betrayal. The families charged that Pataki, who holds the most influence over the rebuilding of the site, broke a solemn promise to preserve the area where the majority of the dead were recovered. (New York Daily News)

Mayor Invites Vice President to Skip Event at Ground Zero - Sep 11, 2003
Vice President Dick Cheney, like President Bush, will not attend this morning's memorial service at ground zero. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's office issued a statement early yesterday saying the decision had been based on concerns that increased security precautions for Cheney would inconvenience families of Sept. 11 victims. (New York Times)

Giuliani: No Reason to Distrust EPA - Sep 11, 2003
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said yesterday he has "no reason to distrust" information the city received about the air quality near Ground Zero right after Sept. 11, 2001. The former mayor's comments marked the first time he has spoken publicly about a report by the Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general that said the agency gave overly rosy statements about the air. (New York Daily News)

Legacy Points Added to Civil Service Exams - Sep 11, 2003
Gov. Pataki signed a measure yesterday that awards 10 "legacy" points on Civil Service exams to siblings of firefighters and police officers killed in the World Trade Center attacks. (New York Daily News)

Families of Victims File to Meet a Legal Deadline - Sep 11, 2003
Dozens of lawsuits were filed yesterday on behalf of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, as families sought to meet a legal deadline for wrongful-death suits against airlines, security firms and other defendants. The suits, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, were by families from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other states where laws require that wrongful-death suits be brought within two years. (New York Times)

Judge Oks WTC Suits - Sep 10, 2003
A Sept. 11 scenario with hijackers commandeering jets in terrorist attacks could have been foreseen by the airline industry, a federal judge said yesterday, clearing the way for lawsuits on behalf of those injured or killed on the ground. (Newsday)

Ashcroft Defends Patriot Act - Sep 10, 2003
Standing on the site where Congress adopted the Bill of Rights, Attorney General John Ashcroft brought his defense of the Patriot Act to the edge of ground zero yesterday and suggested that critics of the act, a sweeping antiterrorism law, "have forgotten how we felt" on Sept. 11, 2001. Outside on the street several hundred protesters were kept out of earshot on the far side of the building. (New York Times)

9/11 Families to Protest Ashcroft and Patriot Act - Sep 9, 2003
An anti-war group comprising Sept. 11 victims' families will converge on lower Manhattan today to protest Attorney General John Ashcroft and the controversial Patriot Act. The families, who sang songs of peace with Iraqi children at a Baghdad shelter shortly before U.S. troops invaded, will join the American Civil Liberties Union and others to denounce the anti-terrorism legislation. (New York Daily News)

Bloomberg: It's Ok For President To Skip WTC Ceremony - Sep 6, 2003
If President Bush wants to skip New York's ceremony commemorating the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, that's fine with Mayor Bloomberg. Playing the good Republican, Bloomberg praised Bush for keeping politics out of next week's ceremony. (New York Daily News)

Comptroller Warns City Could Lose 9/11 Aid - Sep 4, 2003
New York City is in danger of losing nearly $4 billion of the more than $21 billion that President Bush had promised to it for recovery from the 2001 terrorist attack, the city comptroller, William C. Thompson Jr., said yesterday. Mr. Thompson said the city would get the money only if federal and state government agencies hastened the funds' distribution and revised the aid programs. (New York Times)

Families of Uniformed Victims Are Urged to File 9/11 Claims - Sep 3, 2003
Federal and city officials said yesterday that they would reach out to relatives of the city's uniformed forces who lost family members in the Sept. 11 terror attack and encourage them to file claims with the victims' compensation fund. Fewer than half of the families who lost relatives in the attack have filed claims with the fund so far, and the number is even lower among the families of the police officers, firefighters and other uniformed officers who were killed or injured on Sept. 11, the officials said. (New York Times)

Poll: New Yorkers Anxious About Leaders, War on Terror - Sep 2, 2003
Two years after the attack on the World Trade Center killed nearly 3,000 people, plunged the city into an economic crisis and spurred U.S. military actions abroad, New Yorkers are increasingly disenchanted with their leaders and anxious about the war on terror, according to a Daily News poll. (New York Daily News)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Mayor: Don't Blame Bush for EPA - Aug 25, 2003
Mayor Michael Bloomberg says President George W. Bush shouldn't be blamed if the Environmental Protection Agency downplayed the seriousness of airborne pollution after the Sept. 11 terror attack. The report, by the agency's inspector general, concludes that the White House influenced the EPA to minimize air-quality concerns. "I know the president and I think he's a very honest guy," Bloomberg said before yesterday's Pakistani Independence Day parade. "It would never occur to me not to trust him." (Newsday)

Report: White House Pressured EPA to Call 9/11 Air 'Safe' - Aug 23, 2003
The White House pressured the Environmental Protection Agency to sanitize its immediate assurances about Ground Zero - leading to premature statements that the air was safe to breathe, a federal watchdog said. "When EPA made a Sept. 18 [2001] announcement that the air was 'safe' to breathe, the agency did not have sufficient data and analyses to make the statement," a report by EPA Inspector General Nikki Tinsley charged this week. (New York Daily News)

Pataki Supports West Street Tunnel - Aug 21, 2003
Gov. Pataki yesterday came out in favor of running West Street through a tunnel next to the World Trade Center - a plan that has drawn opposition from many downtown residents. "The master plan calls for the suppression of West Street near Ground Zero. I think that's appropriate. I think it's important," Pataki said at a groundbreaking for a new foot bridge over the street. (New York Post)

Residents Angry, but not Surprised at Premature E.P.A. 9/11 Air Reports - Aug 21, 2003
Downtowners expressed outrage but little surprise last week at the news that the White House allegedly influenced statements the Environmental Protection Agency made soon after the collapse of the World Trade Center about air quality in Lower Manhattan. (Downtown Express)

Silver: WTC Site Environmental Impact Study Should Be Expanded - Aug 21, 2003
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has called on the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. to take a deeper look into the environmental impacts of the World Trade Center Memorial and Redevelopment Plan. In an Aug.7 letter responding to the L.M.D.C. call for public comment on the draft generic environmental impact statement for the proposed trade center redevelopment, Silver said that important aspects of the project were either not mentioned or need to be expanded. (Downtown Express)

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)

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)

City Hall Weighs In On WTC Plans - Aug 1, 2003
Mayor Bloomberg opposes any attempt to change the proposed site of the world's tallest building from the northwest corner of Ground Zero. In a strongly worded letter to the Port Authority yesterday, the administration also said it opposes putting 10 million square feet of office space at the site, as now planned. City Hall's positions clash with the wishes of developer Larry Silverstein, who is expected to use World Trade Center insurance money to pay for much of the rebuilding. (New York Daily News)

On Terror, Doubts Anew After a Scathing Report - Jul 25, 2003
The report on intelligence failures may force the Bush administration to confront a vexing question that the White House thought it put to rest months ago: how best to prevent another terrorist attack. The findings, providing an even more damning indictment of the intelligence community than many had predicted, are already prompting fresh debate over whether the federal government should create a national intelligence czar or even strip the F.B.I. of its domestic intelligence duties in favor of a wholly new agency. (New York Times)

9/11 Congressional Report Faults F.B.I.-C.I.A. Lapses - Jul 24, 2003
The Sept. 11 attacks were preventable, but the plot went undetected because of communications lapses between the F.B.I. and C.I.A., which failed to share intelligence related to two hijackers, a Congressional report to be released on Thursday says. The report, by a joint committee of the House and Senate intelligence panels, found that for nearly two years before the attacks, the Central Intelligence Agency knew about the terror connections between the two men, Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaq Alhazmi, who in 2000 moved to San Diego, frequenting Muslim circles that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had infiltrated. (New York Times)

Bill Extends Deadline For 9/11 Suits - Jul 8, 2003
Relatives of those killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center will have an extra six months to file wrongful death suits under a bill signed into law Tuesday by Gov. George Pataki. The measure extends the two-year statute of limitations for filing suits, previously set to expire Sept. 11, 2003, to March 11, 2004. The bill was approved by the Legislature before it completed its regular 2003 session last month. (Newsday)

9/11 Commission Says U.S. Agencies Slow Its Inquiry - Jul 9, 2003
The federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks said today that its work was being hampered by the failure of executive branch agencies, especially the Pentagon and the Justice Department, to respond quickly to requests for documents and testimony. (New York Times)

Firefighter Claims Are Up - Jul 1, 2003
Firefighter claims against the city increased more than 20-fold last year due to the World Trade Center disaster, city Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. will report today. (Newsday)

Report Claims America is Unprepared for Another 9/11 - Jun 30, 2003
A frightening new report by the Council on Foreign Relations contends that America is "dangerously unprepared" to cope with another terror attack like 9/11. United States needs to spend another $98 billion to brace for an attack - a figure that the federal Department of Homeland Security insisted was "grossly inflated." (New York Post)

Pataki No Longer Interested In Land Swap - Jun 27, 2003
Gov. Pataki is no longer interested in a proposal to transfer control of Ground Zero to the city - and has told officials at the Port Authority to suspend talks on a World Trade Center land swap, sources said yesterday. (New York Post)

Governor Pushes for Release of Aid to WTC Volunteers - Jun 26, 2003
Ailing Ground Zero volunteers denied medical coverage and financial aid from the state should be getting help soon. Gov. Pataki has ordered the state Workers' Compensation Board to fast-track claims filed by the volunteers, officials said yesterday. Congress gave New York $25 million to cover the volunteers' medical bills and lost wages. Even though the federal aid was approved 18 months ago, not a dime of it has been used. (New York Daily News)

Bloomberg's Comments Anger 9/11 Families - Jun 22, 2003
Mayor Bloomberg told a New Jersey couple who want to reclaim WTC ashes from a city dump that he had difficulty supporting their cause because "I intend to leave my body to science." His new comments have angered families of 9/11 victims, who describe them as "cold," "heartless" and "dismissive" of their grief. (New York Post)

Assembly Passes Bill to Help WTC Volunteers - Jun 19, 2003
The Assembly has overwhelmingly passed a bill to make ailing Ground Zero volunteers eligible for workers' compensation - but the legislation has yet to win support in the state Senate. Although Congress gave New York $25 million to cover the volunteers' medical bills and lost wages, state law has kept them from tapping into the money. (New York Daily News)

Bush's 9/11 Coverup? - Jun 18, 2003
Family members of victims of the terror attacks say the White House has smothered every attempt to get to the bottom of the outrageous intelligence failures that took place on its watch. (Salon)

Three Are Named to Lower Manhattan Development Corp. Board - Jun 17, 2003
Three people were appointed yesterday to fill vacancies on the board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency that is overseeing the rebuilding of downtown. The three included the second relative of a victim of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center to be appointed to the board. (New York Times)

Mayor and Governor At Odds Over WTC Funds - Jun 12, 2003
Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg are at odds over how to divvy up more than $1 billion in rebuilding money for lower Manhattan, and are squaring off over the last major chunk of redevelopment cash, sources said. At stake is the remaining federal funding for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which was given $2 billion early last year to spend largely as it pleased - and still has $1.3 billion left. (New York Post)

City Hall Wants Rebuilding Funds to Tear Down Piece of FDR - Jun 12, 2003
City Hall wants to use hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for rebuilding lower Manhattan to rip down a stretch of the FDR Drive, sources told the Daily News yesterday. The project would improve access to the waterfront south of the Brooklyn Bridge - a key part of Mayor Bloomberg's $10.6 billion vision for lower Manhattan. (New York Daily News)

FBI's Mueller Meets Sept. 11 Relatives - Jun 11, 2003
bout three dozen relatives of people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks told FBI Director Robert Mueller he hasn't done enough to determine if the agency acted properly prior to the terrorism -- but applauded his efforts to provide them with information. Mueller spent about 90 minutes meeting privately with the family members, most of whom are involved in advocacy and victim support groups formed after the attacks. (Associated Press)

Feds Delay Money for 9/11 Worker Health Screenings - Jun 10, 2003
Some $90 million in disaster aid earmarked for monitoring the health of Ground Zero workers is being held up by federal officials, the Daily News has learned. Congress signed off on the money in February after months of partisan sparring between President Bush and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). Yet the money has not reached the city - and if the delay drags on, it could shut down a World Trade Center health screening program run by Mount Sinai Medical Center, officials said. (New York Daily News)

Families Want NYC to HaveJurisdiction Over New WTC Buildings - Jun 10, 2003
Families of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack victims are asking the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to give New York City fire and building officials jurisdiction over any new construction at the World Trade Center site. If the Port Authority refuses, the group will go to court in the next week to force the issue, said New York lawyer Thomas Shanahan, who is representing the families. (Associated Press)

Interview: Architect Daniel Liebeskind Discusses His Plan For Memorializing The World Trade Center - Jun 4, 2003
Interview: Architect Daniel Liebeskind Discusses His Plan For Memorializing The World Trade Center, Post-9/11. (wnbc.com)

TV Stations to Put Antennas on New Ground Zero Tower - May 29, 2003
The 1,776-foot Freedom Tower planned at the World Trade Center site is meant to send a signal of resilience to the world. Now it will also be designed to send signals of another kind to households from the New Jersey Shore to the end of Long Island to Fairfield County, Conn. Specifically, Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 31, 41, 47 and 68. On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Television Alliance signed an agreement with Larry A. Silverstein, the leaseholder and developer at the trade center site, to install as many as 22 antennas atop Freedom Tower, to be completed in 2008. (New York Times)

Millions in 9/11 Trauma Aid Unspent - May 27, 2003
An unprecedented federal crisis counseling program set up to help New Yorkers cope with the Sept.11 attacks has yet to spend roughly $90 million - more than half the money earmarked for the free care. The tens of millions sit unspent as the state and city battle budget shortfalls and struggle to pay for myriad expenses related to the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. (New York Daily News)

Civil Service Exam Bonus Is Resisted for 9/11 Siblings - May 21, 2003
Last year the State Legislature passed a law granting an advantage on the Civil Service examinations to the children of firefighters and police officers who died in the Sept. 11 attack. The city, eager to offer concrete help to victims' families, supported the bill, as did the fire and police unions. Now the State Senate is reviewing another bill, already passed by the Assembly, to extend the advantage -- 10 points out of 100 -- to the siblings of those who died. But this time the city has opposed the measure, and while the largest police union supports it, the two fire unions, whose members suffered by far the greater losses in the attack, have refused to take a position. (New York Times)

City Opposing WTC Benefits Bill - May 17, 2003
The city is opposing a bill that would make it easier for employees who participated in Sept. 11 rescue, recovery or cleanup efforts to qualify for accidental-disability benefits. The legislation provides that any disability resulting from a specified illness contracted by a 9/11 worker - even in the future - be presumed to have been caused by an accident in performance of duty. (New York Post)

Gerson Outlines Plan for Downtown - May 15, 2003
Councilmember Alan Gerson, whose district includes the World Trade Center site and all of its surrounding neighborhoods, last week released a “blueprint” on how to make Lower Manhattan a more livable place as the grandiose plans to rebuild Downtown proceed. The 13-page report is primarily a summary of positions Gerson has taken since the Sept. 11 attack forever changed his district. (Downtown Express)

Mayor To Block Job Boost for 9/11 Family Members - May 10, 2003
Mayor Bloomberg is seeking to block a bill that would make it easier for siblings of firefighters and cops who died in the Sept. 11 attacks to follow in the footsteps of their brave brothers and sisters. The legislation would grant the survivors 10 additional points on 100-point civil service exams for government jobs in their siblings' municipalities, including those with the NYPD and FDNY. (New York Post)

Judge Dismisses 3 Cases Against 9/11 Fund's Special Master - May 9, 2003
A federal judge yesterday dismissed three lawsuits that claimed the federal fund created to compensate the relatives of Sept. 11 victims was unfair, arbitrary and biased against victims who earned high incomes. In doing so, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the United States District Court for the Southern District brushed aside what had been the most serious challenge yet to the Victim Compensation Fund, which is expected to cost taxpayers as much as $5 billion. He also vindicated the fund's embattled special master, Kenneth R. Feinberg, who had been accused of trying to deprive the families of the victims who died in New York of hundreds of millions of dollars or more. (New York Times)

Judge Awards $104 Million to Kin of 9/11 Victims - May 8, 2003
A federal judge Wednesday awarded nearly $104 million in damages to the families of two victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, finding the plaintiffs had provided some evidence that Iraq provided support to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. Judge Harold Baer outlined the damages against bin Laden, the Taliban and Saddam Hussein and his Iraqi government in a written decision in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. (Associated Press)

Towers' Strength Not Tested for a Fire, Inquiry Suggests - May 8, 2003
Federal investigators studying the collapse of the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001, say they now believe that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the government agency that built the towers, never performed the fundamental tests needed to determine how their innovative structures would perform in a fire. (New York Times)

Ridership Up, but Ferry Company Got 9/11 Aid - May 6, 2003
Although ridership on its ferries doubled not long after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, New York Waterway, the largest private ferry company in the region, collected nearly $360,000 in federal grants designated for businesses that suffered losses from the attack. (New York Times)

Giuliani: More To Be Done To Make City Safer - May 5, 2003
The city and nation are far safer today than before the World Trade Center attacks - but there is more to be done, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said yesterday. At the same time, the former mayor stressed the need for private industry to join government in preparing for "the worst possibilities," such as a biological or chemical attack. (New York Daily News)

Airlines Want 9/11 Lawsuits From Families Thrown Out - May 2, 2003
Commercial airlines knew there was a risk that their jets could be hijacked, but should they have foreseen the possibility that hijackers would turn their aircraft into weapons of mass destruction? That question is at the heart of a proceeding in Federal District Court in Manhattan, where the families of more than 65 people who died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are suing American and United Airlines, whose planes struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, alleging negligence. (New York Times)

Governor Plans WTC Event for Republican Convention - May 2, 2003
According to World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein, Gov. Pataki apparently is planning to lay the cornerstone of the world's tallest building at Ground Zero during next year's Republican National Convention - an event President Bush would undoubtedly attend. (New York Daily News)

Pataki Commits to Timeline, Downtown Reactions - Apr 30, 2003
Responding to criticisms that the Lower Manhattan rebuilding efforts are proceeding too slowly, Gov. George Pataki last week released an extensive timeline of short and long-term goals, such as a new Greenmarket, which will open across the street from the World Trade Center site this summer, and the last piece – a Downtown link to J.F.K. Airport and the Long Island Rail Road in 2013. (Downtown Express)

Chinatown Businesses Battle SARS Fears and Rumors - Apr 30, 2003
As rumor played tug-of-war with reality last week in Chinatown, community members voiced concern that an outbreak of the SARS virus—actual or perceived—could bring further economic damage to an area already struggling with fears of the illness. (Downtown Express)

Request For Documents Exposes Terror Panel Rift - Apr 26, 2003
One member's attempt to review confidential transcripts exposed a rift Friday within the independent commission examining the Sept. 11 attacks. Tim Roemer, a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, criticized the panel's leaders for not demanding immediate and total access to documents compiled during a congressional inquiry of the terror attacks. (Associated Press)

State Bill Would Prohibit Peddlers At Ground Zero - Apr 24, 2003
Backed by Mayor Bloomberg, state lawmakers are moving to ban peddlers at Ground Zero, The Post has learned. Proposed legislation submitted by the city to state lawmakers for passage seeks to stop all vendors from peddling goods and food at Ground Zero "in recognition of the sanctity of the site." (New York Post)

Pataki Wants Downtown Rebuilt Fast - Apr 22, 2003
Gov. George E. Pataki is expected to tell a group of business and civic leaders this week that the 1,776-foot tower that is a central part of Daniel Libeskind's design for the World Trade Center site will be one of the first construction projects to get under way there, according to people close to the rebuilding process. In an address on Thursday to the Association for a Better New York, a civic group, Pataki will lay out an aggressive schedule for construction in the first phase of the rebuilding effort, including the tower, a transportation hub joining the PATH commuter rail line and Lower Manhattan subway lines, and the memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attack on the trade center, the people involved said. (New York Times)

Alex Garvin Resigns from LMDC - Apr 16, 2003
The lead planner for the agency overseeing the rebuilding of Ground Zero abruptly quit this week, just as the group hammers out a contract with a key architect. Alexander Garvin, chief planner for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., stepped down Monday. He had given notice only last week, sources said. (New York Daily News)

Relatives' Lawyers Ask Court to Rule Sept. 11 Fund Unfair - Apr 15, 2003
Lawyers representing the relatives of 10 World Trade Center victims asked a federal court yesterday to rule that the fund created to compensate families was unfair, arbitrary and tilted against those with high incomes, threatening to shortchange surviving families by hundreds of millions of dollars or more. After an all-day session of impassioned arguments by the families' lawyers, followed by rebuttal from a senior official with the Department of Justice, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of United States District Court for the Southern District said he needed more time to weigh the evidence. But he promised to rule by early May. (New York Times)

