Freedom Tower --OR-- Twin Towers

Which?

Published on May 18, 2005 By ----- In War on Terror

I was looking around and saw some links to blogs/articles about the debate over whether to build the 'freedom tower', or re-build the Twin Towers,only higher....here are the links, let me know what you think...

• March 11, 2005 | 9:40 p.m. ET

Freedom Tower politics (David Shuster)

The blogs we've been posting on the Freedom Tower continue to generate a huge number of e-mails. Every day, I've been receiving articles and stories detailing a host of new engineering problems associated with the current plan for lower manhattan. [Blog: Freedom Tower Vs. Twin Towers; Blog: Rebuild the Twin Towers]

The latest issue concerns a plan by Governor Pataki to sink an eight lane street beneath the proposed Freedom Tower park.There are two problems: First, Verizon says it would need to relocate a massive amount of underground telecom gear in order to clear a path for the tunnel. (Verizon says this move could delay the entire project for two years.) Secondly, the proposed underground construction project would be akin to Boston's "big dig." Only this time, the chaos and mess would be in Lower Manhattan.

I could go on and on. It seems likely that this Freedom Tower project is going to keep a hole in the Manhattan skyline (and thrill Al-Qaeda) for at least a decade. Many of you have said that construction on "newer, stronger, and taller twin towers" should have already begun. To all of you who have been wondering, "Is it too late to scuttle the freedom tower and rebuild the twin towers?" the answer is clearly "No."

One of my contacts recently sent me a copy of the Environmental Impact Statement done a year ago in lower Manhattan. The 30-chapter volume refers to the Freedom Tower as the Proposed Action. But in Chapter 23, the EIS examines a "restoration alternative." This alternative is to "rebuild the Twin Towers." In other words, the environmental impact study for rebuilding the twin towers has already been conducted... a crucial first step. It's also worth noting that the public architectural blueprints and models for a new Twin Towers (architect Ken Gardner at makenynyagain.com) are more detailed than the public blueprints and models for the Freedom Tower put forward by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

Putting all of that aside though, there is a factor that I'm convinced will soon come into play... presidential politics. New York Governor George Pataki (who has always backed the LMDC and the Freedom Tower) has made no secret of his 2008 presidential ambitions. And on the face of it, Pataki could be a formidable candidate. But imagine what will happen if John McCain holds a news conference, discusses the ongoing problems with the Freedom Tower, speaks about the need for America to stand tall, not weak, and declares that nothing is acceptable other than stronger, taller, Twin Towers. "Under this scenario," a political strategist told me, "Pataki would be dead, absolutely dead." Now imagine if Hillary Rodham Clinton is the first to hold such a news conference. As everybody in the U.S. Senate knows, Mrs. Clinton is preparing for a possible 2008 run by moving to the center, bolstering her standing on red state values issues, and looking for ways to demonstrate leadership and "toughness" on foreign policy issues. On the issue of terrorism, what would be "tougher" than bashing George Pataki's Freedom Tower and demanding, in the name of true freedom from our enemies, that the Twin Towers be rebuilt.

So, where do the possible 2008 presidential contenders stand?

John McCain, I've been told, "is not considering this issue right now." But, I was drawn to the words "right now."

Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to her spokesman, "has not taken a stand on the Freedom project or on the twin towers. The Senator believes lower Manhattan should be rebuilt." Hmmm. That is not an endorsement of the Freedom Tower. And given that Mrs. Clinton is one of the senators from New York, her withholding of any Freedom Tower endorsement, and her absence from all Freedom Tower events, is revealing.

Will presidential politics be the issue that ignites this debate? How nervous should George Pataki be right now? Who would win this fight?

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WTC: The shame continues (David Shuster)

The shame continues.

Last month, I spent some time working at MSNBC headquarters in New Jersey. My hotel room faced Manhattan. And once again, I was confronted with the frustrating and debilitating sight of the huge gaping hole in New York's downtown skyline. It's now been three and a half years since terrorists took down the Twin Towers. And the fact that "Al Qaeda's sky-line for New York" has not changed is an abomination.

