Posted on 05/05/2005 2:48:22 AM PDT by Truth29
2 YEARS OF WTC PLANS LIE IN RUINS AS PATAKI ORDERS A NEW TOWER
By TOM TOPOUSIS
May 5, 2005 -- It's back to the drawing board for the Freedom Tower at Ground Zero. Gov. Pataki yesterday ordered up a complete redesign of the planned signature skyscraper in the wake of Police Department warnings about security risks.
The move is a major reversal of Pataki's promise to move rapidly to restore lower Manhattan's skyline with an "iconic" post-9/11 tower that would be the world's tallest building and a symbol of liberty. Officials familiar with the decision say a new design by architect David Childs is expected within several weeks and will include a building that will rise 1,776 feet, like the original proposal from April 2003, but otherwise will "look a lot different."
Pataki's announcement followed a meeting yesterday with Mayor Bloomberg, the Police Department, developer Larry Silverstein and officials from the Port Authority and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. "What emerged from the meeting was a renewed commitment to realization of the Freedom Tower as a bold symbol of the rebuilding," read a Pataki statement. "A consensus also emerged that a new design for the Freedom Tower is required in order to meet NYPD's security standards."
Pataki said the new design would remain consistent with architect Daniel Libeskind's master plan for the World Trade Center site.
The NYPD delivered a report to Silverstein on April 8, citing its concerns with security at the tower. Among those concerns was that it could be vulnerable to a truck bomb because of its proximity to West Street and the mostly glass construction of the lower stories.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Shouldn't the security concerns been addressed ALREADY?! What the heck have they been doing for the past 4 years or so?
Maybe this is Pataki's way to say, "Change the design, it's FUgly".
Maybe he could hire an American architect and produce something expansive and forward looking instead of the effete and effeminate one they were proposing to foist on us.
Far Chance of that.
No, then it wouldn't be a B-U-R-E-A-U-C-R-A-C-Y.
My guess it was not security that killed it. That is the "official" reason, but the reality is that the building was hated from the get go. Most people seem to prefer to rebuild the original towers, with internal improvements to prevent the 9/11 mechanical failures.
Greta news: That design to replace the twin towers was a freaking joke.
Carolyn
IMHO, this was the BEST design....
http://phoenixi.com/
too many clicks to see what its about....no good.
The truth is that the security concerns are insurmountable, I am afraid, for a project this ambitious at this time.
Constructing the tallest building in the world at the site of AQ's greatest victory isn't wise - it will be the fattest, slowest target in the USA. And it will certainly be a top target.
As a practical matter, how can the construction site for such a project be secured dyuring the war on terror?
Who will insure the construction, and at what high cost?
If the building is ever completed, who will insure the completed structure, given that it's very likely to be attack (and I'd say likely destroyed) sometime in the future?
If the building is ever completed, who will lease space? One of the dirty secrets of the original WTC
If the building is ever completed, it may not be a problem getting people to work on the 12th floor, but what about the 80th? Or higher?
I have consistently been an advocate for a tasteful memorial structure and park at the WTC site. A project so ambitious satisfies a need for bravado in some folks, but those folks tend to not live in downtown NYC and would likely not work at such a building daily. It's just a dumb idea, especially in this climate.
On FR, I have suggested in the past that advocates take their pallic obbsession with the biggest, tallest building in the world stabbing into the sky (at the site of one of the USA's greatest defeats) and stick it where the sun don't shine. :-)
Rebuild the Towers!!
I'm very sure it is security concerns that killed the project, as well as aestetic concerns. I don't think there is any wide consensus to resurrect the Twin Towers at the site - I don't know where you got that one from (especially since the buildings were not well loved at all in NYC before they were destroyed).
Rebuild the twin towers.
Honestly, I like the lights that shone upwards.
I think we should build the East Coast Missile Defense Base on that site.
This one was pretty good also and it supposedly has a security plan.
http://www.wtc2002.com
There is a help for the navigation thru the site in the upper left hand corner, and once you are "in", the forward arrows are in the lower right hand corner.It walks you thru the whole site. Sorry you had trouble with it.I did too my first time.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.