Doctoroff: City, Not Port Authority Is Best for Ground Zero - Apr 15, 2003
In City Hall's latest push for control of Ground Zero, a top official said yesterday that the Port Authority's ownership of the disaster site could stunt the overall redevelopment of downtown. Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff said the bistate agency is driven by "economic considerations" that would require it to rebuild as much office and retail space on the 16-acre disaster site as the market demands. However, if the city takes control of Ground Zero through a complicated land-swap deal with the Port Authority, Doctoroff said, city officials "would not care" if that commercial space is placed on the disaster site or spread elsewhere in lower Manhattan. (New York Daily News)

September 11 Compensation: The Impossibility of Making Whole - Apr 14, 2003
In the desperate days after the collapse of the World Trade Centre and the attack on the Pentagon, America's Congress enacted an emergency compensation plan. This would not only recompense victims of the attacks but also spare America's airlines litigation costs, likely far to exceed their insurance cover. The price tag is not yet known, but it will certainly run to billions of dollars. However, the plan has already raised many questions about how to compensate victims of such attacks. On April 14th it will be challenged in a federal court in lower Manhattan, not far from where the twin towers stood. (Economist)

Port Authority Sued For $20M - Apr 13, 2003
Michael Kenny, the city commissioner who oversaw cleanup at the World Trade Center site, filed a $20 million federal lawsuit Friday, charging that Port Authority Police officers beat him up when he tried to prevent them from making an unauthorized visit there. (Newsday)

Governor's Pals On Memorial Jury - Apr 11, 2003
A former top aide to Gov. Pataki and a contributor to the governor's re-election campaign were appointed yesterday to the panel that will choose a design for a Ground Zero memorial. Neither Mike McKeon, a former Pataki spokesman who recently joined a private consulting and lobbying firm, nor downtown businesswoman Julie Menin, who gave the governor $11,000 last year, has the sort of arts or design background that officials have repeatedly said would be needed as jury members judge what could be thousands of design submissions. (New York Post)

Audit Finds State Agency Mishandled Some Post-9/11 Grants - Apr 10, 2003
The New York State agency overseeing a program of federal grants to businesses hurt by the World Trade Center attack paid too much or too little to several companies, a federal audit has found. The agency, the Empire State Development Corporation, made a small number of faulty payments, for relatively small sums, the audit found. But the agency paid millions of dollars to companies without getting details on how they had calculated their losses, a flaw that persisted despite a preliminary audit that flagged the problems. (New York Times)

Pataki Drops Attempt for Bigger Share of Antiterror Funds - Apr 8, 2003
Facing a barrage of criticism by members of both parties, Gov. George E. Pataki today abandoned his demand that the state receive a greater share of federal antiterrorism money, agreeing to allow New York City to have the money it is seeking from Congress. (New York Times)

Rebuilding Panel Will Continue to Oversee Lower Manhattan - Apr 8, 2003
The small group of power brokers who chose the design for the World Trade Center site will oversee key aspects of the redevelopment, sources said. The eight-member committee, which represents the interests of New York Gov. George Pataki, New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, selected architect Daniel Libeskind's plan in February after meeting regularly for more than a year. The committee will now oversee the development of commercial design guidelines at the site and refining the Libeskind site plan. (Newsday)

A Push for No Taxes on 9/11 Grants - Apr 7, 2003
What the government openly gives with one hand, it quietly takes away with the other. That's the angry charge downtown merchants and elected officials are expected to lodge today as they urge the Internal Revenue Service to reverse a belated decision to collect taxes on 9/11 relief grants. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation last week to make 9/11 recovery grants tax-exempt. (New York Daily News)

Speaker: State Must Commit To New WTC - Apr 5, 2003
Just as it did with the first World Trade Center, New York state should make a major commitment to occupy office space in the rebuilt complex, the speaker of the state Assembly says.Sheldon Silver, whose district includes the site of the former trade center towers, said the state's role as a major tenant in the twin towers was crucial to their eventual popularity. (Newsday)

Queens Politicians Oppose WTC Land Deal - Apr 6, 2003
Three state legislators from Queens want to put the brakes on a plan to swap the land under LaGuardia and Kennedy airports for the World Trade Center site. The office holders said the city's plan to turn over airport land to the Port Authority in return for the Ground Zero acreage would be a bad swap for Queens because it would give too much control to New Jersey, New York's partner in the bistate transportation authority. (Newsday)

Bloomberg Says State Vies for Security Money the City Needs - Apr 4, 2003
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg made his differences with Gov. George E. Pataki public yesterday, suggesting that the governor is trying to claim a share of federal money that the city needs to defend itself against terrorist attacks. ``We can make a convincing case, I think,'' Mr. Bloomberg said, ``that when you catch an Al Qaeda member, in his or her pocket there's a plan to attack New York. Not to attack any one state, not to attack other cities. " (New York Times)

Betts' Role at Ground Zero Continues - Apr 4, 2003
Last week, Chelsea Pier owner Roland Betts, who favored the Think team's latticework towers over the Daniel Libeskind design preferred by the governor and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, was announced as chairman of an advisory committee to monitor construction. (New York Times)

Terrorism Panel Hears Advice on Methods of Prevention - Apr 2, 2003
On the second day of hearings by a federal panel investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks, witnesses offered a wealth of detail about what happened on Sept. 11 and afterward, along with some suggestions about how to better prepare for terrorist attacks in the future. Speaking after the hearing ended, Thomas H. Kean, the former New Jersey governor who is the panel chairman, said the goal was not to assign blame but "to write an authoritative story: what happened and why it happened." (New York Times)

Queens Politicians Oppose Airport-Trade Center Land Swap - Apr 2, 2003
Few people in Queens took it seriously last summer when the Bloomberg administration proposed swapping the land beneath Kennedy and La Guardia Airports for the World Trade Center property. But now that the city appears to be inching closer to a deal with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the trade center site, residents near the airports and local politicians are crying sellout. (New York Times)

New Jersey Officials Want to Stop Land Swap - Apr 2, 2003
New Jersey officials want to put the brakes on talks between City Hall and the Port Authority over a Ground Zero land swap - concerned that they've been left in the dark over key details of the proposed transaction, sources told The Post. (New York Post)

Port Authority Architect Shown The Door - Apr 2, 2003
With the Port Authority endorsing Daniel Libeskind's plans for Ground Zero, the architect hired to develop the agency's own plans has been shown the door, the agency confirmed Tuesday. Architect Stanton Eckstut was hired by the Port Authority last fall to develop a plan detailing the site's infrastructure, transit and memorial needs, at the same time that the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. was running a design competition for the site. (Newsday)

Bloomberg Administration and Port Authority Get Closer on Land Swap Deal - Apr 1, 2003
The pending deal between the Port Authority and the Bloomberg administration to swap the land beneath two airports for the World Trade Center property has picked up momentum in recent weeks, even as it has become a game of political pick-up sticks setting off repercussions on both sides of the Hudson River. (New York Times)

9/11 Panel Hears Families' Anguish - Apr 1, 2003
After a 19-month wait that they said was too long and too painful, the relatives of those who died in the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as some survivors, finally had their chance yesterday to testify as the first witnesses before a government panel investigating the attacks. And as the all-day hearing unfolded at the United States Custom House in Lower Manhattan, not far from where the World Trade Center once towered, it was hard for those on the 10-member commission not to sigh, or wince, or shed a tear. (New York Times)

9/11 Comission May Recommend Criminal Charges - Mar 30, 2003
The commission charged with investigating if any failures led to the 9/11 terrorist attacks may refer its findings to criminal prosecutors, officials told The Post. The panel - headed by former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean - is holding its first public hearings in Manhattan tomorrow and Tuesday. (New York Post)

Potential Conflicts Abound For 9/11 Investigation Panel - Mar 28, 2003
Members of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks have numerous professional ties to industries and organizations that could come under their scrutiny, financial disclosure reports show. The affiliations create possible conflicts that could pose challenges for the panel as it deals with a broad mandate, a tight schedule and limited funding. (Associated Press)

Bloomberg Trusts That Feds Will Pay For Operation Atlas - Mar 27, 2003
The Bush administration likely will pick up the city's entire $5 million weekly tab for wartime security, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. "It does look like our $5 million a week will be paid for by the federal government," Bloomberg said. "They haven't said so explicitly, but if you read what they have said so far, I believe, that [it] probably will be." (New York Daily News)

WTC Workers Compensation Board Has Settled Most Claims - Mar 26, 2003
The state Workers' Compensation Board has settled about 85% of death and injury claims from victims and families in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, officials said yesterday. The board has resolved 2,062 claims related to deaths, and 4,108 stemming from injuries, spokesman Jon Sullivan said. (New York Daily News)

Bloomberg Seeks Federal Funds at White House - Mar 20, 2003
Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday outlined a $900 million request for federal funds to beef up New York's emergency preparedness, and said the Bush administration agreed that high-profile target cities like New York should get a larger proportion of aid. (Newsday)

City Finally Gets $33M 9/11 Grant - Mar 19, 2003
More than a year and a half after the World Trade Center attack, the federal government Tuesday announced that it had finally released funds to pay for the mental health needs of city schoolchildren. A $33 million grant to the city was approved last week by the Federal Center for Mental Health Services, which works in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. (Newsday)

Mayor Sees City Taking Control At Ground Zero - Mar 13, 2003
The Bloomberg administration is pursuing a strategy to take over the World Trade Center site that will likely increase pressure on developer Larry Silverstein to abandon his interests in the rebuilding effort, according to a Port Authority source familiar with the city’s position. (New York Observer)

Families Seek to Oust LMDC Board Member - Mar 12, 2003
Several families of Sept. 11 victims have organized an online petition calling for Madelyn Wils, chair of Community Board 1 in lower Manhattan, to resign from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board. They argue that that Wils is opposing a World Trade Center site tomb for unknown remains. The families don't expect Wils to actually resign, but they hope to draw more attention to their dispute. (Newsday)

Port Authority Reaffirms LMDC's Role - Mar 11, 2003
The Port Authority committed yesterday to working with the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., denying reports that the rebuilding agency's role would be usurped by the city. Senior Port Authority officials plan to keep working with the agency, lauding the LMDC's role as "a great partner" in developing a public input process for the site's redevelopment. (Newsday)

Betts: I Won't Lead A Weak LMDC - Mar 11, 2003
An influential downtown rebuilding official said yesterday he would turn down a leadership role in the months ahead if the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. has its powers stripped. Corporation board member Roland Betts, a close friend of President Bush's, said he is waiting to see if negotiations between the state and city "clearly define" the LMDC as the lead agency in rebuilding Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)

Mayoral Appointees Miss Meetings on Ground Zero - Mar 8, 2003
For months, even as Mayor Michael Bloomberg has sought greater influence over the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, three of the eight mayoral appointees to the corporation's board have been absent from the debates over the future of downtown. One mayoral board seat has been empty since November, following the resignation of a director appointed by former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. Two other mayoral appointees -- E. Stanley O'Neal, the chief executive of Merrill Lynch, and Richard A. Grasso, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange -- have missed two-thirds of the scheduled board meetings over the last year. (New York Times)

City Is Seeking Bigger Role in Rebuilding - Mar 7, 2003
The Bloomberg administration has proposed a broad restructuring of the city-state agency overseeing the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan, city and state officials said yesterday. The plan would give the city more authority over the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site and billions of dollars of federal recovery money, they said. The plan would transfer the development corporation's planning, design and development staff to a city agency and would give the city and the development corporation's board joint authority over the development of cultural programs at the trade center site. (New York Times)

Cantor Fitzgerald's WTC Funds To Be Split Up - Mar 6, 2003
A $33 million pot of money set aside by Congress specifically to help Cantor Fitzgerald - the World Trade Center brokerage that lost 658 employees in the terror attack - will be partly carved up by several other WTC firms after months of intense negotiations over the funds, officials said yesterday. (New York Post)

WTC Rebuild Agency Names Interim President - Mar 5, 2003
Kevin Rampe, general counsel to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., was named as interim president of the agency, corporation board chairman John Whitehead said. The agency's first president, Lou Tomson, stepped down Friday after Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg selected a Ground Zero plan by architect Daniel Libeskind. Rampe, a former state insurance department official, is Pataki's choice to lead the agency permanently. But City Hall has yet to sign off on it, and is still interested in searching for another candidate, sources said. (New York Daily News)

Political Considerations Lead To Current Vision For Ground Zero - Mar 3, 2003
The creation of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation set off what could have been any government operation -- a plodding, obtuse process run by bureaucrats with little public participation. Instead, it evolved into a grand public discussion about architecture, public space and the nature of memory. (New York Times)

Governor Compared Opposing WTC Plan To "Death" - Mar 1, 2003
Moments before he would cement his decision to go with the Daniel Libeskind plan for Ground Zero, Gov. Pataki compared the runnerup scheme's towers to "death," sources said yesterday. Pataki said he believed the latticework towers of design team THINK were a ghostly reminder of the fallen World Trade Center. The towers "look like death to me," Pataki said, according to several sources. (New York Daily News)

Libeskind Choice Only First Of Many In WTC Process - Mar 1, 2003
The selection last week of architect Daniel Libeskind's design for the World Trade Center site capped an intensely public process, marked by large meetings, passionate debates by everyone from scholars to schoolchildren, and thousands of comments from ordinary New Yorkers. Despite that civic outpouring, many key decisions about the site's future are being made with little public input at the Port Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, critics say. (Newsday)

Insider Expected to Head LMDC - Feb 25, 2003
Gov. George Pataki has selected another Albany insider to lead the lower Manhattan rebuilding effort when the current president leaves this week, sources say. Pataki has chosen Kevin Rampe, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.'s executive vice president and general counsel, to become president of the agency overseeing the World Trade Center site redevelopment, say sources familiar with the process. (Newsday)

Officials To Announce Winning Design For WTC - Feb 24, 2003
On Thursday the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation will announce the winning design to be the basis for reconstruction at the World Trade Center site. The two finalists, Berlin-based architect Daniel Libeskind and the New York-centered consortium known as Think, have spent the last three weeks revamping their ideas to answer certain concerns of rebuilding officials. The deadline for their final proposals is Tuesday. (NY1)

Mayor Prefers WTC Plan By Libeskind - Feb 15, 2003
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday said he prefers the Ground Zero plan by Berlin-based architect Daniel Libeskind, which leaves much of the pit open as a memorial space. The mayor's remarks on his weekly radio show were the first time a major elected official has voiced a preference on the two remaining designs. (New York Post)

Silverstein Says Mayor's Plan to Use Insurance Billions Is Unworkable - Feb 14, 2003
World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein told Mayor Bloomberg yesterday that a City Hall proposal to take over his insurance billions is unworkable, sources told The Post. The private meeting with the mayor came as Silverstein, who signed a 99-year lease on the trade center just weeks before the Sept. 11 terror attack, is seeking a more visible role in the planning process. (New York Post)

Federal Government Allots $90 Million for Ground Zero Health Study - Feb 12, 2003
The feds will set aside $90 million to pay for health screening for hundreds of firefighters and other heroes who rushed to Ground Zero after 9/11, officials said yesterday. The funding should insure that Mount Sinai and other hospitals can study and track the long-term health of scores of first responders - some of whom are beginning to report lung and breathing woes they attribute to Ground Zero. (Select one or type in another)

Pataki Backs West St. Tunnel in Letter - Feb 12, 2003
Gov. George Pataki wrote that the state is likely to build a tunnel on part of West St./Route 9A, in a letter requesting $5 billion in federal transportation funds to rebuild Lower Manhattan. "[S]afe pedestrian across West St. will be restored. Such restoration will likely occur through the tunneling of some portion of Route 9A," Pataki wrote to Joseph Albaugh, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Jennifer Dorn, administrator of the Federal Transit Administration. (Downtown Express)

Pataki Presents Washington With A $5 Billion Transit Plan - Feb 8, 2003
Gov. George E. Pataki outlined a long-awaited plan yesterday to spend up to $5 billion to restore and upgrade transportation in Lower Manhattan, including new above-ground hubs at the World Trade Center site and at the Fulton Street subway stations, as well as a rebuilt subway terminal at South Ferry. (New York Times)

Agencies Jockey for Control Over Future of Ground Zero Design - Feb 7, 2003
With the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation only weeks away from adopting a long-sought plan for the World Trade Center site, a struggle is taking place over just how much of the grand designs will ever be built, a struggle that is connected to the future of the agency. (New York Times)

Mayor Declines Question On Whether Taylor Should Head LMDC - Feb 4, 2003
Mayor Bloomberg had few words yesterday when asked if his girlfriend - Diana Taylor - should be named the next president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., an idea floated by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. (New York Daily News)

WTC Plans Might Not Include Governor - Jan 27, 2003
Some of Gov. Pataki's top advisers are urging him to remove himself from the World Trade Center rebuilding process and give control to the city, sources told the Daily News. Pataki surged to reelection on a wave of post-Sept. 11 popularity. But he's now beginning to come under criticism from some circles for not offering a clear vision of what he wants at the site. (New York Daily News)

7 Families Sue Administrator of 9/11 Fund - Jan 27, 2003
In the most sweeping challenge yet to the federal fund intended to compensate relatives of Sept. 11 victims, the families of seven victims who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald have filed a lawsuit accusing the fund's administrator of acting illegally and unfairly, thereby shortchanging the families of all New York victims. (New York Times)

Council Seeks More Power Over WTC Rebuilding - Jan 25, 2003
City Hall and the City Council should have more say in the development at Ground Zero, council members said yesterday. Members of the council's Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Committee asked the council's lawyers to find out what jurisdiction it has over rebuilding - in the hope of a larger role. (New York Post)

WTC Crews Plan Symbolic Reminder - Jan 25, 2003
Ground Zero firefighters and rescue workers plan to attend President George W. Bush's State of the Union speech Tuesday night, their presence a symbolic reminder of the administration's reluctance to allocate $90 million in federal funds to keep track of rescue workers' respiratory problems. (Newsday)

Firefighters Want 9/11 Aid From Bush at State of Union - Jan 24, 2003
Will he help the heroes? The weary, retired firefighter President Bush tossed his arm around at Ground Zero days after the terrorist attacks is making a special trip to Washington to plead for help for ailing rescue workers. Upset that $90 million in federal aid to monitor the long-term health of Ground Zero laborers is tied up, Bob Beckwith will join a silent - but very visible - protest at the State of the Union address Tuesday. (New York Daily News)

Pentagon Victim's Gay Partner Wins 9/11 Fund Payout - Jan 24, 2003
A lesbian whose partner was killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been awarded more than $500,000 by the federal government - a decision gay rights groups hope will set a precedent. Peggy Neff of Hyattsville, Md., will receive $557,390 from the Victim Compensation Fund. (New York Daily News)

Small, Unofficial Committee Will Make Decision on WTC Site Plan - Jan 24, 2003
A small, unofficial committee has quietly been given responsibility to choose an architect and site plan for Ground Zero, officials said yesterday. The eight-member “steering committee” includes representatives of the two agencies responsible for downtown redevelopment, and of the governor and the mayor - although City Hall controls just one seat. (New York Post)

Talks Begin Again for WTC Site Swap - Jan 21, 2003
The once-stalled talks to transfer control of Ground Zero to the city have sprung back to life - with a price now under serious discussion, sources told The Post yesterday. "A few months ago, it was pretty much the odds were against a swap. Now, I think they're in favor of one," said a source at the Port Authority, which owns the World Trade Center site. "It's very much alive. It's just a matter of a number." Under the deal being considered, the city would trade the land it owns under Kennedy and La Guardia airports to the Port Authority in return for the PA giving the city the Ground Zero property. (New York Post)

Overview: City Nears Decisions on World Trade Center Site Rebuild - Jan 20, 2003
16 months after terrorists who revile American democracy destroyed the World Trade Center, the rebuilding of lower Manhattan grinds on. The massive effort is certain to continue for years. But crucial decisions are to be made in the coming weeks and months. Officials had set a Jan. 31 deadline, but now say the middle to end of February is more likely. It remains unclear whether one design or elements from several will be selected. (New York Daily News)

Mayor Outlines Wishes for 9/11 Emergency Funds - Jan 19, 2003
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has drawn up a new wish list for 9/11 federal emergency funds - making a pitch to shift money currently earmarked for the Port Authority and crisis counseling. Under the mayor's strategy, as much as $690 million would then be freed up for other uses - more than the $650 million that Bloomberg has been asking FEMA to give the city for budget relief. (New York Daily News)

