RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Take Back the WTC Memorial (Victim's Family)

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Matter-eater Man said:
Why have the names in random order? That kind of makes it hard for anyone looking for specific names.

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the G-man said:
I don't know. I think they did the same thing with the Vietnam War Memorial. Maybe its an artsy thing.

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Under the watchful eyes of angry demonstrators, construction crews began the first phase of work yesterday on the long-awaited World Trade Center memorial - against the wishes of some of the families of those being honored.

Nearly 41/2 years after the Twin Towers were leveled in the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, workers began removing debris to make way for a permanent tribute.

"This marks the true beginning," said Gretchen Dykstra, chief executive officer of the WTC Memorial Foundation. "We believe this memorial is important to heal the families' wounds and the wounds of the country."

She said the initial work involved removing gravel and debris, delivering construction material and protecting the box-beam columns of the original towers - a process that has come to be known as preserving the footprints.

But even as engineers in hard hats were busy surveying the land below, protesters outside the fence surrounding the pit were accusing the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. of having betrayed their vision.

As planned, this memorial will not only be unsafe but will desecrate the ground on which our loved ones died, the protesters insisted.

Construction of the World Trade Center Memorial will finally begin later this month now that a contractor has been hired to build the foundation at Ground Zero.

The Port Authority and the Memorial Foundation yesterday awarded a $17 million contract to builder E.E. Cruz of Holmdel, N.J., to construct the foundation and footings for the six-acre memorial and museum over the footprints of the Twin Towers.

Plans for the memorial and museum were given final approval last month after Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg ordered a major redesign to slash the project's cost from nearly $1 billion down to $502 million.

Responsibility for construction was also given to the Port Authority, which owns the site and has committed up to $195 million to pay for the project.

The memorial and museum are due to open by Sept. 11, 2009.

Federal and state officials have agreed to rent half of the Freedom Tower when it opens in about five years at the World Trade Center site — sealing one part of an elaborate deal that would, if finalized, divide control of what to build there.

The federal General Services Administration and the state Office of General Services signed agreements last week to rent 1.1 million of the Freedom Tower's 2.1 million square feet of office space, officials announced Sunday.

The 15-year leases include space for the governor's office and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office that once occupied one of the smaller buildings in the trade center complex.

The pact is one of several needed to secure a final deal this week with developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the government agency that leased the twin towers to Silverstein six weeks before they were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001. The agency hopes to vote on the deal at a Thursday board meeting.

Despite fears that the Freedom Tower could become a terror target, companies that once called the World Trade Center home are open to moving into the iconic structure.

The incoming head of the Port Authority said yesterday the Spitzer administration wants to take a "fresh look" at the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site.

Tony Shorris, executive director-designate of the authority, said, "We'll be looking at every aspect of it, both the plan and the execution of it. We'll take a fresh look at everything."

Shorris acknowledged there was concern that re-examining the project would delay the timetable, which calls for the completion of the Freedom Tower by 2011.

He said "the No. 1 priority of the [incoming] governor is to get Ground Zero moving.

He added there was a "very limited" opportunity to rethink the Freedom Tower.

Shorris' comments come amid concerns by New Jersey officials - who have equal representation with New York on the Port Authority board - that the current design is so costly it would hamper other PA projects.

Sources said New Jersey would support a downsizing of the Freedom Tower.

Spitzer has yet to spell out his views about the project and its cost, but aides say he is studying the issues.