The Freedom Tower

Today’s headlines affirm what most New Yorkers have known for a while, says Newsday, the Long Island, New York Newspaper. We reported yesterday that a report on progress at Ground Zero tells us that Ground Zero is still at zero. “Nearly seven years after the World Trade Center collapsed, the barren tract continues to smolder in true New York style, with foundering reconstruction plans, budget troubles, lingering health questions, and plenty of blame to go around.

Christopher Ward, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has acknowledged a vast gap between the reality at Ground Zero and the state’s grand plans to revamp the site. An array of well-hyped projects, including a memorial, a transit hub, and new office towers, have been plagued by cost overruns and bureaucratic snags.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg seemed defensive of the glacial pace of progress, warning that it would be “very difficult to forecast in such a complex development project any kind of realistic date and cost.” Underscoring the reality factor, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer noted that all the public has had until this point has been “seven years of Alice in Wonderland fantasy plans.”

While the rebuilding lags, the controversy over the health impacts of the WTC disaster continues full throttle.

Lawyers for the city have attacked the claims of emergency and recovery workers suing the city for alleged health problems due to unsafe exposures at Ground Zero. The city says about 30 percent of the more than 10,000 claimants have no significant injuries. But advocates for the plaintiffs argue that medical records show a massive influx of illness among many 9/11 workers, including respiratory ailments linked to pollutants at the site.

Even as the court battle roils on, the state is moving toward expanding health care for WTC relief and recovery workers. A bill just passed by the State Legislature would extend disability benefits to more public service workers who participated in the Ground Zero effort.

The bill also extends the timeframe for 9/11 workers hired by private contractors to register for state workers’ compensation benefits. Fittingly, that deadline has been pushed back to September 10, 2010–probably in time to beat the first ribbon cutting at the rebuilt Ground Zero. But if this odyssey of urban politics has proven anything, it’s that what happens between now and then is anyone’s guess,” Newsday says.