New York State Misses Two Deadlines on Security Plans - Jan 19, 2003
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has set aside a minimum of $418 million for the state to finance projects to bolster the metropolitan area's preparedness for any future terrorist attack. However the state has not submitted a single project for the federal agency to review, even though it has received scores of proposals from state, city and private agencies desperate to do everything from reinforcing bridges to shoring up bioterrorism efforts at local hospitals. In fact, the state has missed two deadlines for submitting the proposals, and has been forced to ask for two extensions totaling six months ? requests that emergency management officials say have been rare in other disasters. (New York Times)

Deadline For WTC Mortgage Relief Nears - Jan 19, 2003
As the deadline nears for victims of the World Trade Center attacks to seek federal mortgage and rental relief, workers advocates are calling for an extension. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides 18 months of aid through its Mortgage and Rental Assistance Program, will stop accepting applications on Jan. 31. Individuals and families may be eligible to apply if they lived or worked in Manhattan on or before Sept. 11, 2001, or were employed by a company that was economically dependent on businesses located in Manhattan. The New York Immigration Coalition wants the deadline extended to Sept. 30, contending that tens of thousands of economic victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks need more time to seek help under the program. (Newsday)

World Trade Center Plan Promised by End of February - Jan 18, 2003
Lou Tomson , the outgoing president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, vowed yesterday to have a land-use plan for Ground Zero and transportation plans in place before his exit next month. Tomson spoke amid wide speculation that, given the detailed cost analysis the agency must perform for all nine schemes, the work won't be done by the end of February. (New York Daily News)

President of Rebuilding Agency To Step Down In February - Jan 17, 2003
The president of the agency charged with overseeing reconstruction at Ground Zero will step down at the end of next month, sources said yesterday. Lou Tomson had been expected to leave his post at the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. once the agency chooses the site's master plan. That's expected to happen next month, when the LMDC will pick from among nine rebuilding proposals. Although he is now in good health, he has been bothered by the lingering effects of kidney and prostate cancer, and he often said he was not fond of his weekly trip to and from his home on 16 acres in Voorheesville, east of Albany. (New York Post)

Federal Officials Press Pataki For Details On Transportation Rebuilding - Jan 16, 2003
Federal officials have sent Gov. Pataki a letter pressing the state to explain in detail how it will spend the $4.55 billion set aside to remake lower Manhattan's transportation system. The letter was meant to jump-start a process that appears to have stalled as City Hall, Albany, the Port Authority and the MTA remain at odds over setting priorities for transportation projects, sources in Washington said. (New York Post)

A Hint of Rebuilding Fatigue - Jan 15, 2003
A citywide series of public hearings yesterday and Monday to gauge response to the new designs and guidelines for a memorial to victims of 9/11 attracted little more than a predictable array of single-issue zealots and almost no substantive comments about details of the plans. Few officials of the rebuilding effort were happy with Monday night's meeting. "In the end, it didn't feel like a particularly useful meeting, and that was fairly dispiriting," said one board member. (New York Times)

Silverstein To Seek $400 Million in Tax-Free Liberty Bonds - Jan 14, 2003
Developer Larry Silverstein, who owns the lease to the World Trade Center site, will try to raise $400 million in tax-free Liberty Bonds for the reconstruction of 7 World Trade Center, it was revealed yesterday. This is because he apparently must spend half the insurance proceeds on the building just north of Ground Zero to pay off the mortgage. This news was not made public until the beginning of the public hearing held by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation yesterday, drawing criticism from those who feel rebuilding officials are being too secretive. (New York Post)

New Trade Center Plans Draw Old Complaints - Jan 14, 2003
Instead of offering specific feedback on the new designs, unveiled last month to great fanfare and significant public interest, many of the more than 700 people who attended a hearing at Pace University in Lower Manhattan focused instead on issues that rebuilding officials have heard repeatedly, including calls to rebuild the Twin Towers and demands to remember those affected in Chinatown and the Lower East Side. "This is not what we expected or hoped for," one Lower Manhattan Development Corporation director at the meeting said on the condition of anonymity. "These are the same people we've heard from before, saying the same things." Meanwhile, attendance in the outer boroughs and Long Island, where the public hearings were supposed to be simulcast with the one in lower Manhattan, was below expectations, with only about 60 people showing up. (New York Times)

New Issues as Hearings Address Rebuilding - Jan 13, 2003
At citywide public hearings today and tomorrow, officials will explain more details about each of the nine designs released last month for the World Trade Center site. In addition, they will discuss the process they are using to narrow those options to a single plan for redeveloping the site and creating a memorial to the victims of Sept. 11. What officials from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey say they need now is comment on what one of them calls "the public realm" ? which plan provides the appropriate setting for a memorial, for a new railroad station and for a street system that will serve downtown. (New York Times)

Funds Shortage for Trade Center Transit Plans - Jan 12, 2003
The officials trying to devise a sweeping transit plan for devastated lower Manhattan are grappling with a stark reality: There's not enough money for everything. New York has been promised $4.55 billion in federal transit aid. From that pot, the Port Authority is hoping for about $1.6 billion for infrastructure costs below ground, including a bus depot, parking garages and access ramps at Ground Zero. The remaining $3 billion is being targeted for a new PATH terminal and underground concourse, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority center at Fulton St., a partial covering of West St. along the Trade Center site and a renovated South Ferry subway station. That leaves nothing for the most ambitious project being debated, which Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg have called critical to downtown's future: a multibillion-dollar direct rail link from lower Manhattan to Kennedy Airport. (New York Daily News)

Pataki And Bloomberg Differ On Two Key Issues -- Budget And Ground Zero - Jan 12, 2003
Although they are both grappling with how to shore up government shortfalls and how to rebuild Ground Zero, Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York's two most prominent Republicans, have staked out radically different approaches to deal with the two most imperative challenges both face this year. (Newsday)

Draft Guidelines Released for Trade Center Memorial - Jan 9, 2003
A World Trade Center memorial should recognize each person killed in the attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as those killed in the bombing at the trade center in 1993, according to a preliminary outline for the development of the memorial released yesterday. The memorial should also include a tomb for unidentified remains of victims found at the site and may include some surviving elements of the trade center buildings, the outline stated. (New York Times)

City Request Stalls Insurance for 9/11 Cleanup - Jan 4, 2003
A long-delayed plan to have the federal government provide insurance for four construction companies against legal claims arising from their cleanup efforts at ground zero has been stalled by a request from the city government that it be covered, too. Already, 45 lawsuits have been filed against the city, mostly by construction workers (New York Times)

After 9/11, a Torrent of Money, and Anger - Dec 30, 2002
In the months after nearly 2,800 people died in the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center, the Bush administration pledged $21.4 billion to address the emergency. More than 15 months later, some $4.5 billion to $5 billion has made its way from Washington to New York. Many victims, elected officials, business executives and others are both confused and angry about why, more than a year after the most serious terrorist attack on American soil, less than a quarter of the federal government's promise of financial assistance has been realized. (New York Times)

Wils: Bloomberg Plan Threatens Historic Districts - Dec 24, 2002
Madelyn Wils, the chairperson of Community Board 1, says that Mayor Mike Bloomberg's vision for Lower Manhattan poses a threat to historic districts in the Seaport and Tribeca. Wils told fellow C.B. 1 members that Bloomberg's plan, announced Dec. 12, includes a housing tower on the post office site in the Seaport's landmark district. "What we do not support - will not negotiate further on is the protection of our historic districts," Wils said at the full board meeting Dec. 17.        (Downtown Express)

Giuliani Criticizes WTC Plans - Dec 24, 2002
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani panned the new design proposals for Ground Zero yesterday, saying they fail to capture the profound meaning of Sept. 11. "None of them accomplished overall what I thought should be [done]," Giuliani said of the nine plans released last week. (New York Post)

WTC Plan Deadline Extended - Dec 22, 2002
A final World Trade Center site plan will be chosen within two months, said a key planning official, brushing off critics worried there isn't enough time to analyze the nine plans presented Wednesday by seven teams of renowned architects. After a two-week break, a joint committee of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and Port Authority officials will meet in January to decide on a final plan, committee chairman Roland Betts said Friday. He added that if the decision isn't made by Feb. 1, it will be made by Feb. 15. (Newsday)

WTC Architect Team Also Worked on Mayor's Downtown Project - Dec 17, 2002
The architects who designed Mayor Michael Bloomberg's vision for downtown also have a plan for the World Trade Center site. Peterson Littenberg Architects, which won a $375,000 contract to provide consulting services for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. in May, is one of seven teams presenting their trade center visions tomorrow. (Newsday)

City Considers Plan to Control Billions in Ground Zero Insurance Proceeds - Dec 17, 2002
City officials looking to pay for Mayor Bloomberg's vision of a revamped downtown are considering a plan that - within a year - could give them control of the billions in insurance proceeds due on the World Trade Center. Under the scenario, to which Bloomberg alluded last week when he outlined his grand scheme for lower Manhattan, the city would first have to strike a deal with the Port Authority to transfer ownership of the 16-acre site. (New York Post)

Kissinger Pulls Out as Chief of Inquiry Into 9/11 Attacks - Dec 14, 2002
Henry A. Kissinger abruptly resigned today as chairman of the commission intended to investigate the Sept. 11 attacks, informing President Bush that he could not serve if it meant revealing the clients of his consulting firm. President Bush, who aides said was surprised by the decision, vowed to find a replacement quickly. (New York Times)

Development Corporation Ready for Next Step - Dec 13, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation yesterday authorized $300,000 to pay for the work of whichever teams are picked to refine their designs for the World Trade Center site. A final site plan, to be negotiated between LMDC and the Port Authority, is due Jan. 31. (Newsday)

Mayor's Proposal Envisions Lower Manhattan as an Urban Hamlet - Dec 13, 2002
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg yesterday offered his vision of the future of Lower Manhattan: a collection of neighborhoods stitched together by large parks and broad pedestrian walkways, with a direct mass transit link to Kennedy Airport via a new tunnel under the East River. Under Mr. Bloomberg's plan, Lower Manhattan would essentially be transformed from an ailing financial center with pockets of residential developments into an urban hamlet of housing, schools, libraries and movie theaters, as well as other businesses, some of which would benefit from a generous new federal tax package. (New York Times)

Mayor to Unveil His Plan for Downtown's Future - Dec 12, 2002
Mayor Michael Bloomberg will formally weigh in today on the debate over the future of lower Manhattan and unveil his vision for the district. In a speech he will give today, Bloomberg is expected to announce an overall strategy that looks beyond the 16 acres of the World Trade Center site and attempts to articulate a future for the entire district - a sprawling area that stretches from the ritzy, almost suburban, confines of Battery Park City in the west to the gritty streets of Chinatown in the east. (Newsday)

Congressional Committee Examining 9/11 Adopts Report - Dec 11, 2002
The joint Congressional committee investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks voted today to recommend the creation of a cabinet-level director of national intelligence, Congressional officials said. The recommendation was one of about 20 in the committee's final report, which one leader of the panel said was too forgiving of intelligence failures leading up to the attacks. (New York Times)

Senator Clinton Pushes FEMA to Show How 9/11 Funds Have Been Spent - Dec 11, 2002
Concerned that federal officials are withholding disaster aid promised to the city, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) called yesterday for a detailed accounting of how nearly $9 billion in terror recovery funds has been spent. (New York Daily News)

Researchers: Key Evidence to WTC Investigation Was Destroyed - Dec 10, 2002
World Trade Center surveillance tapes and maintenance logs are among the missing evidence essential to a two-year investigation into the collapse of the 110-story twin towers, federal officials said Monday. (Associated Press)

Master Plan for WTC Site Will Be Done By Jan 31 - Dec 10, 2002
Rebuilding officials said yesterday that the master plan for the World Trade Center site would be done by Jan. 31, just six weeks after proposals from seven teams of architects are presented to the public. The rapid timeline means officials will be soliciting public comment on the design teams' new ideas at the same time that the two lead rebuilding agencies are ruling out some of the ideas. (New York Times)

Many Concerned About Public Input for New WTC Plans - Dec 9, 2002
As lower Manhattan rebuilding officials move toward finalizing a new master plan for Ground Zero, concern is growing among civic leaders about how much input the public will have. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. will release seven new designs for the World Trade Center site next week - and a final plan is scheduled to be selected by February. But the agency has no intention of holding a forum similar to the summer's sprawling Listening to the City event at the Javits Center. (New York Daily News)

Whitehead Gave Key Donation to Republican Party - Dec 6, 2002
Downtown development czar John Whitehead gave a whopping $241,000 to the national Republican Party just before the Nov. 5 election, in the crucial final days of the GOP's successful drive to win control of Congress, records show. The Oct. 25 donation made Whitehead one of the Republican National Committee's top donors of unregulated "soft money" in the weeks before it became illegal on Nov. 6. (New York Post)

Tomson Urges Real Estate Leaders to Become More Involved Downtown - Dec 6, 2002
Concerned that a third of the commercial space near Ground Zero could become vacant by 2006, a top rebuilding official urged real estate leaders yesterday to get more involved in lower Manhattan's recovery. "If there ever was a critical time to be heard from, it's now," said Lou Tomson, president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (New York Daily News)

Deutsche Bank Is Moving to Lower Manhattan Tower - Dec 6, 2002
Deutsche Bank announced to great fanfare yesterday that it would move its national headquarters and 5,500 employees to the beleaguered streets of Lower Manhattan. At a news conference on Wall Street with bank officials, the governor and mayor hailed the company's commitment to the city and granted the German financial company $34.5 million in cash from the World Trade Center job retention program financed by federal aid. Despite the fanfare, Deutsche Bank committed to moving to Lower Manhattan in April 2001, when it struck an agreement to buy the downtown tower at 60 Wall Street for about $600 million as part of a plan to move its New York headquarters from Midtown. (New York Times)

A Leaner Nadler Outlines Downtown Views - Dec 4, 2002
At the Chelsea Greenwich Village Chamber of Commerce's networking luncheon at the Village Restaurant, Jerry Nadler made an impressive argument - in this case that the World Trade Center cleanup was horribly botched by the Environmental Protection Agency. Among politicians, Nadler continues to be the most outspokenly critical on how the federal government handled the disaster. He blasted E.P.A. chief Christine Whitman's arriving on the scene a few days after the disaster to announce the air was safe. And he called the testing procedures for Trade Center fallout in residents' apartments inadequate. (Downtown Express)

FEMA Enforces Deadline Despite Mail Mix-up - Dec 4, 2002
In the weeks before the Nov. 30 deadline for a federal Sept. 11-related aid program, a FEMA bureaucratic foul-up caused the temporary closing of a post office box receiving applications and the return of some applications to their senders. Responding to the news, local politicians and others intensified their demands for an extension of the Nov. 30 deadline for the program. But FEMA officials denied their request, saying that the post office box incident would not hamper people from registering for the program by phone. (Downtown Express)

Trade Center Designs Will Be Shown Dec. 18 - Dec 3, 2002
Seven potential new designs for the World Trade Center site will be unveiled in a ceremony on Dec. 18 at the Winter Garden in the World Financial Center, a top rebuilding executive said yesterday, with a final development plan for the site to be selected by the end of February. The executive, Louis R. Tomson, president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, said the agency would gather public comments on the seven designs to help it choose which features would become part of the final master plan for the site. (New York Times)

Planners Vow to Cooperate in Rebuilding Trade Center - Dec 1, 2002
Stung by criticism that interagency fights have slowed the pace of the rebuilding in Lower Manhattan, officials overseeing the planning are taking a new tack: acknowledging their previous disagreements while also promising that the effort will soon pick up speed. In a speech to a municipal finance conference tomorrow, Louis R. Tomson, the president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, is expected to outline an aggressive schedule for completing a plan for the World Trade Center site, rebuilding officials said last week. (New York Times)

Henry Kissinger Appointed Head of Commission To Investigate 9/11 - Nov 28, 2002
President Bush today named Henry A. Kissinger, a Republican who has been one of the most respected but polarizing figures in foreign policy and Washington for more than three decades, to lead an independent investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The 10 member-commission will conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into the causes of the attacks, whether they could have been averted and what changes are needed to prevent a similar occurrence. The commission is required to complete its work within 18 months. The leaders of the two parties in Congress must appoint the rest of the members by Dec. 15. (New York Times)

FEMA's Latest Bungle: P.O. Box for 9/11 Aid Shut for Nonpayment - Nov 27, 2002
For more than a year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has had no end of problems with its stewardship of the Sept. 11 aid programs. Now comes a bureaucratic bungle of a new magnitude. Last week, a FEMA post office box in Albany was closed after the agency failed to pay the rent for almost three months. The agency had set up the box to handle applications for a major reimbursement program. After the box was closed by the Albany post office, about 300 people who had mailed in applications potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars received their packets stamped "Return to Sender." (New York Times)

Federal Bill Secures LMDC's Role in Memorial Planning - Nov 26, 2002
The federal government would guarantee the future of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. under recent congressional legislation to create a World Trade Center National Memorial. Introduced earlier this month by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan), whose district includes Ground Zero, the bill requires the development agency's public planning process to determine the memorial's design and location, with eventual administration by the National Park Service. (Newsday)

Schumer Urges Feds to Scrap Wall Street Disaster Plan - Nov 23, 2002
Calling a new Wall Street disaster plan a "dagger pointed at the heart of New York," Sen. Chuck Schumer urged federal regulators yesterday to scrap it and start from scratch. The plan recommends that financial firms build backup facilities as far as 300 miles out of town - and move thousands of jobs with them. (New York Daily News)

Rebuilding Agency To Look At Chinatown Traffic Problems - Nov 22, 2002
State and city officials are asking consulting companies for ideas on how to fix Chinatown's transportation woes, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced last week. The study will identify the major transportation issues in Chinatown and suggest ways to remedy the problems, officials said. Sections of Park Row, a major thoroughfare connecting parts of Broadway to Chinatown, have been closed since Sept. 11 for security reasons. (Downtown Express)

Port Authority Releasing Their Own Master Plan For Ground Zero - Nov 22, 2002
The Port Authority will release its own master plan for the World Trade Center site by February, detailing the memorial’s size and location and transportation improvements, the agency’s executive director said Thursday. The master plan, being developed by architects hired by the Port Authority, will include mass transit, vehicular and pedestrian access and the minimum and maximum square footage of the commercial space. (Newsday)

Rebuilding Official Praises Designs For World Trade Center Site - Nov 22, 2002
Seven architecture teams commissioned by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to design plans for Ground Zero have created work that is "astoundingly innovative, creative and exciting," according to Roland W. Betts, a Lower Manhattan Development Corporation director. Memorials on the tops of buildings and below ground, a formal 19th-century-style garden and the tallest building in the world are among the elements included in several new sets of plans being drawn up for the World Trade Center site, according to rebuilding officials who have seen them. (New York Times)

Congressman Nadler Slams Federal Cleanup Program For Downtown - Nov 21, 2002
tacking an apartment cleanup plan in lower Manhattan as a “charade”, Congressman Jerrold Nadler said Wednesday the federal government is avoiding stringent testing and cleanup measures and using inadequate methods to rid homes of World Trade Center dust. (Newsday)

Talks On Airport-Ground Zero Land Swap Not Progressing - Nov 19, 2002
A land swap proposal that would have given the city control of Ground Zero and a much-needed cash infusion is dead, according to the Daily News. The general outline of the deal, first floated in August, called for the city to trade Kennedy and LaGuardia airports to the Port Authority for the 16-acre World Trade Center site. But the short-lived talks never progressed far enough to involve specific financial terms, officials said. (New York Daily News)

Officials Debate How To Unveil New Ground Zero Plans - Nov 18, 2002
Ground Zero planners are grappling with how best to show the public the new round of World Trade Center designs set to be unveiled next month. The designs, replete with memorial and office spaces, will be completed before the middle of December. The possibilities for exhibiting the new designs include a live broadcast at the glass atrium Winter Garden, which overlooks the site. Each design team would be given about 20 minutes of air time to detail its work. A tape of the broadcast then could be distributed to TV outlets. (New York Daily News)

Whitehead Defends LMDC Record - Nov 15, 2002
Lower Manhattan Development Corp. chairman John Whitehead defended his agency's record yesterday, claiming it has laid a strong foundation for downtown's redevelopment. Site plans being developed by reputable architectural teams will be publicly displayed by year's end and a memorial competition will follow, said Whitehead, fending off reports that he might leave. (Newsday)

Two Boards Are Appointed to Guide Sept. 11 Memorial - Nov 15, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation appointed two committees this week to oversee the 9/11 memorial effort, as part of what the agency's chairman called a "new phase" in rebuilding downtown. He also said yesterday that the public would be able to see exhibits next month showing the new plans for the World Trade Center site. Advertisement (New York Times)

Silver: More Input on Rebuilding - Nov 14, 2002
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver expressed concern again yesterday that the agencies in charge of the redevelopment of lower Manhattan are making key decisions without seeking input from the legislature and the public. But Alexander Garvin, the chief planner of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., disagreed during an exchange between the two men in a public hearing yesterday. (Newsday)

