Following the September eleventh attacks, New York City was left with a physical scar in lower Manhattan. It was a site to mourn for the loss of lives and a collapse of a symbol for liberty and the economic growth that was planned for the city. Months later, talks of redevelopment spread across the nation. The city was actively involved and the excitement was unexplainable. The view of a new and improved downtown despite the horrible events that took place spread this feeling of pride among New Yorkers. Being a New Yorker, I am overly passionate about writing this post because the excitement I had for redevelopment was delayed as well. I am a native of the Bronx, but was impacted from the attacks on September eleventh because my mother commuted to work from the inner city suburban sprawl that cradled the money making bustle of Manhattan. Living more than one hour away from this environment left me longing for the monthly visits to downtown. After the attacks my mom took a job upstate; away from the pain experienced on that day. It was hard on me, because a piece of my imagination was taken away. I was devoted to experience Manhattan for myself. In 2005, I too had to commute one hour away to Manhattan for High School and was excited for the building of the new Freedom Tower to replace the site of destruction. The ghost-like feeling of lower Manhattan will soon be replaced with the pride of economic
leadership that we once had. The proposed site was set to be completed by the time I graduated High School. I thought that by the time I left New York for college, the city would rebuild itself and offer me a place that I always imagined for me to return. Unfortunately, this promise was never fulfilled and New Yorkers are angry. The New York Post described the process as "finger pointing". There were consistent decisions to scrap timetables for the project and ex-Governor Pataki left office with a bright vision but very limited physical solutions (cornerstone of Freedom Tower- a marble block... but no promised tower). Now, New York is hit with a recession which spurs talks of coping with construction problems and politicians and developers are developing solutions- delays to a 2013 target! The site was set to include a series of towers, memorial, museum, shopping mall and transit hub. For now, atention is focused on below-ground infrastructure. There is also a plan to build temporary retail space and construct towers later. This angers me because New Yorkers are hungry for development. Just think about the jobs that will be created to build and occupy the space. I understand that financing the project is very diffcult during a recession. Banks are not lending a lot of money due to the development scare and issuing bonds results in limited buyers. For now, taxes and bonds may be the best bet, it just takes a positive message. If politicians promote this project with a positive message, maybe we can restore the excitement that we had from the start. So far, building seven was reconstructed but there were limited bids to purchase office space. Thus, Silverstein Properties, the development company for the new Freedom Tower project, has made this building their official headquarters. I believe that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation is also based here. I like the idea that this serves as the headquarters for the new site. This goes to show that even though corporations may not purchase space in the new towers, this can be a center for the city and state government. It will be the base for a "new" New York which allows residents to become inovlv
ed (employed) in the effort of improving the city (although retailers and corporations will be a valuable asset). Other projects across the city have been delayed including the Brooklyn Atlantic Yards redevelopment project which is set to include affordable housing, office space and a new Nets Stadium which will further improve Brooklyn's economy. Also, we cannot forget about the major proposals for the Bronx which includes the Yankee Stadium construcion project with a retaile center, and the southern terminal market area. These projects will definately put us back on the map and restore the sense of pride that is slowly fading away among New Yorkers.
Following the September eleventh attacks, New York City was left with a physical scar in lower Manhattan. It was a site to mourn for the loss of lives and a collapse of a symbol for liberty and the economic growth that was planned for the city. Months later, talks of redevelopment spread across the nation. The city was actively involved and the excitement was unexplainable. The view of a new and improved downtown despite the horrible events that took place spread this feeling of pride among New Yorkers. Being a New Yorker, I am overly passionate about writing this post because the excitement I had for redevelopment was delayed as well. I am a native of the Bronx, but was impacted from the attacks on September eleventh because my mother commuted to work from the inner city suburban sprawl that cradled the money making bustle of Manhattan. Living more than one hour away from this environment left me longing for the monthly visits to downtown. After the attacks my mom took a job upstate; away from the pain experienced on that day. It was hard on me, because a piece of my imagination was taken away. I was devoted to experience Manhattan for myself. In 2005, I too had to commute one hour away to Manhattan for High School and was excited for the building of the new Freedom Tower to replace the site of destruction. The ghost-like feeling of lower Manhattan will soon be replaced with the pride of economic
leadership that we once had. The proposed site was set to be completed by the time I graduated High School. I thought that by the time I left New York for college, the city would rebuild itself and offer me a place that I always imagined for me to return. Unfortunately, this promise was never fulfilled and New Yorkers are angry. The New York Post described the process as "finger pointing". There were consistent decisions to scrap timetables for the project and ex-Governor Pataki left office with a bright vision but very limited physical solutions (cornerstone of Freedom Tower- a marble block... but no promised tower). Now, New York is hit with a recession which spurs talks of coping with construction problems and politicians and developers are developing solutions- delays to a 2013 target! The site was set to include a series of towers, memorial, museum, shopping mall and transit hub. For now, atention is focused on below-ground infrastructure. There is also a plan to build temporary retail space and construct towers later. This angers me because New Yorkers are hungry for development. Just think about the jobs that will be created to build and occupy the space. I understand that financing the project is very diffcult during a recession. Banks are not lending a lot of money due to the development scare and issuing bonds results in limited buyers. For now, taxes and bonds may be the best bet, it just takes a positive message. If politicians promote this project with a positive message, maybe we can restore the excitement that we had from the start. So far, building seven was reconstructed but there were limited bids to purchase office space. Thus, Silverstein Properties, the development company for the new Freedom Tower project, has made this building their official headquarters. I believe that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation is also based here. I like the idea that this serves as the headquarters for the new site. This goes to show that even though corporations may not purchase space in the new towers, this can be a center for the city and state government. It will be the base for a "new" New York which allows residents to become inovlv
ed (employed) in the effort of improving the city (although retailers and corporations will be a valuable asset). Other projects across the city have been delayed including the Brooklyn Atlantic Yards redevelopment project which is set to include affordable housing, office space and a new Nets Stadium which will further improve Brooklyn's economy. Also, we cannot forget about the major proposals for the Bronx which includes the Yankee Stadium construcion project with a retaile center, and the southern terminal market area. These projects will definately put us back on the map and restore the sense of pride that is slowly fading away among New Yorkers.
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