Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 19:51:04 -0500 (EST) From: Louis Epstein Subject: WTC Rebuilding #279:Draft GEIS Released,CRITICAL Hearing Feb 18th Yesterday the "Leave Manhattan Destroyed Committee" approved, today (Wednesday January 21st) they released the "Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement" for their "Proposed Action" of rebuilding according to the Libeskind site plan. In print form it's 2,000 pages,according to today's NY Times. http://www.renewnyc.com/plan_des_dev/environmental_impact.asp is the entry page,but ALL the text is in PDF format,far be it from them to let people without specific software see what they're up to on the web. THERE IS A PUBLIC HEARING ON FEBRUARY 18TH 2004 and the importance of getting EVERY POSSIBLE pro-rebuilding voice and body there that day CAN NOT BE OVERSTATED!! It will be held at the Pace University auditorium that was the site of several hearings in 2002-2003 (The Schimmel Center for the Arts,entrance at the downhill corner of Spruce and Gold Streets, going from Park Row). (As ever,they'll be treating everyone like a potential terrorist so leave your pocket-knives at home!) There will be sessions from 1 to 5 PM and from 6 PM to they don't say when...SPEND AS MUCH TIME THERE AS YOU CAN. Those who CAN'T attend have until MARCH 15TH...yes,the Ides of March are the day they'll stop listening to our pleas for the resurrection of the Caesars of the skyline...to send in written comments. Our message must be clear...we prefer the "Restoration Alternative" and the Draft GEIS is treating it unfairly. We feel the problems with the "Proposed Action" are being whitewashed. They must hear this over and over again all day long from as many voices and as many angles as possible! The seat you take,the speaking slot you take,is one that someone opposed to us won't get...pro-Towers speeches need applause and cheers that have to be denied to our opponents. WE HAVE GOT TO BE THERE!! The "Restoration Alternative" is dismissed in three paragraphs of the 72-page Executive Summary,though discussion takes up about six and a half pages of Chapter 23 of the full document. The third of those three ES paragraphs assumes without foundation that the redevelopment of the Deutsche Bank site would not include environmental mitigating measures proposed in the official plan and that therefore the official plan is better. Other comparisons have a lot of subjectivity...and the Chapter 23 discussion of the Restoration Alternative first says that putting the Twins back on new footprints means that Fulton and Greenwich Streets won't be restored(fine!) but then in discussing traffic says that they will be! Also,they express worries about density in the Restoration Alternative where 600,000 square feet additional to that in the Twins would need to be placed elsewhere but away from the old footprints...it would clearly be in the spirit of restoration to consolidate that space into the new Twins so that they would be even larger than the old...no more density problem! Also,fear of renting in high places is invoked as an excuse... this retreat in the face of terror is immensely wrong. We have some time to read the documents in detail and hone our reactions AND I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO DO SO...don't expect other people to do it for you.Be the straw that breaks the LibesCamel's back. Meanwhile,Matt Higgins,the PR man who replaced Rampe when Rampe replaced Tomson,is leaving to be part of the plan to develop a West Side football/possible-Olympic stadium. http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/nyc-ldmc0121,0,4903812.story Silverstein and the PA are agreeing to safety checks of the "Freedom Tower"...let's see them compare its safety to a taller version! http://www.observer.com/pages/frontpage4.asp (might not last at that address) Note that the Skyscraper Safety Campaign's lawsuit is said in the article to have been dismissed in December. The Chicago Tribune has endorsed the official memorial design; the Daily News has had a columnist slam it. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/156408p-137436c.html Let's keep our voices in this debate until our opponents yield! See you on the 111th floor on 9-11-11! -=-=- The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again, at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.