WTC Widows Demand Answers On 9/11 Probe - Nov 14, 2002
The White House insisted yesterday that it still wants an independent commission to probe the Sept. 11 attacks - but angry World Trade Center widows weren't buying it. World Trade Center widows were outraged to learn that the commission was stripped from President Bush's compromise homeland security bill, which the House passed last night by a 299-to-121 vote. (New York Daily News)

Congressman Calls for Federal Role in 9/11 Memorial - Nov 11, 2002
The federal government would help pay for the Ground Zero memorial and the U.S. Park Service would run it under a bill proposed by Manhattan Congressman Jerry Nadler. The legislation answers at least some of the concerns of a group of relatives of trade center victims, who have been pushing for a federal role. (New York Post)

WTC Planner Quits in Conflict - Nov 9, 2002
A Ground Zero rebuilding official quietly stepped down from his post this week because of a conflict of interests, the Daily News has learned. Howard Wilson resigned from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.'s board because his law firm represents twin towers leaseholder Larry Silverstein in his billion-dollar insurance case. (New York Daily News)

Growing Concern Over Public Input for WTC Site Designs - Nov 9, 2002
As lower Manhattan rebuilding officials move toward finalizing a new master plan for Ground Zero, concern is growing among civic leaders about how much input the public will have. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. will release seven new designs for the World Trade Center site next week - and a final plan is scheduled to be selected by February. But the agency has no intention of holding a forum similar to the summer's sprawling Listening to the City event at the Javits Center. (New York Daily News)

Pataki Plans Larger Rebuilding Role - Nov 8, 2002
After remaining largely removed from the details of the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan over the last year, Gov. George Pataki plans to take a more direct role in the process, state officials say, starting with considering major changes in the leadership and structure of the rebuilding effort. (New York Times)

Future Role of LMDC in Rebuilding Unclear - Nov 7, 2002
One year after its creation, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. faces serious questions about its future - from who will head the agency to whether it will continue to exist. While it's unclear whether LMDC president Lou Tomson will leave by next year, critics say that the overall World Trade Center redevelopment effort lacks clear leadership. (Newsday)

Firefighters Sue Over Arrests in WTC Protest March - Nov 6, 2002
Eight firefighters have filed a lawsuit against the city, senior officials of the Giuliani administration and several police officers, accusing them of false arrest and imprisonment in a violent confrontation a year ago during a protest march to the ruins of the World Trade Center. On Nov. 2, 2001, more than 500 firefighters took part in the protest, which was called in response to the Giuliani administration's decision to reduce the number of Fire Department personnel assigned to a search-and-recovery operation at ground zero. (New York Times)

Lessons Drawn From Attack on Pentagon May Stay Secret - Nov 5, 2002
The World Trade Center report was completed and released last spring, but the Defense Department, fearing that the strengths and perhaps vulnerabilities of its headquarters were too clearly drawn, has held up the Pentagon study in a classification review and may never allow it to be publicly released. (New York Times)

LMDC President Likely to Leave After Elections - Nov 5, 2002
Lou Tomson is widely expected to step down as president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. after this week's elections. Insiders say the decision would be a personal one: Tomson, a top aide to Gov. George Pataki during his first term, has been commuting on weekends to the Albany area, where he lives. Tomson's departure could set off a turf battle for control of LMDC between Charles Gargano, chairman of LMDC's parent agency, Empire State Development, and Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's point person for rebuilding lower Manhattan. (Crain's New York Business)

Assembly Speaker Says Lack of Accountability Is Slowing Rebuilding of Lower Manhattan - Nov 1, 2002
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver yesterday accused officials overseeing the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan of avoiding public accountability by failing to publicly discuss and vote on proposals to spend billions of dollars in federal aid promised after the Sept. 11 attack. (New York Times)

Officials Accused of Distorting 9/11 Aid Statistics - Nov 1, 2002
New York's Congressional delegation and the leaders of several lower Manhattan organizations have accused federal and state officials of distorting the statistics of a major Sept. 11 aid program to make it appear that it had done a better job of distributing cash grants. The accusations involve the Individual and Family Grant program, which had been promoted by Gov. George Pataki as the ultimate safety net for people who had lost their jobs, had property damaged or needed to be reimbursed for air-quality equipment. (New York Times)

9/11 Families Enter GA Senate Race - Oct 31, 2002
A group of Sept. 11 victims' families has entered a tight U.S. Senate contest in Georgia - running ads against one candidate, charging he doesn't back a sweeping probe into the attacks. (New York Daily News)

City Council Issues Report on Downtown Greenmarket - Oct 31, 2002
Among the myriad ideas for how best to develop the former site of the World Trade Center and revitalize the downtown economy, add marketplace. A study issued last week examines the feasibility of several types of markets, ultimately suggesting a 42,000 square foot market hall be built as part of the WTC redevelopment project. (Downtown Express)

WTC Planners Taking International Memorial Tour - Oct 30, 2002
City officials, civic leaders and Sept. 11 victims' families are heading to Europe to look at how cities abroad planned rebuilding efforts - and created memorials. The 50-person trip will come a month after lower Manhattan planners toured memorials around the U.S. (New York Daily News)

List of 9/11 Transit Projects Sent to Washington - Oct 29, 2002
The first batch of lower Manhattan transit projects to be paid for with post-9/11 federal aid has been quietly sent to Washington for approval, sources said yesterday. The transit wish list was compiled after months of sometimes contentious meetings among the Port Authority, Lower Manhattan Development Corp., state and city transportation officials and elected leaders, including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). (New York Daily News)

9/11 Family Member Appears in Nassau Political Ad - Oct 29, 2002
The father of a World Trade Center victim who has made tighter immigration controls a personal quest will appear in a televised political advertisement this week, endorsing a Nassau County Republican candidate for Congress. Political analysts and officials of both parties said they believed this was the first time a family member of a Sept. 11 victim has been used so directly in a partisan campaign. (New York Times)

Port Authority, City May Clash Over Rebuilding Office Space - Oct 28, 2002
A new set of guidelines for Ground Zero, meant to reduce square footage on the site, has set the battle lines for a potentially bitter real-estate fight between the Port Authority and the city. With pressure growing to peel office space from the trade center, the authority has insisted that any reduction below 10 million square feet be made up by allowing the agency to build elsewhere in lower Manhattan. But city officials are adamantly opposed to letting the bistate agency extend its reach beyond the 16 acres of Ground Zero. (New York Post)

Federal Government Giving $700 Million Less in 9/11 Aid - Oct 22, 2002
Remember that $21.4 billion in federal aid New York was promised after the Sept. 11 attacks? Well, subtract about $700 million. It was quietly taken off the books by the White House and Congress in recent months. (New York Daily News)

Sept. 11 Altered New York's Political Landscape - Oct 19, 2002
On September 11, 2001, the political landscape in New York changed in an instant, just like everything else. Gov. George Pataki suspended primary voting. It would resume two weeks later. By then, term-limited Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had become a hero to his battered city and beyond. The approval ratings for Pataki, constantly at the mayor's side, soared. (Associated Press)

McCall: Pataki Using 9/11 to 'Divert Attention' From Problems - Oct 18, 2002
Carl McCall yesterday made Sept. 11 a campaign issue - accusing Gov. Pataki of using the trade center attacks "to divert attention" from other problems facing the state. (New York Post)

With No Single Leader, Rebuilding Officials Fight Private Battles - Oct 16, 2002
The public controversy swirling around the World Trade Center design process is nothing compared to the growing bickering behind closed doors. The lack of a definitive leader has created competing lines of authority, complete with personal and bureaucratic animosities, sources said. (New York Daily News)

Lessons From A Memorial Tour - Oct 13, 2002
Officials who toured memorial sites last week learned about remembering the little things. The five-day, five-city tour of 18 memorials early this month both startled and comforted the officials and the relatives, giving them, they said, fresh perspectives on their efforts to create a memorial to the victims of Sept. 11. (New York Times)

Rebuilding Official Sleeps Through Meeting - Oct 11, 2002
The World Trade Center design process has been lambasted as a giant snooze - and yesterday, it put a top official to sleep. A Lower Manhattan Development Corp. board member actually dozed off during early morning discussions about planning a permanent memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. (New York Daily News)

LMDC: Fewer Offices, More Options in Planning for Ground Zero - Oct 10, 2002
Officials overseeing the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan agreed yesterday to give designers more flexibility in planning the future of the World Trade Center site, reducing by 40 percent the amount of the commercial space that must be included in plans for it. The new instructions are to be given tomorrow to six new teams of architects, artists and designers selected last month to work on innovative plans to rejuvenate the symbolic heart of the financial district. (New York Times)

Downtown Transit Funds Spark Battle - Oct 9, 2002
A battle over federal funds for downtown transportation projects has broken out among City Hall, the Port Authority and the MTA - stalling key decisions on transit issues considered central to reviving lower Manhattan. (New York Post)

Schumer Criticizes U.S. Customs on N.J. move - Oct 9, 2002
Sen. Chuck Schumer blasted the U.S. Customs Service yesterday for planning to move its operations out of lower Manhattan to create a new "international trade center" in Newark. (New York Daily News)

Big Push on School 9/11 Aid - Oct 9, 2002
School officials are inching toward an agreement to win millions of dollars in post-Sept. 11 emergency funds - but congressional representatives aren't taking any chances that the cash won't come through. (New York Daily News)

Bloomberg: Firefighters' Rally Poorly Timed - Oct 6, 2002
The Bloomberg administration criticized the Uniformed Firefighters Association yesterday for organizing a rally seeking higher pay one day before 50,000 firefighters from around the world attend a massive memorial service in New York. (New York Daily News)

Senator Schumers Backs Away From Criticism Of Use of Transit Funds - Oct 3, 2002
Sen. Charles Schumer is backing off his wish that a pot of federal money for lower Manhattan go only to a "Grand Central Station" downtown instead of a string of other pricey projects, officials said yesterdaySchumer's apparent change-of-heart came after he met with officials overseeing rebuilding downtown, aides said. "It seems there's enough money for both," Schumer spokesman Phil Singer said. (New York Post)

New York Congressional Delegation Proposes Direct Aid To New York - Oct 3, 2002
Some of the government's Sept. 11 aid to New York should go directly into city and state coffers, Democratic lawmakers said yesterday. Citing "gaping holes" in the city and state budgets, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for a law allocating some of the $21 billion to replace lost tax revenue. "Right now, even though the money is there, we can't use it," Schumer said in Washington, where he was joined by Sen. Hillary Clinton and Democratic Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan. "And so, what we're seeking to do here is untie the hands of the federal government." (New York Daily News)

Doctoroff Blocks Battery Park City WTC Aid - Oct 3, 2002
Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff is blocking $15.6 million in disaster relief for Battery Park City tenants and homeowners - even though City Hall agreed to the cash payouts.Doctoroff said yesterday that the grants no longer "seem appropriate" because a much larger federal aid program has been created to help people living near Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)

Rebuilding Officials Begin Tour At Shanksville, Pennsylvania - Oct 2, 2002
In the abandoned coalfield where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed, the wall of impromptu remembrances overflowed with hundreds of flags, police patches, little angels and firefighter caps. It resembled many such tributes that sprang up in New York City a year ago. And it supported one lower Manhattan development official's desire to link somehow the three Sept. 11 memorials -- in Pennsylvania, at the Pentagon and in Manhattan. Lower Manhattan Development Corporation memorial director Anita Contini sees many similarities among how the three Sept. 11 memorial sites will be created -- from talking to the families to including other interested parties. (Newsday)

Women Taking Key Roles In LMDC Rebuilding Effort - Oct 2, 2002
Half the top leadership posts at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation are held by women, including 21 of the 41-member staff. Four of six vice presidents are women, working on the memorial and cultural programs, community outreach and government relations, and corporate development and legal affairs. Each woman has a distinctly different resume, and they say gender doesn't matter in their workplace. (Newsday)

Senator Schumer Criticized For Remarks About Federal Funding For Transit - Oct 2, 2002
Senator Charles Schumer came under fire from other New York officials yesterday for his unexpected attempt to block federal disaster funding for several lower Manhattan transit projects. Public comments from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority hinted at behind-the-scenes wrangling among federal, state and city officials who are trying to divvy up the transit aid, sources said. (New York Daily News)

A Call for Release of Data on Collapse - Oct 1, 2002
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn) demanded yesterday the release of court-sealed documents that could shed new light on the collapse of the World Trade Center. The documents include extensive studies done after the collapse by both sides in a suit brought by Larry Silverstein, the businessman who held the lease on the Trade Center, against insurance companies. (New York Daily News)

Silverstein Sending Tower Data to U.S. Agency - Oct 1, 2002
A day after disclosing that their engineering experts had produced an important body of analysis on why the twin towers collapsed on Sept. 11, lawyers for Larry Silverstein, whose companies own the lease on the World Trade Center, said yesterday that they had abruptly begun shipping the material to a federal investigative agency. (New York Times)

Fund for Terror Attack Victims Offers Awards in 14 Test Cases - Sep 30, 2002
Kenneth R. Feinberg, the special master in charge of the federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, told 14 families last week that he had offered proposed awards ranging from $600,000 to $3.9 million after reviewing circumstances like extreme mental anguish and the intangible, hard-to-replace services provided by the family members who were killed. (New York Times)

Schumer And Pataki Argue Over Using Rebuilding Funds - Sep 30, 2002
A battle is shaping up between Senator Charles Schumer and Gov. George Pataki over hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds to rebuild Lower Manhattan in the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center. Schumer is seeking to block nearly $700 million in transportation projects being considered by several agencies under the control of Pataki. Schumer said he was concerned that devoting $700 million of that aid to projects unrelated to 9/11 would shortchange the projects directly related to the attack, mainly the construction of a transit center linking the subway and PATH lines around the trade center site. (New York Times)

Rebuilding Officials Set For Tour of Memorials - Sep 29, 2002
As the planning for Ground Zero enters a new phase, rebuilding officials are turning greater attention to the memorial - starting with a five-day tour of permanent tributes around the country. Anita Contini, who is overseeing the memorial process for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, and relatives of two Sept. 11 victims are about to begin a whirlwind tour around the nation, meeting with officials at Shanksville, Penn., the Pentagon, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Oklahoma City. (New York Post)

Giuliani Says City Was Prepared for 9/11 - Sep 29, 2002
Rudolph Giuliani, in his first detailed account of his administration's actions on 9/11, said mistakes were made at the World Trade Center, but the city was as well-prepared as could reasonably be expected. Giuliani's remarks came in an interview timed to coincide with the release this week of his book, "Leadership," in which the Sept. 11 attack, and the aftermath, are a major topic. (New York Times)

Ideas To Be Explored For Housing and Retail Revitalization Downtown - Sep 24, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the city Department of Planning are teaming up to study ways to build more housing in lower Manhattan and make Fulton St. a prime retail and entertainment center, officials said yesterday. The housing study will examine the market south of Houston St. Officials will emphasize the need to build more housing along the Fulton St. and John St. corridors, as well as south of Liberty St. The Fulton St. study will look at the shops, arts and entertainment offerings currently along the strip and offer ways to lure more tenants to the street, which will be extended through the disaster site. (Newsday)

Development Corporation Faces Likely Changes - Sep 23, 2002
Sources told The Post that the city-state Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, in charge of rebuilding the World Trade Center site, will face major changes after the election - whether Gov. George Pataki or Carl McCall win the governors race. (New York Post)

White House, in Shift, Backs Inquiry on 9/11 - Sep 21, 2002
The White House gave in today to growing Congressional demands for an independent investigation of last year's terrorist attacks, setting the stage for a comprehensive inquiry into the failures and vulnerabilities that made the hijackings possible. (New York Times)

Council Wants Liberty Bonds to Build More Homes for Poor - Sep 19, 2002
More than half of any new apartments built with the special financing created by Congress in response to the terrorist attack on Sept. 11 should be offered at below-market rents for low- and moderate-income families, City Council leaders said yesterday. (New York Times)

House Backs Federal Panel to Study Building Disasters - Sep 18, 2002
The House gave final Congressional approval to a bill that would create a federal panel to investigate building disasters. (New York Times)

Concerns With City Response to 9/11 - Sep 16, 2002
A year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the city has not yet offered legislation to address building code and emergency response issues, and most of the proposals to increase cooperation among emergency agencies remain on the drawing board. (Newsday)

Politicians Discuss Moving Primary Date Away From September 11 - Sep 13, 2002
The intricacy of campaigning on the cusp of Sept. 11 has the state's top Democrats and Republicans giving new consideration to an old notion: moving New York's primary elections from September to the spring. Sheldon Silver, the speaker of the Assembly, said he would propose legislation to change the primary to June, and Joseph L. Bruno, the majority leader of the Senate, said he would study the idea. (New York Times)

Architect and Former Politician Join Group Selecting Planning Firms For Rebuilding Downtown - Sep 13, 2002
A former congressman and the head of the Harvard Department of Architecture have been tapped to help redevelopment officials choose five new planning teams for Ground Zero. Toshiko Mori, a Manhattan architect and Harvard scholar, and Richard Swett, an architect who served two terms as a congressman from New Hampshire and was ambassador to Denmark, will be part of a seven-member review committee to begin work next week. (New York Post)

Dozens of Suits Filed Against Port Authority for Attacks - Sep 11, 2002
About 1,000 families and victims of the Sept. 11 attacks beat a deadline yesterday to sue the Port Authority for hundreds of millions of dollars, blaming the owner of the World Trade Center for dangerous design faults and safety failures. (New York Post)

Liberty Bonds to Finance New Brooklyn Offices - Sep 10, 2002
A new Brooklyn office tower to be built by Forest City Ratner Companies and occupied by the Bank of New York will be the first commercial construction project to be financed by Liberty Bonds, which were approved by Congress in response to the Sept. 11 attacks, city and state officials said yesterday. (New York Times)

City Defends 9/11 Speech Plans - Sep 10, 2002
As officials rushed to make final preparations for tomorrow's Sept. 11 observances, Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday defended the decision not to include any original speeches in the day's program, suggesting a desire not to upstage President George W. Bush's national address. (Newsday)

Giuliani Reflects on Last Year and the Future - Sep 8, 2002
At a newsconference last week, former mayor Rudolph Giuliani began with a brief, informal statement about the coming memorial ceremony, then answered questions for about 45 minutes on subjects ranging from the political to the personal, at one point relating his memories of waking up on Sept. 12, 2001, to see the sun rise. (New York Times)

Pataki's Tours for 9/11 Silence Usual Critics - Sep 7, 2002
As Wednesday's anniversary of the attack approaches, Gov. George Pataki has toured the city and state, taking part in as many as three 9/11 remembrances a day. But even privately, top Democrats do no more than grumble about details of the Republican governor's recent Sept. 11 itinerary. If anything, many sound jealous that he is positioned to reap what political rewards there are in being associated with New York's response to the devastation. (New York Times)

Congress, Back in Its First City, Pays Tribute to 9/11 Victims and Heroes - Sep 7, 2002
Congress convened a special meeting in New York yesterday to pay tribute to the victims and the heroes of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and, in the words of the speakers, to show the world that America had been made stronger by the assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. (New York Times)

Both Candidates for Governer to Pull Ads Beginning Tues. - Sep 6, 2002
In honor of the one-year anniversary of Sept. 11, Gov. Pataki will pull all his political ads from the airways for three days beginning on Tuesday, not just on the anniversary itself, officials said yesterday. (New York Post)

Democrats: Pataki Exploits 9/11 - Sep 6, 2002
Senior Democrats yesterday accused Gov. Pataki of capitalizing on the Sept. 11 tragedy to promote his campaign for governor. (New York Post)

No Invitation To September 11 Ceremonies For Taiwan - Sep 6, 2002
In a bow to the State Department, Mayor Bloomberg’s office has denied Taiwan, a democratic nation that lost nine people in last year’s attacks on the World Trade Center, an invitation to participate in Wednesday’s memorial service for September 11 victims. (New York Sun)

Near Ground Zero, Paternal Pataki Reaps Dividends - Sep 5, 2002
Pollsters and political insiders have found that New York City residents are more optimistic about the future, and more confident in their leaders, than other Americans. Howard Wolfson, the executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, calls it the "Ground Zero effect," and its chief beneficiary is Gov. George Pataki, the two-time Republican incumbent who is seeking re-election this fall. (New York Observer)

An Icon After Sept. 11, Giuliani Keeps Options Open - Sep 5, 2002
A year after Sept. 11, Rudolph W. Giuliani can contemplate an unspecified political future that he could not have dreamed of before. (New York Times)

N.Y. Seeing Only Part of Promised Aid - Sep 5, 2002
Soon after Sept. 11, President Bush promised New York City more than $20 billion in federal aid. A year later, only a fraction of that money has been spent. Thousands of aid applications are sitting in government offices, while the cash flow has been slowed by red tape and a lack of consensus over how to rebuild the World Trade Center site. (Associated Press)