But what's even more infuriating is the latest proof of incompetence, ineptitude, and mismanagement surrounding the "hallowed ground" where the Twin Towers once stood. Last week, city officials acknowledged that "security concerns" are going to push back completion of the proposed "Freedom Tower" until at least 2009. What are the security concerns? The tower, under the current plan, is supposed to be built on a part of the pit that is less than 20 meters from two major thoroughfares. I'm at a total loss as to why it would take anybody, including the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC— the group in charge of reconstruction at Ground Zero) three years and a police report to discover that placing the tower next to busy streets might increase the vulnerability to a truck bomb. It's also baffling that anybody could look at the bizarre windmill/birdcage design for the top of the skyscraper and not be skeptical. But only recently, after developer Larry Silverstein publicly complained about the engineering hurdles, did the LMDC acknowledge the Freedom Tower design will have to be changed.

Hello??? The LMDC has been on this for three years!!! It took me ten minutes on the phone with one engineer to understand the physics that would make the Freedom Tower windmill impossible. (See my previous blogs listed below for other longstanding problems the LMDC has created, including one that harms the potential for fiber optics.)

The bottom line is that here we are, three and a half years after 9/11, and the LMDC is only now acknowledging it has no idea what the replacement for the Twin Towers will actually look like or how the "Freedom Tower" will be built. Talk about reclaiming our skyline...

Developer Larry Silverstein is nervous about where things stand. And he is now asking the city for tax increases and public financing to help cover the costs.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer is nervous. He recently spoke about the ongoing problems and used the phrase "twiddling our thumbs."

Goldman Sachs is beyond nervous. The Wall Street investment firm has already given up. The firm announce recently it is shelving plans for a new office that was supposed to be part of the project.

Kevin Rampe has also given up. The man appointed by New York Governor George Pataki to be president of the LMDC (and oversee the entire building effort) recently announced his resignation.

The only person who seems unconcerned is George Pataki. This week, the governor said, "All of this is moving forward well." Moving forward well? Give me a break. When Governor Pataki finishes last in the 2008 Iowa presidential caucuses, remind me to ask him directly for his definition of "moving forward well."

Let's acknowledge the obvious: The proposed replacement for the Twin Towers is an absolute disaster. The project symbolizes nervousness, defeatism, and outright ineptitude. That's the worst possible tribute to the victims of 9/11. And it must not be allowed to continue.

Ken Gardner
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Many of you have suggested rebuilding the Twin Towers and reclaiming America's pride, determination, resilience, and resolve. I am happy to report to you that a group you've mentioned repeatedly in your e-mails— MakeNYNYagain.com— now has a plan that is ready to go. The group's structural engineer Ken Gardner and architect Herbert Belton (who worked on the original drawings for the World Trade Center) have produced blue prints and building plans for newer, stronger, safer towers. The architectural plans are also far more detailed than anything put forward by the LMDC for the "Freedom Tower." And for any reporter or city official who is skeptical, Gardner and Belton have also built a detailed 9-foot "architectural model" to help you "visualize" the proposal.

This week, Gardner sent a letter to New York Governor Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and developer Larry Silverstein. These officials were told about the plans and were invited to "simply take a look." Gardner is not asking the officials for feedback, a review, or any kind of commitment to the Twin Towers proposal... only that these officials, just to repeat, "take a look." Such a meeting may take three minutes... or with New York traffic, it may take thirty. But Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, and Mr. Silverstein... is that too much to ask? Let's be honest here: You owe New Yorkers a little time back. Three and a half years is an eternity... and America has put up with al Qaeda's vision for New York City (and tolerated the debacle known as the "Freedom Tower") more than long enough.

Comments

drmiler

on May 18, 2005

God how I hate to say that I agree with "Shillery". But I must. Rebuild what was there and show those buttheads that they can't stop us(US)!

charlie

on May 18, 2005

I don't have much for the Donald, but he is right on the twin towers.

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