Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 16:41:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Louis Epstein Subject: WTC Rebuilding #429:Times WON'T Stop Spinning,Silverstein Faces Offer http://www.twintowersalliance.com/petition signatures continue to pour in and I urge you all to recommend it to like-minded friends. (600 was reached overnight and we reached 700 as I finished preparing this email). In the face of the strong sentiment for full-scale rebuilding,however,the NY Times can't let an article about the proposed Fraud'em Tower go by without saying it is "widely considered to be too big" and pretending the wide sector of public opinion that condemn it for being too small does not exist.They also insist that potential tenants are afraid to lease space there as if this were not capitulation to terrorism. ==>READ MY NOTES AFTER THE ARTICLE FOR RESPONSE STRATEGY!<== Joe Wright first sent me the article as an MS-Word file, then Robin Heid forwarded it in reproducible form: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 10:03:05 -0700 From: Eagle Dancer Images http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/20/nyregion/20rebuild.html?th&emc=th Unified Financial Plan Is Presented for Ground Zero By CHARLES V. BAGLI Published: April 20, 2006 NY TIMES After months of political bickering and false starts, officials from the Pataki, Corzine and Bloomberg administrations said last night that they were finally in agreement on a workable financial plan to rebuild at ground zero and have the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey take control of the Freedom Tower. The officials said the plan amounted to a blueprint for rebuilding the entire 16-acre World Trade Center site by 2012, with the authority providing $100 million for the Sept. 11 memorial. Kenneth J. Ringler, the authority's executive director, and Anthony R. Coscia, its chairman, met last night with the developer Larry A. Silverstein, who controls the site, to formally present the unified offer. Mr. Silverstein faces a hard choice: agree to the plan and give up control of about a third of the site or, perhaps, head to court. The unified plan was put together by Gov. George E. Pataki, Gov. Jon S. Corzine and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg after nearly three weeks of wary negotiations. If Mr. Silverstein accepts it, the officials said a deal would signal a major realignment at ground zero, clearing the way for construction to begin on the $2 billion Freedom Tower, the biggest, costliest and most symbolic skyscraper planned for the site. That, in turn, could restore public confidence in the project and allay fears that the money will run out before the work is finished. For Governor Pataki in particular, who is leaving office and may harbor presidential ambitions, a deal could put an end to the embarrassing squabble over a project to which he has tied his legacy, the Freedom Tower. Details of the plan were described by officials from the city, both New Jersey and New York State, and the Port Authority. They included Mr. Ringler and Mr. Coscia from the authority; John P. Cahill, Mr. Pataki's chief of staff, who now oversees Lower Manhattan redevelopment; and Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff. They insisted that the proposal was fair to Mr. Silverstein, who will retain the right to build three office towers on the most valuable parcels, though on a strict timetable. The Bloomberg administration and the Port Authority are also offering to lease 1.2 million square feet in the buildings. Until now, the rebuilding process has been held up by political differences among the government agencies, questions about the financial prospects of the Freedom Tower and uncertainty over Mr. Silverstein's ability to finish the $7 billion project when only $2.9 billion in insurance money was available. "We're now in agreement on how to move forward," said Charles A. Gargano, vice chairman of the authority and Mr. Pataki's chief economic development official. "I'm hopeful that the Silverstein Properties will accept the recent offer, so we can start building the Freedom Tower as quickly as possible." Senator Charles E. Schumer, who has been supportive of Mr. Silverstein and critical of the political maneuvering at ground zero, embraced the proposal last night. "This sets the parameters for the best deal possible under the circumstances," Mr. Schumer said. "I urge Larry Silverstein to accept it, if the numbers work." Bud Perrone, a spokesman for Silverstein Properties, said: "We welcome the government's willingness to resume negotiations. The Silverstein team will undertake a thorough review of the proposal." 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. But the skyscraper is widely considered to be too big, in the wrong place and nearly impossible to lease to corporate tenants, who consider it a potential terrorist target. 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. Mr. Coscia of the Port Authority also called for a new arrangement with Mr. Silverstein, who leased the trade center from the authority in July 2001, six weeks before it was destroyed. In negotiations over the past four months with Mr. Cahill, Mr. Silverstein tentatively agreed to a deal in which the Port Authority would take control of building the Freedom Tower and one other building. But City Hall, New Jersey and authority commissioners on both sides of the Hudson felt that the Pataki administration's plan shifted all the risk to the authority while enriching Mr. Silverstein. Mr. Silverstein has blamed government ineptitude for the gridlock. But now government officials are claiming a breakthrough. "We believe that this proposal represents a significant turning point," Mr. Coscia said. "It provides a fair platform for all the parties to cooperate on rebuilding. It creates an opportunity to accelerate and energize the process." Under the unified government plan described yesterday, 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 Mr. Coscia and Mr. Ringler, 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. If Mr. Silverstein decides that the arrangement does not work for him, Mr. Coscia said he would be offered an alternative: he would be paid $50 million and given what is known as Site 5, a parcel valued at $300 million that could be the site of a residential tower. "The unified offer from the public sector will ensure full financing and the build-out of the site on an expedited timetable and a deal that's fair to all the parties," Mr. Doctoroff said. ---------- End forwarded message ---------- The other papers have their own stories on this deal: http://nypost.com/news/regionalnews/64788.htm http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/410332p-347190c.html The Daily News has a couple of articles and an editorial about the Memorial museum director,who hopes to send a "defiant message to terrorists",and I have already sent voicers@edit.nydailynews.com a letter telling them the design for the memorial and cowering little office buildings will more than drown out any such message. ==>RESPONDING TO THE TIMES: FIRST,send a letter to letters@nytimes.com (stay under 150 words and include not-for-publication postal address and phone number) telling them your views on why the FT isn't big enough and what should be built. THEN ALSO send a SEPARATE letter (not a forward of the first one) to the Public Editor at public@nytimes.com (the Public Editor is supposed to be a "reader advocate") complaining about the constant insertion of claims the FT is "widely regarded as too big" and constant shut-out (both from articles and the Letters page) of the substantial body of opinion that demands structures bigger than the FT. IF the Public Editor gets enough such letters he might get the Letters Editor to let one of our own through at last, and/or the Op-Ed page editor accept a pro-Towers Op-Ed. I hope that Silverstein does not roll over and that wrangling continues until Pataki and his appointees leave.(Remember when FT topping-out was suggested for 9-11-06??...or when steel was supposed to be delivered a year ago?...they don't even have a final detailed design yet). The Twin Towers were each more than 50% larger in square footage than the FT and had dozens of stories more of occupiable space; they were the largest office buildings in the world and the FT would not even be the largest office building in Manhattan south of 16 Street.This constant "widely regarded as too big" whine may originate with Bagli,or with the editors,but whether or not it has any ulterior motive it can't go unanswered! Lift every voice and protest until we win! -=-=- The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again, at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.