Judge Says Sept. 11 Families Can Change Minds on Suing - Sep 4, 2002
A federal judge in Manhattan said yesterday that he would allow families of Sept. 11 victims who decide to sue the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to change their minds if they later decide to seek an award from the Victim Compensation Fund. (New York Times)

Congress' visit a show of solidarity - Sep 2, 2002
It's been 212 years, but Congress is returning to New York. About 200 members are expected to convene in a joint session at Federal Hall on Friday to pass a resolution expressing unity with New York City and declaring the nation's resolve against terrorism. (New York Daily News)

The Lost Chance To Prevent 9/11 - Sep 2, 2002
Long before 9/11, the White House debated taking the fight to al-Qaeda. It didn't happen—and soon it was too late. (Time)

9/11 Lawyer Blasts Feds - Aug 31, 2002
A lawyer representing over 2,000 Sept. 11 victims in a suit against Saudi Arabian royals and Osama bin Laden's family business criticized the federal government yesterday for not supporting their case. (New York Post)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

$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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

State Could Take Over Land Around Trade Center Site - Jul 31, 2002
Gov. Pataki yesterday said planners could consider using the state's sweeping "eminent domain" powers to take over land around Ground Zero to expand the site. It was the first time Pataki, who has tremendous influence over the process, has raised eminent domain, where the state would condemn the land and then pay to take it over. (New York Post)

9/11 Memories Cast Shadow on Primary - Jul 30, 2002
Analysts predict that the closeness of this year's primaries to Sept. 11 will influence everything from the candidates' advertising to the tenor of stump speeches. (New York Times)

At Trade Center Site, a Wealth of Ideas - Jul 28, 2002
A tangle of interests is at work in lower Manhattan, seeking to influence the rebuilding of the World Trade Center and, more broadly, the structure and methods of the downtown economy. The political, aesthetic and commercial interests that are involved in the effort bring with them such a dizzying array of positions and agendas that it is often quite difficult to keep track of who wants what. (New York Times)

Pataki Suggests Broadening Scope of Lower Manhattan - Jul 27, 2002
Answering criticism that proposals for redeveloping the World Trade Center site are small-minded and unimaginative, Gov. George Pataki said Friday that plans should be expanded beyond ground zero. Pataki urged government planners "to look beyond just the 16 acres" of the trade center complex. (Associated Press)

Two of the Six Plans Were Switched at Last Minute - Jul 26, 2002
Two of the six World Trade Center site plans unveiled last week were included over the strenuous objections of key planning officials and had been voted down by a rebuilding task force. Several officials at the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. were "furious" about the changes, sources said. (New York Post)

Congress Approves More NY Aid - Jul 25, 2002
Congress has approved $5.5 billion in additional Sept. 11 aid for New York, surpassing the pledge of $20 billion President Bush made to the city in the days after the terrorist attacks. (Associated Press)

PA is Talking Flexibility on WTC Land Use - Jul 24, 2002
A top Port Authority official conceded yesterday that the agency may not be able to rebuild all 11 million square feet of office space lost in the World Trade Center attacks. And if that means the PA will get less than the $124 million in rents it collects annually at the Trade Center site, then so be it, PA Chairman Jack Sinagra said. (New York Daily News)

3,000 To Attend Today's Meeting on WTC Plans - Jul 22, 2002
Another town hall meeting will be held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center today for people to express their opinions on rebuilding lower Manhattan in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. The meeting, which is expected to draw 3,000 people, comes on the heels of a similar gathering on Saturday at the Javits Center during which officials -- stung by criticism about the initial six proposals for redeveloping the World Trade Center -- said they might extend the timeline for producing a final plan. (Newsday)

Less of a Jersey Tilt on Plans for WTC - Jul 22, 2002
Since rebuilding talks began, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, stocked with New York state and city appointees -- has been responsive to the demands of the Port Authority, an agency controlled equally by the Empire and Garden states. Many officials on this side of the Hudson River have feared that New Jersey's financial interests were playing too large a role in what rises in lower Manhattan. It looks like the power balance has now tipped firmly in New York's favor. (New York Daily News)

Fresh Visions of Ground Zero Could Delay Lower Manhattan's Recovery - Jul 22, 2002
Officials charged with overseeing the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan said this weekend that the public's call for a slower planning process and less commercial space on the World Trade Center site could delay plans for an expanded transportation center connecting the subway and commuter rail lines downtown. (New York Times)

Officials Rethink Building Proposal for Ground Zero - Jul 21, 2002
Officials charged with rebuilding Lower Manhattan in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center said yesterday that they would consider new options for the site, including scaling back the amount of commercial space.The changes, the officials said, were in response to a broad array of criticism of the six initial designs for rebuilding the trade center site, including unfavorable appraisals at a town hall meeting in Manhattan yesterday. (New York Times)

Head of Stock Exchange Boycotting Rebuild Panel - Jul 20, 2002
The head of the New York Stock Exchange has skipped nearly every meeting of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. since February because he's miffed at City Hall for scuttling plans for a new stock exchange headquarters, sources told The Post. (New York Post)

Mayor: More Housing at WTC Site - Jul 20, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday said he'd like to see more housing -- and less office space -- at Ground Zero, after six designs for site called for massive commercial buildings. (New York Post)

Congress OKs $5.5B For NYC - Jul 19, 2002
The last chunk of federal money promised to New York by President George W. Bush as the nation was still reeling from the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attack fell into place yesterday when House and Senate negotiators agreed on the final $5.5-billion installment for the city.The deal brings to $21.3 billion the amount of federal money going to New York, topping the president's pledge of $20 billion made two days after terrorists crashed two airliners into the Twin Towers. (Newsday)

Bloomberg Has Own Ideas - Jul 18, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg's strong comments about the Ground Zero plans mark one of the few times he has used the bully pulpit to drive the agenda on a major issue. Beginning Saturday and continuing yesterday, Bloomberg has made it clear he wasn't thrilled by any of the six designs, and that he had his own ideas (New York Post)

Politicians Reserve Judgment on Plans - Jul 17, 2002
In an appearance with Gov. George Pataki in lower Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg downplayed the significance of the six World Trade Center site design proposals issued Tuesday as an indication of the ultimate product. (Newsday)

Commercial Space Mix Could Affect Revenues and Race for Governor - Jul 17, 2002
John C. Whitehead, chairman of the group overseeing the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan, brought a long-simmering backroom debate into the open yesterday when he said the group might scrap the six plans for the World Trade Center site, and with them, the Port Authority's demand for dense commercial development. (New York Times)

Assembly Speaker Silver Rips Governor Pataki Over Downtown Job Drain - Jul 15, 2002
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the state's most powerful Democrat, is accusing Gov. Pataki of damaging downtown recovery efforts by planning to send jobs out of the area. (New York Post)

Victims' Group Calls For Inquiry Into 9/11 Communications Breakdown, - Jul 15, 2002
A group representing families and friends of World Trade Center victims called yesterday for an independent inquiry into reports that the Fire Department's failing radio system and a lack of communication among the agencies that responded to the attack hampered the rescue efforts on Sept. 11. Members of the group, the Skyscraper Safety Campaign, sent letters yesterday to Gov. George E. Pataki, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Gifford Miller, the City Council speaker, asking for meetings and for an independent investigation of the rescue effort. (New York Times)

WTC Site: Mayor Has Own Ideas - Jul 14, 2002
After reviewing the six preliminary plans for the World Trade Center site, Mayor Bloomberg declined to embrace any of them, and pledged yesterday to submit his own redevelopment ideas. (New York Daily News)

Port Authority Says Money Isn't Its Main Motivation in Rebuilding - Jul 14, 2002
With an array of stake-holders ready to square off this week over design options for a rebuilt World Trade Center, Port Authority officials say there is room for compromise on planning goals, but not without a cost to the agency's other programs. Port Authority officials have said that financial constraints are pushing the agency to restore its income from the trade center, which was about 10 percent of the agency's operating cash flow. (New York Post)

Sept. 11 Tape Heard in Secret in Fire Inquiry - Jul 11, 2002
Amid concern about the scope and depth of an inquiry by the Fire Department into its Sept. 11 response, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday that fire officials would immediately listen to taped radio transmissions among firefighters at the World Trade Center that were discovered five or six months ago but never played. (New York Times)

6 Plans for Ground Zero Share Striking Similarities - Jul 11, 2002
The six official proposals for rebuilding the World Trade Center site, which will be released next Tuesday, all took as a given the need for office space, a hotel, and retail shopping. None of the plans, which will be released to the public next Tuesday, include residential apartments. Although all of the designs set aside space for a memorial, four of them call for construction on the site of the south tower, which goes against the wishes of many family victims groups and Governor George Pataki. (New York Times)

Senator Clinton: Extend 9/11 Benefit - Jul 9, 2002
Sen. Hillary Clinton announced yesterday she is pushing for a second 13-week extension of Sept. 11 unemployment benefits. Aides to Clinton said the new extension would cost about the same as the last one: about $8 billion. (New York Daily News)

Revised Rebuild Plan Calls for Housing, Parks - Jul 9, 2002
Revised rebuilding guidelines for lower Manhattan call for the creation of a magnificent neighborhood that will be "a symbol of New York City recognized around the world." The updated plans, released yesterday by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., generally adhere to the original blueprint unveiled in April. But there are significant changes, including proposals to build more housing, parks, hospitals, and schools. (New York Daily News)

Executive to Handle 9/11 Memorial Construction - Jul 2, 2002
A Merrill Lynch executive long involved in downtown cultural events will oversee the building of a memorial to the victims of Sept. 11. Anita Contini, 58, will be named vice president and director for memorial cultural and civic programs today by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (New York Daily News)

Silver: Slow Down the Process - Jul 1, 2002
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the state's most powerful Democrat, took exception yesterday to Gov. Pataki's weekend pledge not to build on the Twin Towers' two-acre "footprints." Silver, whose lower Manhattan district includes Ground Zero, said he was against any "quick determination, " including Pataki's, as to what kind of a memorial should be built at the site. (New York Post)

City Liason to Take Smaller Role - Jun 30, 2002
Christy Ferer, Mayor Bloomberg's liaison with the 9/11 victims' relatives, says she's likely to start easing out of her current role after the first anniversary of the terror attacks. Her husband, Port Authority head Neil Levin, was killed in the World Trade Center tragedy. Ferer said her work as Bloomberg's liaison has been a "distraction" from grieving, and that there will come a time when she decides to stop. (New York Post)

Relatives Channel Grief into Activism - Jun 30, 2002
Gov. Pataki's promise yesterday that no one will build on the footprint of the Twin Towers is in part the fruits of dogged work by kin of 9/11 victims who have risen to lead family groups to become a powerful force in the city and nation. (New York Post)

Schumer Proposes Lower Manhattan Park - Jun 29, 2002
Senator Charles E. Schumer called yesterday for a waterfront park to be built with some of the money set aside by the federal government for the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan. He proposed an apron of parkland that would stretch from Canal Street on the West Side to Pier 42 on the East Side, where it would meet East River Park. (New York Times)

Port Authority Eyes Record $1B Construction Tab - Jun 28, 2002
As the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to take back control of the World Trade Center site early next month, agency officials say they expect to award or spend a record $1 billion in construction projects around the region this year. Work at Ground Zero had a large role in increasing the authority's planned construction spending by $100 million more than originally projected for this year, Lombardi told the Port Authority board yesterday. (Newsday)

Arts Organizer Said to Be Choice to Oversee 9/11 Memorial Effort - Jun 28, 2002
Moving to fill what will be one of the most scrutinized jobs in the rebuilding of downtown, the agency in charge of the effort is preparing to appoint a Merrill Lynch executive who is a longtime organizer of downtown cultural events to oversee the creation of a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attack, according to officials involved in the effort. (New York Times)

Struggling to Sort Out 9/11 Aid to Foreigners - Jun 27, 2002
When Congress approved the multibillion-dollar Victim Compensation Fund in the weeks after the terror attack, the legislation provided that noncitizens, even illegal immigrants, would be entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in government awards. Now, with the first checks set to be cut soon, it has become increasingly clear that determining who is entitled to what is, in reality, a baffling puzzle complicated by differing national laws, unfamiliar ethnic customs and extraordinarily complex family relationships from Mexico to the Middle East. (New York Times)

Mayor Now Not Sure What Size of Memorial Should Be - Jun 26, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg, under increasing fire from 9/11 families, yesterday partly detracted his suggestion that a smaller memorial at the World Trade Center site might be better than a larger one. (New York Post)

9/11 Memorial on Agenda when Giuliani, Families Meet - Jun 23, 2002
Some relatives of Sept. 11 victims will meet with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani tomorrow to discuss several matters, including a memorial at the World Trade Center site. While the coalition families had met with Giuliani nearly every week when he was mayor, they say they haven't met with Bloomberg for at least two months. (New York Daily News)

Mayor Reaches Out to Families - Jun 23, 2002
City Hall will send a letter to relatives of every World Trade Center victim seeking their thoughts about the first Sept. 11 anniversary. Christy Ferer, the mayor's primary liaison to the families, has come under fire with several relatives who believe she has not expressed their views strongly enough (New York Post)

Residents Protest PATH Train Plans - Jun 23, 2002
A tense showdown between Gov. Pataki and West Village residents over a plan to build two new PATH-station exits on historic Christopher Street is coming to a head. The Port Authority, which runs the PATH rail line between New Jersey and Manhattan, says second stairways at the Christopher Street and Ninth Street stops, both of which at present have only one exit, are needed to evacuate passengers more quickly in case of fire or terrorist attack. Many residents have joined the fight against the $29 million project, which they say will forever change the neighborhood. (New York Post)

Bloomberg Liaison's Comments Upset Some 9/11 Victims' Kin - Jun 18, 2002
The quarrel between Michael R. Bloomberg and some of the families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorism has now extended to involve the mayor's liaison to those families. (New York Times)

Bloomberg's Fragile Rapport With the Families of Sept. 11 - Jun 15, 2002
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been repeatedly assailed as being insensitive to families of Sept. 11 victims. At the same time, aides to the mayor have become increasingly angry with the media coverage of Mr. Bloomberg's run-ins with the families, suggesting that the same few people seem to be quoted as representing thousands (New York Times)

Mayor Announces Website for Memorial Input - Jun 15, 2002
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the city has set up a Web site, voice-mail system and mailbox to collect suggestions for the official event to honor the one-year observance of the Sept. 11 attacks. (New York Post)

Twin Towers Fund Makes More Distributions - Jun 7, 2002
The Twin Towers Fund, established by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to assist the families of uniformed rescue workers killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, has begun distributing a third round of benefits totaling more than $103 million. The current round of payments will go to rescue workers not included in previous distributions. (Newsday)

McCall Urges Upstate Voice in 9/11 Recovery Agency - Jun 6, 2002
H. Carl McCall, a Democratic candidate for governor, said yesterday that upstate and suburban New Yorkers should have a direct say in planning the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan, and that the state agency overseeing the rebuilding effort should be enlarged to include members from outside New York City. He also said he would revamp the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the 16-member agency created by Gov. George E. Pataki to help New York recover from the Sept. 11 attack. (New York Times)

Council Proposes Tree Memorials - Jun 4, 2002
Members of the City Council want to plant hundreds of "freedom trees" throughout the five boroughs to honor those killed Sept. 11. With support from a member of the Coalition of 911 Families Group, Councilman James Sanders Jr. (D-Queens) will ask the council to endorse putting trees on public property in neighborhoods where city victims lived. (Newsday)

Focus Turns To Pataki As Recovery Process Ends - May 31, 2002
The end of the recovery phase at Ground Zero will focus new attention on election-bound Gov. Pataki and the city-state agency controlling rebuilding over which he wields great influence. With all eyes turning to Pataki and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the agency is already hard at work on a series of land-use options for the 16-acre site. The power over the site's future is heavily in Pataki's hands - and he's the man with the most invested in the short-term outcome of the process, as his bid for a third term in office will be decided in just five months. (New York Post)

City Pushes for Flexible Use of FEMA Disaster Aid - May 29, 2002
In a letter sent last week to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and members of New York's congressional delegation, Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff argued that the agency should be allowed to pay for such basics as police overtime related to the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Doctoroff said federal money also should be used to recoup some $650 million in lost business and tourism-related revenues - a move that could help the city plug a $5 billion gap in next year's budget. And rather than just paying to replace destroyed subways, bridges and tunnels — as FEMA regulations dictate — some $4 billion in agency dollars should be used to "enhance" lower Manhattan's infrastructure, the letter said. (New York Daily News)

Changes to Sept. 11 Fund Would Extend Aid to Victims of Past Terror Bombings - May 24, 2002
Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are nearing agreement on changes in the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund that would allow scores of American families from past terrorist attacks to receive hundreds of millions of dollars collectively in compensation. The deal calls for providing compensation to the families of the six people killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, as well as the families of the 168 killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. (New York Times)

Hundreds Attend Public Hearing On Future of World Trade Center Site - May 24, 2002
A crowd of more than 800 people packed a downtown auditorium last night to sound off and listen to a multitude of plans and ideas for rebuilding the World Trade Center site and its surroundings. Many complained that the LMDC, which is charged with overseeing the redevelopment of downtown, had not given enough consideration to the revitalization of Chinatown and the Lower East Side, affordable housing and assistance for displaced workers. Many speakers called for constructing buildings as high or higher than the Twin Towers, while some described ideas for memorial designs and held up drawings of their designs. (Newsday)

Senate Committee Approves $5 Billion in Federal Funds, Bringing Pledged Total To $20 Billion - May 23, 2002
A Senate panel approved more than $5 billion in aid to New York yesterday -- the balance of $20 billion promised by President Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks. The new spending okayed by the Senate Appropriations Committee includes $2.66 billion for transit infrastructure repair, $1.8 billion for transit upgrades, $750 million for utility repairs and $167 million for the state Highway Department. It also would provide $90 million to monitor the health of Ground Zero workers. (New York Daily News)

Rebuilding Officials Emphasizing Fast Paced Schedule In Selection Of Design Group - May 23, 2002
Sources told the New York Post that officials from the Port Authority and Lower Manhattan Development Corporation focused heavily on the fast-track schedule in approving a planner for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. "They were quite interested in how the team was organized and how it would manage itself. These are big teams and a very tight time frame," said Graham Wyatt, a partner at the Robert A.M. Stern architectural firm, one of six finalists interviewed for the design post. (New York Post)

Federal Emergency Management Agency Gives City $132 Million Grant For Long-Term Therapy - May 22, 2002
Crisis-counseling programs for New Yorkers affected by 9/11 received a huge dose of cash therapy yesterday after the feds approved a record-high $132 million grant. The grant is the largest for long-term counseling that FEMA has ever approved. Project Liberty, which was set up after the Twin Towers attack and run by the state's Office of Mental Health, will administer the grant in New York City and 10 nearby counties using local mental health programs to provide services. (New York Post)

Congress To Hold Session in New York City On September 6 - May 22, 2002
Congress is planning to hold a special session in New York City on Sept. 6, just days before the anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. But some Jews are objecting that the schedule will intrude on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which begins at sundown on Sept. 6. The visit to New York will likely be more symbolic than substantive, according to a spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Instead of bringing all 100 Senators and 435 House members to the city, each state would send at least one member from each house. (Newsday)

Decision On Group For Redeveloping Downtown Coming This Week - May 20, 2002
As recovery efforts are wrapping up, officials overseeing the site will decide this week which group of consultants will help shape plans for the 16-acre former World Trade Center site. The Port Authority, which owns the site, and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. - the city-state agency charged with revitalizing the area - spent last week interviewing the six finalists, sources told the New York Post. (New York Post)

Public Hearing Announced For Rebuilding - May 16, 2002
For the first time this year, officials overseeing rebuilding at Ground Zero will hold a major public hearing at which people can speak out about what should replace the former World Trade Center. The hearing - organized by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Port Authority, and planned for next Thursday, May 23 at Pace University at 6 p.m., is the first opportunity the public will have to speak directly to the rebuilding planners. (New York Post)

Housing Subsidies To Extend To Chinatown - May 15, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation is expected to announce today that families who commit to living in Chinatown for at least a year can get a one-shot $750 bonus from a federal pot of cash earmarked to help lower Manhattan. (New York Post)

Federal Emergency Management Agency Says Board of Ed Never Formally Requested Relief Funds - May 9, 2002
Joseph Allbaugh, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, called members of New York's congressional delegation this week to say the agency was not stonewalling city schools - but that school officials never officially asked for money to make up class time lost after Sept. 11. School officials counter that they made repeated pleas for aid — in a Sept. 21 document submitted to the city and forwarded to FEMA on behalf of all agencies seeking help, and in private meetings with FEMA staffers. (New York Daily News)

