Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 00:50:12 -0500 (EST)
From: Louis Epstein
Subject: WTC Rebuilding #149:News Of Note


An Associated Press story today,available at various sources
such as http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20021208_877.html ,
indicates that MULTIPLE design plans to be unveiled December
18th will include world's-tallest-building proposals...the
article references the 1483-foot Petronas towers,though of
course the taller Taipei Financial Center and MTR Tower/Union
Square would be done before new WTC towers are done,and perhaps
the currnetly on-hold Shanghai WFC as well.

We don't know,at this stage,if these plans refer to occupied floors,
rooflines,or just spires that would be world's-tallest...after all,
the 1500-foot "skyline elements" from the July disasters were spires
taller than the Petronas.

Also,we don't know if letting multiple tall-tower proposals in
is a plot to split the pro-tall-tower movement...we will have to
consider the plans carefully as soon as we see them,so as to
decide the best course of action in the focus of commentary to
push things in the right direction.We need to maintain a united
voice behind the goals we share.After all,remember the massive
pro-building-a-world's-tallest victory in that CNN poll.

We may not be able to cast things in terms of one proposal that
needs improvement while the rest are hopeless,but we need to make
clear that the height feature is a must.

Browsing the boards today I had to take exception to this
comment from Stephen the NYCS moderator:
"I know that they [sic] only way to get them rebuilt is by doing
eveything[sic] that we can do to make the families happy."

The activist leaders among the family groups will not be made
happy by ANY tall-tower plans,as far as those of us who have
received abusive emails from them can testify.We need to take
them into account,yes...but catering to their every whim is a
total non-starter,given their decided preferences.Their own
design plans demand the open memorial be the dominating presence
on the 16 acres and gigantic towers can not be part of that.

The New York Times Magazine has a very interesting cover story
that talks about the government-compensating-disaster-victims
idea and what it can lead to...how the government payouts the
9/11/01 survivors are bickering over are now causing Oklahoma City
and other victims' families to feel unfairly treated.To start
acting as if every disaster victim has a large government-underwritten
life insurance policy is a lot more complicated than the initial
desire to help those who suffered most would make one think.

I am of course not saying we should rip into the families of
attack victims,who after all taken as a whole include more
pro-rebuilders than the self-appointed activists among them
would make one think...they are not our opponents as such.
But clearly the "sacred cow" status is fading,and this can work
to our advantage as we press for priorities other than those of
those activists.

Yesterday I mentioned that 60 12/7/1941 attack survivors would be
at the Pearl Harbor anniversary ceremonies...news stories this
morning indicated that the *total* attendance at the event was
around 150.

That is important...the Pearl Harbor attack was certainly a very
important historical event,and 61 years later,150 people show up
at the site for a memorial service.More would still show up for a
round-numbered anniversary,I expect...but this gives us an idea
of what the average anniversary memorial service is likely to
draw to the WTC site in the 2060s.Both events had between two
and three thousand total victims,to strengthen the parallel.

Now why should we have to dedicate 16,or nine,acres to a memorial
that will in the lives of most currently living people be drawing
in the low triple digits to its anniversary ceremonies?

We have to hold on to the sensible view of the longterm future and
put it across when possible,despite the voices of some saying that
this is insensitive.A memorial,yes...but one that stands in the
protective shadow of awe-inspiringly huge towers dedicated to the
purposes for which the dead lived and died...and whose tenants
might,because they all work so close,actually swell the crowds at
those memorial services.

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.