MESSAGE
| DATE | 2006-05-09 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] [nyc.politics] WTC Rebuilding #433:Silverstein Accepts Official Offer...
|
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1807226214526415857&q=why+we+fight
On Wed, May 10, 2006 at 12:27:20AM -0400, Ruben Safir wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Apr 2006 15:57:26 +0000, Obwon wrote:
>
> >
> > le-at-main.put.com
> >
> > It's been quite a while since I sent out two list-emails in
> > one day, but Cecil Shepherd just sent me a copy of this
> > advance NY Times article (it refers to events this
> > afternoon,expect a revised version in tomorrow's
> > print edition) where Silverstein accepts the offer,
> > subject to various things working out that may yet
> > not work out.
> >
> > And yes,reporter Bagli couldn't resist sticking in his
> > line about the FT being "widely regarded as too big"
> > ...PLEASE send letters-at-nytimes.com letters attacking
> > the FT for being too small!
> >
> > (stay under 150 words,include not-for-press postal
> > address and phone #)
> >
> > In the hours since I wrote last,the Twin Towers Alliance
> > signature count has grown to 1341 and the long-secret
> > identity of the Van Wagner billboard client has been
> > privately obtained and a new pro-rebuilding plan has
> > been circulated...we ARE not idle,we MUST NOT be idle...
> >
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 18:45:20 -0400
> > From: Cecil Shepherd
> > Subject: Developer to Accept 'Economic Terms'
> > of World Trade Center Deal
> >
> > April 25, 2006
> >
> > By CHARLES V. BAGLI
> >
> > Larry A. Silverstein said today that he was accepting the
> > economic terms of a new deal at ground zero, which reduces
> > his overall role but still allows him to build three
> > skyscrapers on the most valuable parcels on the 16-acre
> > site, ending nearly five months of struggle over the future
> > of the trade center site.
> >
> > "This is a fair deal," Mr. Silverstein said at a news
> > conference this afternoon. "I trust that Governor Pataki,
> > Governor Corzine, Mayor Bloomberg and the Port Authority
> > will move quickly to finalize this agreement and move
> > forward with the rebuilding."
> >
> > He added: "Make no mistake, we have made real concessions.
> > This is about moving the rebuilding forward as quickly as
> > possible."
> >
> > The deal, if it is ultimately approved by all sides, would
> > also end the uncertainty that downtown executives say has
> > hampered the resurgence of Lower Manhattan, while clearing
> > the way for construction to start on the Freedom Tower.
> >
> > But the turmoil at ground zero will not disappear.
> > Rebuilding officials expect that the focus will now shift
> > from commercial development at ground zero to the troubled
> > memorial project. Consultants are expected to deliver a
> > report in the next week showing that the cost of the
> > memorial and a museum has swelled to as much as $800 million
> > from $500 million. Fund-raising has been sluggish at best.
> >
> > Under the new agreement, Mr. Silverstein, who leased the
> > World Trade Center site from the Port Authority six weeks
> > before it was destroyed in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,
> > would cede responsibility for building the Freedom Tower,
> > the largest, most symbolic and troubled skyscraper planned
> > for the site, to the authority.
> >
> > Despite its symbolic role, the Freedom Tower was widely
> > regarded as too big, located in the wrong spot, and unlikely
> > to be attractive to corporate tenants, who view the building
> > as a target.
> >
> > The deal is an attempt to put the project on a viable
> > financial footing. The state has pledged to contribute $250
> > million and round up 1 million square feet of leases, most
> > likely to federal agencies. The tower would also get about
> > $970 million in insurance proceeds toward an estimated cost
> > of $2 billion.
> >
> > For the 74-year-old developer, the deal is a capitulation.
> > Mr. Silverstein has long insisted that he has both the right
> > and the ability to develop the entire ground zero site. The
> > new arrangement recognizes that he does not have enough
> > money to do the $7 billion job and, Mayor Michael R.
> > Bloomberg argued, that he could have defaulted on his lease,
> > walking away with millions and an unfinished project.
> >
> > Officials from the Pataki, Corzine and Bloomberg
> > administrations have said the plan amounts to a blueprint
> > for rebuilding the entire 16-acre World Trade Center site by
> > 2012, with the Port Authority providing $100 million for the
> > Sept. 11 memorial.
> >
> > The unified plan was put together and proposed last week by
> > Gov. George E. Pataki, Gov. Jon S. Corzine and Mayor
> > Bloomberg after nearly three weeks of wary negotiations.
> >
> > The latest impasse arose with the groundbreaking for the
> > Freedom Tower, which had been planned for this month. There
> > was also a growing realization that there was not enough
> > money to rebuild the entire site, although Mr. Silverstein
> > insisted that he could do the job.
> >
> > Mr. Pataki had championed the Freedom Tower, the largest of
> > five proposed towers, as a way of restoring New York's
> > skyline with a symbol of resilience.
> >
> > Mr. Bloomberg raised the possibility that Mr. Silverstein
> > would build only two towers before running out of money in
> > 2009, defaulting on his lease and walking away from the
> > project with hundreds of millions of dollars. Better to deal
> > with the problem now, he said.
> >
> > Under the unified government plan proposed last week, the
> > Port Authority would take control of the Freedom Tower
> > project, using $1.7 billion in tax-free Liberty Bonds and
> > about $970 million in insurance money. Mr. Silverstein would
> > be paid to build it. The Pataki administration would provide
> > $250 million and has pledged to secure leases for about one
> > million square feet from federal agencies, which would
> > enable the authority to obtain additional financing. Mr.
> > Schumer said last night that federal customs officials were
> > interested in a large block of the space.
> >
> > The authority would also take control of a site on Greenwich
> > Street, which it would probably sell to a residential
> > developer.
> >
> > Mr. Silverstein, in turn, would develop three office towers
> > along Church Street, between Vesey and Liberty Streets. To
> > ensure that he builds quickly, the city and the Port
> > Authority are offering to lease 1.2 million square feet at
> > market rates, according to Anthony R. Coscia, chairman of
> > the Port Authority, and Kenneth J. Ringler, the authority's
> > executive director, and the city would provide Liberty Bonds
> > for financing. But his development fee would be restricted
> > to 2.5 percent, not the 5 percent he originally demanded.
> >
> > In the coming months, the authority would design plans with
> > Mr. Silverstein for a shopping mall that would be part of
> > two of his towers, then sell it to him and a retail
> > developer. In addition, Mr. Silverstein would be required to
> > adhere to strict construction schedules and contribute at
> > least $140 million toward the cost of common infrastructure.
> >
> >
> > Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
> >
> > _______________________________________________________________________
> >
> >
> > ---------- End forwarded message ----------
> >
> > Fight their spin...fight for what's right!
> >
> > -=-=-
> > The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
> > at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.
--
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