Environmental Protection Agency to Lead Cleanup Effort of Homes Close to Ground Zero - May 8, 2002
The federal Environmental Protection Agency will announce today an effort to clean up and test apartments south of Canal Street in Lower Manhattan that were fouled by the dust and ash from the destruction of the World Trade Center. This is a sharp reversal in policy from an agency which, to this point, had said that assessing air quality indoors was not under its responsibilities. (New York Times)

Thirteen Groups Submit Proposals For Rebuilding World Trade Center Site - May 7, 2002
When the deadline to apply for one of the most crucial urban design jobs in city history expired yesterday, a total of 13 groups had submitted applications to the Port Authority to craft a development plan for the World Trade Center site. Because no single company has all the expertise needed for the vast job, the proposals came from teams of firms that pulled together to vie for the contract. The applications include more than 50 urban design, architecture and transportation planning firms, said officials from the Port Authority and Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. No comprehensive master plans were submitted. Instead, the teams offered development outlines, listed their qualifications and pegged their fees. (New York Daily News)

Blueprint for Ground Zero Beginning To Take Shape - May 4, 2002
Although public deliberations have only recently begun over the future of the site known as ground zero, crucial components of what will occur there appear to have already been settled upon by city and state officials. No 100-story office towers are likely to grace the former site of the World Trade Center. Nor is it probable that the entire 16-acre parcel will be set aside for a memorial to victims of the attack on Sept. 11. (New York Times)

Federal Government Will Reconsider Some Applicants Rejected For 9/11 Aid - May 2, 2002
The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency promised members of the New York Congressional delegation yesterday that the agency would immediately reopen more than 7,000 applications for housing assistance that the agency denied after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Those who were rejected included hundreds of Chinatown seamstresses and Manhattan hotel workers, many of them with claims to aid that seemed legitimate. (New York Times)

Relatives of Victims Criticize Government Investigation of September 11 - May 1, 2002
Victims' relatives and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn) will be at a news conference today to criticize a report detailing the federal government's investigation of September 11. "Many families don't have confidence in the ... report because of how sloppy the investigation was at the outset," Weiner said. (New York Daily News)

Federal Report on World Trade Center Collapse To Be Released Today - May 1, 2002
A federal study, to be released today during a congressional hearing, concludes that the towers of the World Trade Center behaved "remarkably," and states that no structural problems were found with the buildings. The study team recommends that funds should be used to improve aircraft security, rather than hardening buildings against airplane attack. "Buildings are not designed to withstand any event that could ever conceivably occur," the report states. The study concludes that the buildings could have remained standing following the plane impacts alone, if not for the enormous fires that ensued. (Newsday)

Federal Agency Criticized For Not Reimbursing New York City Schools After 9/11 - Apr 28, 2002
City schools are being shortchanged $110 million by the federal agency charged with helping pay for recovery efforts after Sept. 11, two New York members of Congress charge. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has refused to pay for classroom time lost after the terrorist attacks, yet when a 1994 earthquake closed Los Angeles schools for a week, the U.S. Education Department offered $45 million in aid. (New York Daily News)

State to Ask for More Money for Rebuilding From Congress - Apr 27, 2002
New York will ask Congress for more than the $21.3 billion it has already been promised to help rebuild Lower Manhattan, Senator Charles E. Schumer told a conference of civic and urban-planning groups on Friday. Mr. Schumer told reporters after his address that more money would probably be needed for the repair and revitalization of Lower Manhattan's transportation system and the redevelopment of its waterfront. (New York Times)

Head of City-State Rebuilding Authority Maintains Everyone Has Final Say - Apr 25, 2002
The head of the downtown rebuilding agency yesterday insisted his board has equal say in what gets built at Ground Zero - a day after the Port Authority said it alone will make the final call. "I think everybody has the final say," said John Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., adding that "both boards" will approve the plans for the 16-acre World Trade Center site, which is owned by the Port Authority. Whitehead spoke just a day after the Port Authority board approved a memorandum of understanding with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation that clearly laid out each agency's role - with the Port Authority having "primary" responsibility over the site and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation doing outreach and overseeing the permanent memorial. (New York Post)

Timeline Set For Development Of World Trade Center Site - Apr 24, 2002
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the trade center site, and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is overseeing much of the downtown redevelopment, jointly issued a request for proposals for a design for the site, including space for offices, a hotel, retail stores and services, and an analysis of transportation projects. A deadline of July 1 was set for initial plans, and a final proposal for the development of the site is due by Sept. 1, according to the timetable laid out yesterday. Final transportation plans and an urban design for the broader downtown area are to be completed by Dec. 1, the agencies said. Would-be planners must apply by May 6, less than two weeks away. (New York Times)

Confusion Reigns As Port Authority Argues It Has Control Over World Trade Center Site - Apr 23, 2002
The Port Authority is asserting control over the World Trade Center site, saying it -- and not the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. -- is ultimately responsible for rebuilding the 16-acre parcel. The bistate agency began soliciting proposals Friday for a master building plan for Ground Zero. The Port Authority owns the disaster site. The plan being commissioned by the agency will deal with transportation infrastructure, a memorial, retail and office space, parking, and pedestrian and traffic flow. Proposals must be submitted by May 6. Adding to the confusion, developer Larry Silverstein, who holds the lease on the twin towers site, also has hired a firm to come up with a plan. (New York Daily News)

Federal Government To Reimburse NYC Schools For Post-September 11 Expenses - Apr 23, 2002
Brad Gair, federal recovery officer for the World Trade Center disaster, told the Daily News on Friday he expected the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse city schools for full damage -- including ongoing environmental testing at lower Manhattan schools. Until Gair's comments Friday, school officials said the feds balked at reimbursing millions in expenses — including a $3 million asbestos cleanup of the two high schools closest to the World Trade Center. (New York Daily News)

Less Than 10 Percent Of Victims' Relatives Applying For Federal Aid - Apr 18, 2002
Less than 10 percent of the relatives of people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks have sought sought compensation through the federal government's victims fund. Only 265 applications from relatives of the 3,054 people killed have been received, according to Justice Department figures. The lag is due in part to confusion about the fund's rules, and awards from charities that have bought families time to weigh their options, victims groups say. (New York Post)

Leading Congressmember Sees Problems With Idea Of Joint Congress Session in New York City - Apr 17, 2002
A key House Republican yesterday poured cold water on the idea of bringing Congress to New York one day this year -- likely marking the end of a crusade that began after 9/11. Rep. Dick Armey told The New York Post that the obstacles to holding a one-day congressional session in the Big Apple on or around Sept. 6 are "insurmountable" and outweigh any symbolic benefits -- especially given the estimated $1 million price tag. Support for the idea is even weaker in the Senate, where the idea has languished since Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced a resolution last Nov. 15. Only nine senators have co-sponsored the measure. (New York Post)

Rebuilding By Autocracy Less Likely For Downtown Than In The Past - Apr 14, 2002
Today, it is less likely that a plan for rebuilding downtown will emerge by autocratic fiat, as might have been the case a generation or two ago, when master builders like Robert Moses presented the fruits of their wisdom with little room or patience for criticism. The master builder is out. Consensus and process are in. (New York Times)

Tighter Security Planned for New York Airports - Apr 12, 2002
Gov. George E. Pataki plans to begin a sweeping program to sharpen security at New York City's area airports, going beyond some new federal regulations by requiring criminal background checks of workers in airport shops, the governor's senior aides said today. He also wants to install fingerprint scanners quickly for all airport employees and do away with simple plastic passes. (New York Times)

$600,000 In Donations To City Schools After September 11 Still Unaccounted For - Apr 11, 2002
More than 3,000 people from around the world sent about $4 million to city schools after Sept. 11 — but officials were unable to say exactly how nearly $600,000 of the money was spent.Some $579,976 was spent on "school needs," said Board of Education officials, who were unable to give a breakdown. Another $1.4 million hasn't been touched yet, they said. (New York Daily News)

Head of Rebuilding Authority Asks For Money To Keep Tribute In Light Going - Apr 10, 2002
Downtown rebuilding czar John Whitehead yesterday asked businesses to donate $100,000 to keep the Tribute of Lights burning beyond this weekend, when it is scheduled to go dark. (New York Post)

Plans for a Makeover of Lower Manhattan in a Blueprint of Downtown - Apr 10, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation yesterday made public a blueprint for a commercial and cultural makeover of downtown Manhattan, an outline that includes a new Freedom Park with memorial and museum, and a transit hub connecting subway, commuter rail and ferry lines. While the outline issued yesterday was only a general document, with few specifics or timetables, John C. Whitehead, chairman of the development corporation, said the proposals should serve as evidence that the rebuilding process has begun. (New York Times)

Mayor Will Not Name A Relative of September 11th Victim To Board of Rebuilding Authority - Apr 9, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg angered families of Sept. 11 attack victims last night by refusing to budge on his decision to not appoint any of them to the agency charged with rebuilding lower Manhattan. John Whitehead, head of the development corporation, tried to reassure the families by promising them more involvement in the agency's work. But many are increasingly concerned that they will be shut of the process — particularly the planning of a permanent memorial. (New York Daily News)

Rebuilding Authority Set To Expand Incentive Program For Downtown Residents - Apr 9, 2002
A cash-incentive program designed to entice people to live near Ground Zero is expected to get sweeter today, as a state-city agency is set to increase the total payouts and widen eligibility. There will be new one-time payments, including funds for those living as far north as Delancey St., and bonus grants to families with children under 18. And the maximum grant will be available to more people, as the boundaries in the immediate impact zone have been expanded. (New York Daily News)

City-State Rebuilding Agency Approves Preliminary Blueprint For Redevelopment - Apr 9, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation on Tuesday morning approved a preliminary blueprint for rebuilding lower Manhattan. The board -- charged with distributing roughly $2 billion in federal aid and with overseeing downtown rebuilding -- approved a redevelopment plan that includes proposals for “a museum of freedom and remembrance” near the World Trade Center site and a redesign of the downtown street grid to improve pedestrian access and link neighborhoods. (Associated Press)

Mayor Appoints Four Members To Board of City-State Rebuilding Authority - Apr 9, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg announced today four of his appointees to the Board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Two of Bloomberg's appointees are women, including an Asian-American (architect Billie Tsien) and a Latin-American (attorney Sally Hernandez-Piñero). E. Stanley O'Neal, President and COO of Merrill Lynch, will be the second African-American on the Board. Bloomberg also named Carl Weisbrod, President of the Alliance for Downtown New York. Their appointments signal a response to criticisms of the Board's lack of gender and ethnic diversity. (Gotham Gazette)

Five More Appointees Will Balance City and State Power In Rebuilding Authority - Apr 8, 2002
The board of the state-city agency charged with rebuilding lower Manhattan will expand this week by five people -- two more than had been expected, a source said yesterday. Mayor Bloomberg will name four new members to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and Gov. Pataki will add one, a source close to the decision said, giving the city and state an even share of appointees on the board. At least one of the new appointees is expected to be a victim's family member. (New York Daily News)

Transportation Hub Could Be One of First Approved Projects For Downtown - Apr 8, 2002
A gleaming new transit hub connecting PATH and subway trains and ferry terminals is likely to be the first multibillion-dollar project approved for a rebuilt downtown. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. says a transit hub will be the subject of the agency's first set of concrete proposals, to be issued in May. (New York Post)

Questions Linger About Paying For Rebuilding - Apr 8, 2002
A vast array of costly projects has been proposed for an extensive makeover of lower Manhattan - but very little has been said about who'll pay for a massive rebuilding that reaches far beyond the World Trade Center site. With insurance payouts and federal aid added together, there is an initial rebuilding pot of $11 to $18 billion. However, other than $1.8 billion in funds designated for a possible transit hub in the federal aid package, virtually no money is directly earmarked for long-term rebuilding. $9 billion allocated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has disbursed $965 million so far, can only be used to restore things as they were, not for new building. There are hopes that some of this money will be diverted, however, for longer-term rebuilding. (New York Post)

Downtown Rent Subsidy Plan To Expand Coverage Area - Apr 4, 2002
Downtown planners have revised a proposal for rent rebates for lower Manhattan residents in a way that would expand coverage to hundreds of apartment dwellers affected by the Sept. 11 terror attack. The new plan enlarges the boundaries of the so-called immediate-impact zone of residents near the demolished trade center by pushing the eastern line from Broadway to Nassau Street, said sources familiar with the proposal. (New York Post)

Rebuilding Agency Could Become Permanent - Apr 3, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. could remain beyond the initial redevelopment of lower Manhattan, if the agency does its job well. Before Sept. 11, different agencies had the technical expertise to solve the city's problems, said executive director Louis Tomson, but they didn't have a neutral meeting place. With an equal number of state and city board members, billions of dollars and a renewed spirit of cooperation, the corporation has the potential to be "a meeting place for ideas." (Newsday)

Three New Staff Hired For Rebuilding Authority - Apr 3, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the joint State-City corporation formed to oversee the revitalization of Lower Manhattan, announced today the appointment of three key executives to its staff. Irene Chang was named Vice President for Legal Affairs, Patrice Derrington was named Vice President for Corporate Development and Amy Peterson was named Program Administrator. (Gotham Gazette)

Rebuilding Authority Opens Space For Victims' Families To Oversee Ground Zero - Mar 30, 2002
The city-state agency overseeing Ground Zero rebuilding yesterday turned over part of its office space at One Liberty Plaza near Ground Zero as a private viewing room where victims' families can look at the entire site. (New York Post)

Environmental Protection Agency Accused of Neglect in 9/11 Cleanup - Mar 29, 2002
A watchdog for the Environmental Protection Agency has accused the agency of neglecting its responsibility and urged a cleanup of buildings contaminated by World Trade Center debris. "EPA has abandoned its responsibility for cleaning up buildings [both inside and out] that are contaminated, or that are being recontaminated, as a result of the uncontrolled chemical releases from the World Trade Center terrorist attacks," Ombudsman Robert Martin wrote in a March 27 letter to Jane Kenny, head of the agency's New York region. (New York Daily News)

September 11 Victims' Families Sought To Aid Prosecutors In Getting Death Penalty - Mar 28, 2002
Justice Department officials want the relatives of those killed and to those injured in the World Trade Center disaster last Sept. 11 to put their emotions to practical use and to help win the death penalty for a suspect charged in the attacks. Officials are interviewing hundreds of people to find 30 individual stories that illustrate the impact of the losses and help prosecutors get a death sentence against Zacarias Moussaoui, who has been charged with conspiracy in the attacks and is scheduled for trial this fall in Alexandria, Virginia. (New York Times)

City Official Who Coordinated WTC Emergency Operations Quits - Mar 28, 2002
Richard Sheirer stepped down as head of the city's Office of Emergency Management on Thursday. In the initial hours, he coordinated evacuations, rescues and triage, called for harbor and air protection, and shut down the streets of lower Manhattan. And in the six months since, Sheirer has directed a massive recovery and cleanup operation at the site, which has progressed far more quickly and economically than anyone predicted. (Newsday)

Rebuilding Head John Whitehead Speaks At Business Forum - Mar 26, 2002
Speaking at a Crain's New York Business breakfast forum on Tuesday, Mr. Whitehead gave an update on rebuilding. He acknowledged that the rebuilding of 7 World Trade Center should begin as soon as possible, because construction must start this year on a Con Ed substation on the lower floors of the building to ensure that lower Manhattan has enough power in the summer of 2003. He also said that he expects his agency to have the major components of a plan for rebuilding downtown completed in June. (Crain's New York Business)

Rebuilding Head John Whitehead Says Consensus Emerging, Supports Biotech Downtown - Mar 26, 2002
Speaking Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, head of the rebuilding authority John Whitehead said there is general agreement that the two 110-story towers destroyed on Sept. 11 should not be duplicated but should be replaced by smaller, mixed-use buildings. However, Whitehead would not answer specific questions about plans for the site. The head of Lower Manhattan’s rebuilding effort also threw his support behind a downtown bio-technology hub proposed by the New York City Partnership and a coalition of the city’s leading medical institutions. (Newsday)

Bloomberg Defends Whitehead After Fundraiser Flap - Mar 25, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday defended John Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., who was forced to drop out as headliner of a GOP fund-raiser. Bloomberg said yesterday the suggestion that Whitehead's role as the event's honoree had business and real-estate leaders feeling pressured to make donations to the fund-raiser was "laughable." (New York Post)

$1 Billion in Federal Aid to Help Cover City for Ground Zero Liability - Mar 24, 2002
The Bush administration wants to provide up to $1 billion to shield New York City and scores of contractors against lawsuits stemming from the World Trade Center cleanup. For months, insurers have refused to provide liability coverage to the city and contracting companies working there, arguing that the cleanup is far too big and the risk associated with it too hard to measure. New York officials contend that the infusion of cash would enable the city to pay the sort of sky-high premiums that could persuade insurers to assume the risk of providing liability coverage. (New York Times)

Rebuilding Authority Head Pulls Out Of Republican Party Fundraiser - Mar 24, 2002
Lower Manhattan Development Corp. chairman John Whitehead pulled out of a fundraiser after questions about the appropriateness of his appearance. Whitehead's role as an honoree at a Republican party fundraiser - at a time when his agency is set to award lucrative contracts and approve rebuilding plans - had business and real-estate leaders feeling pressured to make donations to the fund-raiser. Democrats were also voiced concern about the Republicans using Whitehead to play politics. (New York Post)

Rebuilding Authority Head To Appear At Republican Fundraiser - Mar 23, 2002
Lower Manhattan Development Corp. boss John Whitehead is lending his name to a big-bucks Republican fund-raiser next month. Whitehead's starring role in the gala event with Gov. Pataki has some businessmen quaking over whether they'll have to pony up donations if they want to get lucrative contracts related to the reconstruction of downtown. A prominent business leader who received an invitation said Whitehead's presence at the fund-raiser -- and the use of his name to promote the event -- was a "clear signal" to would-be World Trade Center-area contractors, consultants and developers that a contribution was expected. (New York Post)

Large Wall Street Companies Offered Grants for Staying Put - Mar 21, 2002
The state and city have begun to send letters offering the first of dozens of multimillion-dollar federal grants to some of the most important financial companies in the world, in an effort to keep jobs in Lower Manhattan or lure them there. The money is part of $500 million in federal aid intended to protect the vibrancy of the city's historic financial district. While cash incentives to stay in New York are not new, these new grants have unusual characteristics. First, the national spotlight after Sept. 11 means that this will be more public, as opposed to the usual hush- hush business of economic incentives. Also, these grants are discretionary, and the criteria are not crystal clear. (New York Times)

City Council Proposes Plan To Help Small Businesses Downtown - Mar 20, 2002
City Council leaders argued yesterday that businesses with fewer than 10 employees are being automatically shut out from receiving the federal grants and rent subsidies being offered to larger employers through the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and other agencies. They called for giving the smaller businesses rent subsidies of up to $5,000 a month for six months if they commit to staying in lower Manhattan. The City Council also called for grants of up to $50,000 for each of several hundred mom-and-pop businesses that were in the destroyed World Trade Center. (New York Daily News)

New York Officials Say Ending Jet Patrols Puts City at Risk - Mar 19, 2002
The Bush administration's decision to halt 24-hour fighter jet patrols over New York City came under intense criticism today from New York lawmakers, who raised concerns about the city's security. In addition, these lawmakers, all Democrats, questioned why the Bush administration would suspend round- the-clock patrols over New York when it plans to continue such patrols over Washington. (New York Times)

State Legislature Bill Proposes Videoconferencing for Lawmakers - Mar 18, 2002
Worried by the possibility of another 9/11-style emergency, the state Legislature may allow lawmakers to hold sessions by video conferencing. Under a proposed bill, the governor could invoke video meetings if the state is facing a disaster and significant numbers of legislators can't get to Albany. (New York Post)

Mayor: Expect Many Lawsuits Over Asbestos At The World Trade Center - Mar 15, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday that the city had worked out a plan with the federal government to protect the city from potentially huge legal claims as part of the $21.3 billion aid package promised last week by President Bush. Up till now, most private insurers have refused to underwrite liability coverage for the city, citing the huge risks and a host of environmental unknowns at the site. The Mayor also remarked that there could be many impending lawsuits in coming years over asbestos at the site. (New York Daily News)

Police Cracking Down On Illegal Parking Near Ground Zero - Mar 14, 2002
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday that police have begun a new parking enforcement campaign in the streets around Ground Zero to ease traffic congestion. But the crackdown has irritated some Ground Zero workers, who are suddenly receiving tickets after parking wherever they could ever since Sept. 11. (Newsday)

