The Freedom Tower

The development of lower Manhattan has been hampered for five years now by what a former chairman of the Port Authority called that “16 acre ditch.” Slowly, the revitalization of lower Manhattan was progressing nicely a decade or so ago. Old buildings were reclaimed, remodeled and revitalized. The old Westside Highway was demolished, one-way streets were rerouted and revamped so that cars and pedestrians could move around. New housing went up and the tip of Manhattan saw people making day trips to lower Manhattan to rollerblade, bike or just stroll through the walkways and parks that sprang up. Then 9/11 put a halt to all of that revitalization.
Anthony Cracchiolo, of course, was referring to the WTC work-site. Like it or not, the 9/11 tragedy created the opportunity to rebuild a century-old transit system. It will be replaced by a $2.2 billion commuter hub under ground zero, probably the most expensive memorial in U.S. history and a vehicle security system that is being invented as I write this. When those 16 acres are rebuilt, there is no doubt in my mind it will be the most expensive redevelopment of 16 acres the world has ever seen. In fact, it is beyond our comprehension right now because the ground at Ground Zero is a slippery slope and the costs rise every day and no one, no one is able to calculate what it will eventually cost any of us.