Bloomberg Says WTC Hub Plans Must Be Scaled Back
In today’s edition of the Wall Street Journal, you can find a very strong editorial on the proposed World Trade Center Hub by Mayor Bloomberg. Lets get straight to his words on the project he feels must be scaled back as it is too complicated to build:
The eyes of the world will again turn to Lower Manhattan this week as we mark the seventh anniversary of September 11, and as we remember all those we lost on that tragic day. Aerial views of the World Trade Center site will show steel beams that are finally swinging into place as part of the construction of the Freedom Tower and 9/11 museum and memorial.
Progress on the redevelopment of the World Trade Center has been frustratingly slow, owing in large part to a multilayered governance structure that has undermined accountability from the get-go. The city does not own or control the site, but we do control the streets around it. For those who widen their gaze, the rebirth of Lower Manhattan is impossible to miss.
For decades before 9/11, Lower Manhattan was a financial capital but not much of a neighborhood, with most shops closing their doors after 5 p.m. and on weekends. In 2002, we laid out a vision of a new Lower Manhattan that is both a global financial capital and a 24/7 residential community.
Click here for the complete editorial.
This might ruffle the feathers of some out there but I can’t deny how I feel. The World Trade Center transportation hub & area around Ground Zero are long overdue in terms of being built. Tomorrow marks the 7th anniversary of the terror attacks that forever changed the landscape of our country & possibly world. I find absolutely no justified reason as to why these projects have not been completed.
If a college professor wanted to have a lesson about how politics & the greed of some can undermine a whole process, this would be the perfect story to use. There are clearly too many palms looking to get greased which leads to the endless squabble we currently endure. The biggest culprit in all of this is the actual memorial itself. I’m sure I will get flack for that comment but I feel it is the absolute truth.
The memorial seems to have a choke hold on every single aspect of development. While I can understand the family’s need for a memorial, their relentless desire to have things their way in terms of a memorial has led to one delay after another. I’m sorry but while I feel sorry for the victims of the attack, I don’t feel they & their families desires should supersede the needs of the area & NYC as a whole.
Some argue that the transportation hub should be a marvel of art that will have people talking from here to Dubai. However others like myself realize that the functions the hub would provide are the real concern as compared to the overall cosmetics. We are not saying we want a hub that looks like complete garbage but we don’t need it to be this amazing piece of structure that gets the world talking. There is a time & place for cosmetics to reign supreme but a transportation hub is not one of them.
We clearly need to rid the overall development of Lower Manhattan of people who will just continue to deter from the work that should have been done yesterday. I should take a vote as to what project will be completed first, Ground Zero & the surrounding areas or the Second Avenue Subway.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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