Guidelines for Downtown Rebuilding To Come Next Month - Mar 13, 2002
The group overseeing the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan expects to issue guidelines for the redevelopment project next month and offer detailed plans about many of its proposed projects by June, the group's chairman said yesterday. While not giving details, John Whitehead did acknowledge that there is an "emerging consensus" about several ideas, including restoring at least part of the street grid through the World Trade Center site, converting West Street to a tunnel, and building a transportation hub in Lower Manhattan that might include extensions of the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North Railroad. (New York Times)

Head of Rebuilding Authority Pushes for Quick Start for 7 World Trade Center - Mar 13, 2002
A new 7 World Trade Center should rise from Ground Zero as soon as possible now that major differences that threatened the project have been overcome, lower Manhattan's rebuilding czar John Whitehead said yesterday. Whitehead said speed is a concern with 7 WTC because the building will house an electrical substation needed to ensure adequate power supplies by the summer of 2003. (New York Post)

Former Mayor Giuliani Praised at Memorial Ceremony - Mar 12, 2002
At a morning memorial in Battery Park, Giuliani received the sole standing ovation after Mayor Bloomberg introduced him as the personification of compassion and courage. Yesterday, he attended memorial services, stopped at St. Paul's Chapel to help read the names of victims and returned to the lower Manhattan school where he visited with Gov. Pataki and President Bush a few weeks after the attacks. (New York Daily News)

State Legislature Split on September 11 Remembrance - Mar 12, 2002
The State Assembly voted yesterday to make Sept. 11 a state holiday -- yet the State Senate passed a bill establishing a "Day of Remembrance" that would not give state workers a day off. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) said making Sept. 11 a holiday in New York could cost the state between $20 million and $25 million. But Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) said a full holiday is appropriate to honor the victims and heroes of Sept. 11, and would cost substantially less than Bruno estimated. (New York Daily News)

Vacancy Rates Decreasing After Announcement of Grants Plan For Downtown Residents - Mar 12, 2002
A proposed $200 million grant program to attract new residents to Lower Manhattan and retain those who are already there has already begun to bear fruit, weeks before the program receives final approval and the final qualifications for the grants are clear. Vacancy rates have fallen noticeably and applications to rent apartments have jumped by several hundred, according to area landlords. The program, announced February 20 by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, would offer up to $12,000 over two years to people who sign leases or buy apartments below Canal Street and remain there for two years. (New York Times)

Schumer Urges $225 Million for Nonprofits - Mar 11, 2002
A $225 million plan to help dozens of local nonprofit organizations survive the impact of Sept. 11 was unveiled yesterday. The nonprofits range from such large institutions as the Bronx Zoo, which has lost $5.5 million in revenues, to smaller centers that provide food and nutrition, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said at a news conference held at another organization in jeopardy, the Downtown Athletic Club. (Newsday)

Bush Offers Details of Aid to New York Topping $20 Billion - Mar 8, 2002
President Bush declared that he was moving to fulfill his promise to give the city at least $20 billion to help rebuild from the attack on the World Trade Center. The president's decision, which seeks to provide $1.5 billion on top of his original $20 billion pledge, includes $2.7 billion in disaster relief for cleanup at the site paid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency; $1.8 billion to rebuild the subway and PATH lines that were destroyed in Lower Manhattan; $750 million to reconstruct Con Edison and Verizon facilities, a cost that was going to be passed on to customers; and $167 million to repair roads, like the West Side Highway. The Times provides a chart detailing the aid package. (New York Times)

Silverstein Seeking Deal With Port Authority In Exchange For Smaller Building - Mar 8, 2002
Developer Larry Silverstein is negotiating with the Port Authority over changes in his lease for 7 World Trade Center, including the possibility of lower payments in exchange for erecting a smaller building that allows Greenwich Street to pass through the site. Silverstein is seeking some form of compensation for concessions he made in the design of 7 WTC to meet the demands of downtown residents and planners, sources told The New York Post. (New York Post)

Federal Aid for Victims' Families Officially Increased - Mar 8, 2002
Months of furious and often heartbreaking debate over the federal Sept. 11 victims' compensation fund ended yesterday with the announcement of final regulations and an average payout of about $1.85 million. In last-minute changes, fund administrators decided not to subtract personal pensions and retirement accounts, such as 401(k) plans, from fund payments. But other benefits, such as life insurance payouts, will be deducted from the awards. Payouts from the fund will total about $7 billion. (New York Daily News)

Rebuilding Will Take 10 Years, Says Head of Rebuilding Authority - Mar 8, 2002
It will take at least a decade to rebuild the World Trade Center site, the head of the agency overseeing the redevelopment of lower Manhattan said yesterday. John Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., also said his agency will issue broad guidelines next month on how the devastated 16-acre parcel should be revitalized. (New York Daily News)

Bloomberg Gives Six-Month Update On Lower Manhattan - Mar 7, 2002
All across lower Manhattan, roads are being repaved. Phone service is 90% restored. Seven out of 11 damaged subway stations have rumbled back to life. And perhaps most remarkably, the massive, seemingly endless pile of rubble that was once Ground Zero is now 83% gone. Nearly six months after terrorists ripped a hole in lower Manhattan, Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg outlined the city's recovery in a presentation yesterday clearly intended to underscore cooperation between different levels of government. (New York Daily News)

Rebuilding Authority To Hold Closed Door Meeting With Wall Street Execs - Mar 7, 2002
An advisory committee of executives from top Wall Street corporations will meet in secret today with the state-city agency in charge of redeveloping lower Manhattan - drawing fire from downtown residents and good-government advocates alike. "It needs to be a more open process. I don't see what they have to hide," said Sudhir Jain, president of the Lower Manhattan Tenants Coalition. (New York Post)

Relatives of Victims To Get More From Federal Government - Mar 6, 2002
Spouses and children of Sept. 11 victims will get more cash than they expected — an extra $50,000 per survivor — but less than they hoped for from the federal compensation fund, under final regulations to be announced tomorrow afternoon. The average family will receive about $1.7 million, $100,000 more than forecast previously. Payments for survivors' pain and suffering and loss of companionship are doubled to $100,000. However, life insurance payouts, Social Security payments to children, workers' compensation and federal death benefits for public employees will all be subtracted from awards, the sources said. (New York Daily News)

Governor Pataki To Share Power With Mayor on Rebuilding Authority - Mar 6, 2002
Gov. George E. Pataki said yesterday that he was ceding to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg equal control of the agency created last fall to oversee the rebuilding of downtown Manhattan. Bloomberg will be able to appoint three new members of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, bringing the total number to fourteen - seven appointed by Pataki, the other seven appointed by Giuliani and Bloomberg. (New York Times)

New Rules In Store For Sept. 11 Federal Compensation Fund - Mar 5, 2002
The Bush administration is close to a decision on several changes in the Victims Compensation Fund that could result in scores of families' receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the fund's original rules would have allowed. The new rules would open the fund to hundreds of additional rescue workers and World Trade Center employees who were injured in the attack, including those who suffered disabling lung ailments. In the most significant financial adjustment, the amount to spouses and children for noneconomic damages like loss of companionship would go to $100,000 from $50,000. (New York Times)

Officials Say U.S. Should Have Shared Tip on Nuclear Threat - Mar 5, 2002
Officials from former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to Senators Hilary Clinton and Charles Schumer said yesterday that the federal government should have shared information with them and other local authorities about the threat of a nuclear bomb being smuggled into the city. Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday that he understood the need to evaluate the quality of the information before sharing it with the public. (New York Times)

FEMA Extends Aid Deadline - Mar 5, 2002
Individuals and businesses affected by the Sept. 11 attacks now have an extra six months to apply for federal aid, thanks to a deadline extension by recovery officials. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Monday that applicants may submit requests for state and federal aid until Sept. 30. The deadline had been March 11. (Newsday)

New Yorkers Never Notified of Nuclear Threat - Mar 4, 2002
Top federal officials reportedly feared in October that terrorists were planning to detonate a nuclear bomb in New York — potentially annihilating 100,000 people and flattening a hunk of Manhattan — but never told senior FBI officials, then Mayor Giuliani, or New York residents in general. The doomsday scenario was kept secret because of concerns that it could panic the city, already shaken to its core by the Sept. 11 attacks, Time magazine reported. (New York Daily News)

Mayoral Report Describes Decline In City Services After 9/11 - Mar 1, 2002
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's final collection of facts about the performance of city services, exhaustive yet carefully edited, was released yesterday by the Bloomberg administration, illuminating in many ways how those services suffered after the attack on the World Trade Center. Most notable, all sorts of arrests, as well as enforcement actions within the Police Department, declined, largely because the department was busy at ground zero or maintaining the high security alert, according to the report. (New York Times)

Mayor and Governor Back Idea of Burying West Street Near Ground Zero - Feb 28, 2002
Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg strongly endorsed a proposal to bury West St. along the World Trade Center site yesterday, helping to bridge the divide between Battery Park City and the rest of lower Manhattan. Supporters said a tunnel would help make downtown a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week neighborhood — an area even more vibrant than it was before the Sept. 11 attacks. With vehicles traveling underneath, the area would be transformed into a pedestrian promenade or park. (New York Daily News)

Bloomberg and Pataki Say Rebuilding of Downtown Should Wait for Overall Plan - Feb 27, 2002
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Governor George E. Pataki suggested yesterday that a Manhattan developer should not go ahead with construction at 7 World Trade Center until completion of an overall development plan for Lower Manhattan. The remarks contrast with recent signals from state and city officials on the pace of rebuilding Lower Manhattan. (New York Times)

City Council Complains About Exclusion From Rebuilding - Feb 26, 2002
City Council members complained Monday that they have been excluded from the lower Manhattan redevelopment process and from the board responsible for spending $2 billion in federal aid. Councilman James Sanders Jr., chairman of the Committee on Economic Development, complained that “the current elected leadership of New York City ... had no role in appointing members to the one body charged with developing lower Manhattan” and suggested that four more members should be added to the board, two appointed by the council and two by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Sanders also complained that the redevelopment board “does not much resemble the city that it hopes to rebuild” because it includes only two women and one black person. (Associated Press)

Diversity of City-State Rebuilding Authority Criticized - Feb 26, 2002
The agency in charge of rebuilding lower Manhattan is overwhelmingly white and male, with almost no women or minorities on its staff or board of directors, City Council members charged yesterday. Lou Tomson, who was appointed LMDC executive director in January, said that of nine employees hired this month, all were white and there was only one woman. "I recognize the necessity of recruiting a staff that more accurately reflects the diversity of the city," Tomson said. He said the staff hired so far was assembled quickly and "there wasn't time" to seek out a more diverse group. Tomson said he expected to hire about 11 more people - filling several "major" positions - and would now take diversity into consideration. (New York Post)

1993 Victims Families Included in Advisory Council - Feb 25, 2002
Families of the six victims killed in the 1993 attack at the World Trade Center will have a voice in the group formed after Sept. 11 to coordinate redevelopment of the trade center site and creation of a memorial to the victims. Relatives of the 1993 attack worried their loved ones were being forgotten, especially because the granite fountain memorial dedicated to the victims of the first attack was destroyed when the twin towers crumbled on Sept. 11. (Newsday)

Families of 1993 Bombing Victims Feeling Left Out - Feb 25, 2002
More than a dozen friends and relatives of the victims of the 1993 bombing held a news conference outside City Hall yesterday, asking why they had not been eligible for government aid, why charities had not raised money for them in their time of need, why they had been left out of the recent tax relief law, and why they had not been consulted about plans for a new memorial to World Trade Center victims. Senator Charles E. Schumer, who joined the relatives at the news conference, said that he would call John C. Whitehead, the chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, and ask him to consult the families of the 1993 victims before planning a memorial. (New York Times)

Hearing Brings Out Anger, Confusion Over Air Quality - Feb 24, 2002
The confusion over the air quality inside and outside buildings near ground zero was clearly evident again yesterday at an investigative hearing before the national ombudsman for the federal Enironmental Protection Agency. City and federal officials "have completely left the tenants and the residents and property owners in Lower Manhattan to their own devices to deal with the contamination and asbestos and other hazardous materials as a result of the World Trade Center," said United States Representative Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes ground zero and who presided over yesterday's hearing. "It's very clear that the city and federal government are not upholding the law." (New York Times)

Two Memorial Proposals Close To Approval - Feb 22, 2002
Two proposals for temporary memorials to the victims of the World Trade Center attack, one using huge beams of light and the other a damaged bronze sculpture, are moving closer to approval, city and state officials said yesterday. The remains of the spherical bronze sculpture by Fritz Koenig that stood in the World Trade Center plaza would serve as the centerpiece of a temporary memorial being considered by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the group overseeing the rebuilding of downtown. The memorial would remain in place for as long as two years, while a permanent memorial was conceived and installed at the site of the fallen towers. (New York Times)

Mayor Backs Giuliani Control of Relief Fund - Feb 22, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday he saw no reason not to transfer control of the Twin Towers Fund to a private charity run by Rudy Giuliani, a move that some firefighters and victims' families now oppose. The mayor said he is confident Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who regulates charities, will resolve the matter in a way that meets Giuliani's wishes and the families' concerns. The families have complained that Giuliani packed the board with friends and plans to spend $1.2 million on employee salaries. (New York Daily News)

Rebuilding Agency To Determine Indoor Air Quality Standards - Feb 22, 2002
Swamped with complaints about health concerns from people living near Ground Zero, the state-city agency overseeing the rebuilding of lower Manhattan is considering establishing a standard to determine when air in apartments is safe to breathe. Paul Crotty, a board member of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, said the agency should consider hiring a consultant to "harmonize" standards for indoor air quality. No legal or regulatory indoor air quality standards exist in the state. Scientists have little idea how people might be affected by the mix of toxins downtown, including asbestos and PCBs — making broad standards difficult to set. (New York Daily News)

Attorney General Urges Watchdogs For Twin Towers Charity - Feb 21, 2002
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has asked former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to make changes to the Twin Towers Fund, including adding a city appointee to the charity's board. Spitzer also wants Giuliani to subject the fund, which has recently come under criticism, to annual audits by the city Comptroller's Office and the Department of Investigation. (New York Post)

Conflict Between Silverstein, Development Authority Over Rebuilding - Feb 18, 2002
In response to residents' and critics' concerns about Larry Silverstein's intentions to begin rebuilding 7 World Trade Center starting this summer, several Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board members have been arguing that rebuilding 7 WTC should be part of an overall plan for the area. "I know how important the redevelopment of WTC 7 is, [but Silverstein] can't have it the way he wants it: in Greenwich Street," said LMDC board member Paul Crotty at a meeting last week. "It will bottle up the planning on the rest of lower Manhattan." Silverstein's fast-track pace has irked some on the LMDC. Sources said Silverstein met with new LMDC master planner Alexander Garvin late last week to start solving the design problem. LMDC executive director Lou Tomson said the board will come up with a set of goals by late May, and its newly hired master planner, Garvin, will then "translate those goals into various plans." (New York Daily News)

Families of Police Victims Trying To Stop Rudy's Plans for Twin Towers Fund - Feb 15, 2002
The families of 14 of the 23 police officers killed at the World Trade Center threw a roadblock Thursday in front of Rudolph Giuliani’s plans for a staff of nearly a dozen people to administer his $100 million Twin Towers Fund. A lawyer representing the families, Edward Hayes, faxed Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly a letter Thursday voicing the group’s opinion that no bureaucracy of 11 staffers is needed to handle the funds. “My clients feel that these generous donations are for their benefit and there is no need for any bureaucracy to make decisions for them,” Hayes’ letter said. (Newsday)

Controller's Report Shows Negative Impact of Attacks on Economy - Feb 13, 2002
A report from Controller William Thompson paints a bleak picture of the effects of September 11 on the city's economy. The gross city product, which measures all economic activity, shrank 4.4% in the fourth quarter, while the nation showed a surprising overall growth of 0.2% in the same period. "Although New York City's economy began to show signs of weakness in the second quarter of 2001, the recession has deepened as a result of the World Trade Center attack," city Controller William Thompson said. (New York Daily News)

Port Authority May Still Overrule City-State Development Authority - Feb 13, 2002
Paul Crotty, one of the 11 board members of the newly-formed Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, said that when it comes to land owned by the Port Authority, which includes the World Trade Center complex, it's still unclear who has the final say. Though the LMDC has been given sweeping powers by Gov. Pataki, the Port Authority does not fall under its direct jurisdiction because it is an agency governed by both New York and New Jersey. (New York Daily News)

$700 Million Federal Aid Downtown: A Visual Aid - Feb 12, 2002
The Daily News takes a look at the recent $700 million grant to the city for downtown businesses with a breakdown of the aid offered by the federal government and a map of the area covering eligible businesses. (New York Daily News)

Planner Appointed for Lower Manhattan Development Corporation - Feb 11, 2002
Alexander Garvin, an urban planner, city planning commissioner, and teacher at Yale University, was appointed this weekend to be in charge of coming up with such a development plan. His title will be vice president for planning, design and development for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. "The revitalization of lower Manhattan presents many complex challenges," Garvin said. "We need to develop an appropriate way to honor those who perished on Sept. 11. The residents, business and property owners of lower Manhattan expect to get back to normal as quickly as possible." (Crain's New York Business)

City Facing $7 Billion in Lawsuits - Feb 8, 2002
From recovery workers who say they suffer lung problems to business people who say their shops were damaged, 1,300 people have filed notices of intent to sue the city for a total of $7.18 billion in damages related to the World Trade Center aftermath. The vast majority are firefighters who say the city gave them inadequate respiratory protection for recovery and cleanup work at the smoldering trade-center site, according to notices filed with the city. The city is self-insured and awards from successful lawsuits would come from the city's general fund, Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo said. (New York Post)

State Approves June Rebuilding of 7 World Trade Center - Feb 8, 2002
Charles Gargano, chairman of the Empire State Development Corp., which oversees the agency in charge of downtown redevelopment, gave a resounding thumbs-up yesterday to starting to rebuild 7 World Trade Center as early as June, despite concerns by some that the timetable is too fast. Larry Silverstein, who built the original 47-story skyscraper on the block between Vesey and Barclay Sts. in 1987, has said he believes he needs only the approval of the Port Authority, which owns the land. Among the concerns of those who worry about the quick rebuilding are how to reorient the building so it does not block Greenwich St., and where to place Con Edison substations and Port Authority cargo bays. (New York Daily News)

Bush Reaffirms $20 Billion Pledge in NYC Visit - Feb 7, 2002
President Bush flew into New York yesterday and declared that he would stand by his pledge to provide the city with at least $20 billion to help rebuild from last summer's terrorist attacks, moving to dispel doubts raised by Democrats about the depth of the White House's commitment to help New York recover. Bush also announced that he supported a proposal to create $5 billion in tax credits in downtown Manhattan to stop businesses from fleeing the area. "When I say $20 billion, I mean $20 billion," said Bush. (New York Times)

Bloomberg Lays Out Vision for Downtown - Feb 6, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg vowed yesterday to rebuild lower Manhattan as a bustling 24-hour community. The mayor, speaking at an Association for a Better New York breakfast, said improving downtown transportation is imperative. Bloomberg cited several steps his administration has taken to improve lower Manhattan, including "working aggressively" to reopen the entire Battery Tunnel to all traffic — passenger cars are still banned from entering Manhattan from 6 a.m. to 8p.m. — and the West Side Highway. The city also has formed an emergency task force "to dramatically expand" ferry service in lower Manhattan. Bloomberg also ordered the City Planning Department to evaluate "creative zoning" to permit greater residential, cultural and retail use. The city also will look for sites that offer new housing opportunities. (New York Daily News)

Giuliani Seeks To Take Over Twin Towers Fund - Feb 6, 2002
The city-run Twin Towers Fund has suspended payments to the families of dead firefighters, police officers and other uniformed heroes while a fledgling charity controlled by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani attempts to take over the funds assets about $100 million and growing. The transfer, possibly unprecedented in nature, needs approval by Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. CUNY vice chancellor Frederick Schaffer, the chairman of the city-run charity, said the organization, called the New York City Public and Private Initiative, had planned from the outset to spin off the Twin Towers Fund. (Newsday)

Bush's Budget Reduces Federal Aid, Lawmakers Say - Feb 5, 2002
In his recent budget proposal to Congress, President Bush revealed that he will be including the $5 billion to be paid out to the relatives of the World Trade Center victims as part of the $20 billion aid package he pledged to New York City last fall. New York Congressional representatives are angered over what they see as a shortchanging of relief aid promised by the President, saying that the distribution of the federal compensation fund for relatives of victims was never intended as part of the $20 billion in federal aid. The city has received $11 billion from the federal government so far, and lawmakers anticipated receiving another $9 billion. (New York Post)

Feds Approve $700 Million Grant to Help Rebuild Lower Manhattan - Feb 3, 2002
The Bush administration said today that it had approved a $700 million grant for New York State to help rebuild Lower Manhattan, create jobs and revive businesses devastated by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The secretary of housing and urban development, Mel Martinez, said the money would be released next week, after Congress reviews the spending plan. The money is being provided through the Community Development Block Grant program. Of the $700 million, $396 million is earmarked for loans and grants to small businesses. The next largest portion, $250 million, is to provide incentives for companies to stay in Lower Manhattan or relocate there. (New York Times)

Advisory Boards Named for Rebuilding Authority - Feb 1, 2002
The commission charged with overseeing the rebuilding of lower Manhattan announced yesterday a long-awaited list of committees for "public input" - but gave scant details on what role they will play or how they will operate. Four citizens' committees with a total of 72 members were created. The so-called advisory councils "will provide valuable public input" as the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. works to form an overall plan for post-Sept. 11 recovery, the agency said in a statement. A General Advisory Committee was also created, composed of 13 state and local politicians and civic leaders, and headed by LMDC's own chairman, John Whitehead. Click here for a list of members of the panels. (New York Times)

City Council Wants Say in Rebuilding - Feb 1, 2002
Several City Council members are trying to form their own commission for improving lower Manhattan. They are pushing for a nine-member panel, appointed by the council and Mayor Bloomberg, to coordinate "all activities necessary to aid affected businesses remaining in the city." The proposal was introduced Wednesday by Allan Jennings (D-Queens). Jennings said the council "has no input, and neither does the State Assembly, in the commission the governor appointed. "So [it] is making decisions without input from constituents. We have to do something," Jennings said. (New York Post)

State GOP Senators Form Own WTC Panel - Jan 30, 2002
State Senate Republicans, miffed over being excluded from panels overseeing the World Trade Center redevelopment, created their own oversight panel yesterday. Senate sources said Bruno formed the panel because of growing frustration with John Whitehead, chair of the redevelopment authority. The sources said Bruno was initially disappointed that Pataki failed to include a Senate appointee on the redevelopment commission's board, but had hoped Whitehead would be open to naming Senate representatives to soon-to-be-named advisory panels. When Bruno concluded the Senate would not be properly represented on either the board or on the Whitehead-named panels, he decided to create the task force, the source continued. The new Senate group, in a highly unusual move, will consist of all 35 Senate Republicans. (New York Post)

Tenuous Grip on Rebuilding Could Hurt Bloomberg's Term - Jan 30, 2002
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's performance as mayor is likely to be measured in large part by his success at leading New York City to a consensus on what should happen with the World Trade Center site, and the pace and quality of the subsequent rebuilding. Bloomberg's role in the rebuilding was constrained, however, before he ever set foot in City Hall as Pataki grabbed the reins early on. The standings of both men will be enhanced with a successful resolution of this project; just as surely, each could be hurt if the project falters, or if there is any perception that the two men are quarreling over a project of such import. (New York Times)

Rudy Named His Judi To Twin Towers Fund Board - Jan 28, 2002
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani had his girlfriend Judith Nathan appointed to the board of directors of the city's Twin Towers Fund during his push to take over the charity. Nathan is one of 14 of the mayor's friends, supporters or former employees named to the volunteer board, which will oversee the $100 million fund, according to documents filed with the state Attorney General's Office. Giuliani will chair the board, which will have some entertainment muscle, with Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger and NBC Chairman/CEO Robert Wright. According to the documents, the fund plans to hire as many as 12 people, with the total annual payroll reaching as much as $1.44 million. To date, the Giuliani-established fund has distributed nearly $50 million of the $145 million collected. (New York Post)

Many Voices, but Little Dialogue on Memorial for Trade Center Site - Jan 26, 2002
The rebuilding of Lower Manhattan has the makings of a bitter New York struggle, a dialogue of disparate views of grief, money, power, politics and design, inflamed by differing passions, but with no framework to reconcile them. In all likelihood, that struggle will begin with a memorial. Absent any official guidance, hundreds of people in roughly a dozen ad hoc groups have already started gathering in small numbers and discussing plans for a memorial. But many of the participants say that until their efforts are coordinated… little progress is likely to be made. This contrasts sharply with what happened after the Oklahoma City bombing (New York Times)

Pataki Asks to Oversee 9/11 Aid - Jan 26, 2002
Gov. George E. Pataki has asked the State Legislature to give him the authority to oversee about $10 billion worth of federal aid that he expects to flow to the state to repair the damage done by terrorists, but legislative leaders are balking at the governor's request. While most of the money is yet to arrive in Albany, once it arrives, the governor may not spend it without legislative approval. The legislature wishes to see detailed plans for the use of the $10 billion before granting its approval. While $6 billion of the aid is Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursements for cleanup downtown, over $3 billion of the aid is in the form of block grants for economic development and housing, the use of which is much more open to debate. (New York Times)

WTC Advisory Groups To Be Announced - Jan 26, 2002
On Monday, the group will announce the members of four advisory councils - for the families of victims, downtown residents, restaurants and retailers, and arts, education and tourism - which will make recommendations to the corporation's board by March 15. Beyond the initial four advisory councils, others dealing with a range of downtown industries will be added, each with about 15 members, said John Whitehead, the corporation's chairman. To help the group develop those plans, Whitehead plans to hire a full-time staff of 10 to 20 people, he said. He also said the corporation would sublease office space in One Liberty Plaza, facing Ground Zero. Whitehead made it clear he thought that some of the site should be saved for commercial development, rather than saving it all for a memorial. (New York Daily News)

Redevelopment Committee Wants WTC Debris Removed By May 31 - Jan 25, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Committee met Friday morning to set May 31 as a tentative deadline to remove all debris from the World Trade Center site. The committee also said it will begin moving its offices to One Liberty Plaza and the Battery Park Ritz Carlton Hotel sometime next week. Reports from the meeting indicate that recently two of the committee members made a trip to Oklahoma City to study the memorial built there for the victims of the 1995 terrorist bombing. (NY1)

Bush Repledged $20 Billion to Aid City, Official Says - Jan 25, 2002
According to John Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, President Bush renewed his pledge to send the city $20 billion in federal aid. Mr. Whitehead said that he met with the president earlier this month, and reported that President Bush said, "As you need it, we will provide it.'" (New York Times)

Sept. 11 Fed Fund Tops $6B - Jan 23, 2002
Payouts from the federal Sept.11 victims fund will reach a whopping $6 billion, Kenneth Feinberg, the fund's special master, said yesterday. Unpopular rules that say families have to deduct life insurance and pension benefits from the federal compensation will be modified somewhat, he said. "People who do net out to zero [after these deductions] will get something," he said. Issues concerning undocumented immigrants who died at the World Trade Center and domestic partners are also being reviewed. Final regulations will be announced at the end of February. (New York Daily News)

Hil Says Senate to Probe WTC Air Quality - Jan 20, 2002
Hillary Clinton announced that the Senate will hold hearings on February 11 to look into the air quality issue in Lower Manhattan, particularly for the emergency workers who have been toiling at ground zero every day since September 11. Clinton also announced that she has secured $12 million to study the long-term health of firefighters and others exposed to asbestos, PCBs, and other toxins at ground zero. (New York Daily News)

Fund Package Nearly Set to Aid Survivors of 9/11 - Jan 20, 2002
With the commenting period ending this week for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, Kenneth Feinberg, appointed special master of the fund, will now spend the next few weeks finalizing a plan for compensation and distribution of the fund. Feinberg said the plan will be "based on equity, justice and need." (New York Daily News)

Families Meet Privately With Overseer Of Sept. 11 Compensation - Jan 16, 2002
Relatives of the September 11 victims held a private meeting yesterday with Ken Feinberg, the federal Victim Compensation Fund Special Master. One person who attended the meeting said that Feinberg would not budge from the $250,000 cap on pain and suffering compensation, though he said he would do everything he could to maximize awards. Feinberg is accepting recommendations on how to change the rules until January 22. (NY1)

Clinton: WTC Fund Unfair - Jan 14, 2002
After meeting with loved ones of those killed September 11 in the World Trade Center, Senator Hillary Clinton called for changes to the proposed federal compensation plan. Clinton proposed a minimum compensation amount for families, rather than the current proposal which deducts money based on pre-existing life insurance, IRA, or 401(k) accounts. (Newsday)

Representatives Seek Changes to Fund - Jan 14, 2002
A dozen members of Congress from New York on Monday urged changes in the proposed rules determining federal compensation for victims of the World Trade Center attacks. Carolyn Maloney, a Manhattan Democrat, and her colleagues urged the fund's overseer, Kenneth Feinberg, not to use outdated labor statistics which discriminate against women. (Newsday)

Pataki: 'Serious Concerns' on WTC Fund - Jan 11, 2002
Governor Pataki voiced concern yesterday about the distribution of federal funds for the compensation of victims' families. Referring to estimates that the average family could receive $1.6 million, Pataki said the numbers are misleading. "The numbers sound very high," he said, "but they can be reduced by collateral sources," such as life insurance and pension payments. About 1,000 relatives of victims will be holding a rally next Thursday to urge changes in the compensation. (Newsday)

Bold New Agenda - Jan 10, 2002
Invoking the enduring trauma of Sept. 11, Gov. George Pataki yesterday pledged to lead the state's psychological and financial recovery but offered few novel legislative proposals or sure cures for New York's ailing economy. In his eighth annual address to the Legislature, built on the emotional scaffolding of the World Trade Center tragedy and delivered at the outset of an election year, Pataki urged cooperation and change as part of a "bold new agenda of reform and renewal." (Newsday)

Pataki Confidant to Direct Rebuilding Effort - Jan 9, 2002
Louis R. Tomson, a former top adviser to Gov. George E. Pataki, has been selected to be the executive director of the state corporation in charge of rebuilding Lower Manhattan, government officials and downtown executives said yesterday. Tomson was Pataki's first choice and beat out a list of candidates that included Carl Weisbrod, head of the Alliance for Downtown New York, the business improvement district for Lower Manhattan; Rebecca Robertson, former president of the 42nd Street Development Project; and Richard A. Kahan, a former state official. He will be officially appointed within a week. (New York Times)

Agency Has $2B, No Plans - Jan 8, 2002
Despite having $2 billion earmarked for the group by Congress, the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation still has no plans for what to do with the money. "I think we are the only organization in history," said Chairman John Whitehead, "to get $2 billion that we never even asked for." The $2 billion is part of an $11 billion aid package proposed by Congress for emergency aid for the city. (New York Daily News)

Ground Zero Panel Still Listening - Jan 8, 2002
The head of the ground zero redevelopment panel yesterday said the group won't make decisions about rebuilding for at least "a month or two." At the group's second meeting since the state-city panel was created in November, Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp. Chairman John Whitehead also said the search for an executive director should come to an end in about a week. Whitehead said the 11-member board will be in "listening mode" for the next four to eight weeks. (New York Post)

Fund Formula an Insult to Their Injuries - Jan 7, 2002
Four members of Congress and forty relatives of victims appeared at a news conference in midtown to denounce the compensation formula created by Kenneth Feinberg, the special master administering the federal Victim Compensation Fund. The families complained the formula sets arbitrary limits on estimated lost earnings and caps compensation for pain and suffering. Victims' families also met yesterday for the first time with Mayor Bloomberg since he took office. (New York Daily News)

Doctoroff Blocks Battery Park City WTC Aid - Jan 1, 2002
Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff is blocking $15.6 million in disaster relief for Battery Park City tenants and homeowners - even though City Hall agreed to the cash payouts.Doctoroff said yesterday that the grants no longer "seem appropriate" because a much larger federal aid program has been created to help people living near Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)

Doctoroff Blocks Battery Park City WTC Aid - Jan 1, 2002
Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff is blocking $15.6 million in disaster relief for Battery Park City tenants and homeowners - even though City Hall agreed to the cash payouts.Doctoroff said yesterday that the grants no longer "seem appropriate" because a much larger federal aid program has been created to help people living near Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)

Tomson Urges Real Estate Leaders To Get More Involved Downtown - Jan 1, 2002
Concerned that a third of the commercial space near Ground Zero could become vacant by 2006, a top rebuilding official urged real estate leaders yesterday to get more involved in lower Manhattan's recovery. "If there ever was a critical time to be heard from, it's now," said Lou Tomson, president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (New York Daily News)

The New York State Action Plan - Dec 27, 2001
The plan for spending the federal aid money (the 11-page plan available online in pdf format) calls for raising the cap in aid to retailers and other small businesses from $10,000 to $100,000; those businesses that suffered actual property damage would get up to $200,000. (Crain's New York Business)

Goldman's Ex-Chief, John C. Whitehead, Is Downtown's Czar - Dec 24, 2001
At 79, John Whitehead is facing what his says is his last challenge. As chairman of the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp., it will be his job to determine how billions of dollars will be spent and to mediate among the many groups that want a say in the rebuilding of lower Manhattan. (New York Observer)

Schumer & Hil: Aid Coming - Dec 24, 2001
Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton assured small business owners, displaced workers and people who live near Ground Zero yesterday that billions of dollars of help is on the way.The senators told how the $10.9 billion in federal aid promised to New York would be spent. Although nearly $6.4 billion will cover cleanup costs, $4.6 billion will go directly to small businesses, nonprofits and other groups struggling to stay afloat since the disaster, the senators said. Of the $4.6 billion, $2.7 billion has been earmarked as grants for downtown residents and businesses. An additional $140 million will go to lower Manhattan hospitals. The rest will go toward transportation projects, job training for displaced workers and other programs. Schumer and Clinton pledged to continue pressing Washington for more help. (New York Daily News)

Mayor: No Biz at WTC? - Dec 21, 2001
In his last radio show while in office, Mayor Giuliani suggested yesterday using the entire 16-acre site at Ground Zero for an interactive memorial that could draw millions of visitors a year.For weeks, Giuliani has spoken about the importance of erecting a major memorial at Ground Zero, where nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, including 402 firefighters and cops for the city and Port Authority. But yesterday the mayor suggested - apparently for the first time - that the whole site could be set aside as a memorial, as opposed to a memorial combined with commercial development. (New York Daily News)

Downtown Renewal Head Vows Independent Effort - Dec 20, 2001
John Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp., has been telling business groups that he will lead a politically independent effort to revitalize lower Manhattan and build a memorial on the scale of the major monuments in Washington, D.C. But many observers question just how independent Whitehead can be, given that he was appointed by Governor George Pataki and his agency is a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corp. Whitehead got a boost when the House and Senate agreed to give $2 billion of New York's $8.2 billion federal aid to the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp. That decision, though, might not survive the final vote on the aid package. (New York Times)

Deal May Land City 11B - Dec 18, 2001
The Senate and House were near a deal last night that would give New York City more than $11 billion this year to cope with the World Trade Center attack. (New York Daily News)

Many Visions for WTC Site - Dec 17, 2001
A number of groups with different interests and visions are fighting to control what will be built on the World Trade Center site. Among those vying for a say are Larry Silverstein and shopping mall giant Westfield, who hold a 99-year lease on the land; the Port Authority, which owns the land and wants to rebuild its damaged PATH lines below it; Mayor Giuliani and Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg; Governor Pataki; the Empire State Development Corp. and its new subsidiary, the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp., and people who lost family members on Sept. 11. The job of trying to forge a consensus among these groups could fall to John Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp., the new agency charged with rebuilding downtown. Whitehead says he will appoint advisory boards, each representing one of the constituencies that want a say in determining what will become of what is now ground zero. (New York Daily News)

The Chuck and Hillary Show - Dec 16, 2001
No two people are more central to New York's fight for disaster aid than its two senators, Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton. In their battle, which overshadows all their other tasks, the two must confront national misconceptions about and wariness of New York. To overcome those obstacles, the two senators must work together, a difficult challenge too, given how different the two politicians are. (New York Times)

Silver Raps Downtown Rehab Panel - Dec 11, 2001
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver criticized yesterday the new joint
state-city agency charged with overseeing the redevelopment of lower
Manhattan because it hasn't met to discuss construction of a Sept. 11
memorial.
(New York Daily News)

Pataki Still Seeking Nominees for Rebuilding Leader - Dec 10, 2001
The Pataki administration is still gathering names of possible candidates
for the operations chief position at the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp.

The most often mentioned person is Rebecca Robertson, head of Lincoln Center's rebuilding plan and a former head of the Times Square Redevelopment agency. Others said to be under consideration include Carl Weisbrod, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York, the lower Manhattan business improvement district; Richard Kahan, chairman of the Urban Assembly; and Ross Moskowitz, former executive vice president at the city's Economic Development Corp.
(Crain's New York Business)

Senate Rejects $17 Billion Bill to Aid the City - Dec 8, 2001
Backed by a veto threat from President Bush, Senate Republicans on Friday killed a Democratic plan to provide $17 billion of aid to New York, along with a similar amount of money for various domestic programs to combat terrorism.

The vote was a political victory for Mr. Bush and a major setback for Senate Democrats, who had tried to provide more money than the president sought for New York and for antiterrorism activities.

The Senate vote was 50 to 50. Sixty votes were needed to approve the Democratic plan, because it called for spending in excess of limits previously set by Congress.

Democrats had said the $17 billion in their plan, combined with $3 billion already spent in aid to New York, would fulfill a federal promise made to the state in the week after the attack on the World Trade Center.

The New York senators, Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, both Democrats, said they now expected that the state would receive $9.5 billion under a compromise devised as an alternative to the $17 billion proposal. The $9.5 billion of aid to New York envisioned under the Senate compromise includes $5.8 billion to remove debris and repair public works at the site of the World Trade Center; $2 billion for community development grants; $140 million to reimburse New York hospitals; and $10 million for mental health services to children in New York. (New York Times)

New Apts. at Ground Zero? - Nov 30, 2001
When the World Trade Center site is eventually redeveloped, apartment buildings - and not exclusively office towers - could be part of the answer, Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg said yesterday. Bloomberg noted there's a dearth of affordable housing and a glut of office space in the city. "The first step," he said, "is to say, 'What does this city need?'" (New York Daily News)

House Panel Boss Backs $6B in City Aid - Nov 30, 2001
Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, has endorsed a $6.1 billion stimulus plan for lower Manhattan drafted with Governor Pataki, boosting chances that some Sept. 11 tax relief will be enacted for the city this year. (New York Daily News)

Committee Leader Says Victims' Memorial Will Be Main Priority - Nov 30, 2001
John Whitehead, the newly appointed chairman of a commission charged with rebuilding Lower Manhattan, said yesterday that establishing a memorial to the victims of the World Trade Center attacks would be among the first priorities for the panel. As for everything else: "We want it to be done right and we want it to be done well," Mr. Whitehead said of the redevelopment effort. "How quickly it's done is not the primary concern." (New York Times)

Dems Get Picky Over WTC Redevelopment Picks - Nov 30, 2001
Governor Pataki and Mayor Giuliani officially unveiled an 11-member city-state redevelopment corporation, promptly criticized by some elected officials as "political." At a press conference with most of the panel members, along with Giuliani and Mayor-elect Mike Bloomberg, Pataki said the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp. will have the rebuilding process well under way in "a matter of just a few years." The redevelopment panel's appointees - four by the mayor, and seven by the governor - still have to pick a salaried executive director, who apparently will hold much of the commission's power. (New York Post)

Ex-Banker Will Lead Rebuilding Effort - Nov 29, 2001
Governor Pataki will announce members of the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp. at a news conference today. John Whitehead, a 79-year-old former investment banker and deputy secretary of state with strong ties to the Republican Party, is expected to be named to head the 11-member panel. Sources said that New York Stock Exchange chairman Richard Grasso, former National Association of Securities Dealers chairman Frank Zarb, labor leader Ed Malloy and real estate developer Roland Betts are also likely to be appointed. (New York Daily News)

Cleaning Up at Ground Zero - Nov 28, 2001
Mayor Giuliani is moving to award the city's biggest-ever emergency contract to one of America's most politically connected corporations. With barely a word of explanation and brushing aside four local firms that have been doing the cleanup since immediately after the attacks, Giuliani has moved to appoint the giant San Francisco-based Bechtel Group, Inc. to take over the lucrative job of cleaning up the World Trade Center site. Since the federal cleanup funds are being allocated by a Republican administration, Washington insiders see the award as a favor to a firm long close to the GOP. But whatever the rationale, Bechtel is a dream ally for someone like Giuliani with potential national political aspirations. The privately held contracting colossus was the fifth largest political contributor during last year's presidential race and poured an additional $449,000 in soft money into political coffers, two-thirds of it to Republicans. (Village Voice)

Billions at Risk as New York Makes Missteps - Nov 20, 2001
New York has fallen far down Washington's list of priorities since September 11 and as a result could lose billions of dollars in aid. Some of the reasons for this are beyond New York's control, but members of Congress from both parties says New York officials bear part of the blame. Federal, state and city officials from New York have seemed to have different agendas, and it has been difficult to determine who really speaks for the city. As a result, many observers are skeptical that New York will ever get all of the $20 billion it was promised by President Bush after the attacks.
(New York Times)