Pataki Seeks to Breathe Life into Rebuilding Effort

By Barry Owens

Gov. George Pataki, facing criticism over the plodding progress in the renewal of the World Trade Center site, on May 12 named his chief of staff, John Cahill, to take charge of the rebuilding.

“The rebuilding effort in Lower Manhattan is once more at a cross roads,” said Pataki “and John Cahill is the best possible person to navigate the challenges ahead.” Cahill, a longtime advisor to the governor, will oversee the multiple agencies in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan, including the Port Authority, Empire State Development Corporation, state Department of Transportation and the Battery Park City Authority. He will also serve as the lead negotiator with police officials, Silverstein Properties, Goldman Sachs and the city. Those tasks had been the collective charge of the LMDC, whose president, Kevin Rampe stepped down last month and whose replacement, Stefan Pryor, was announced on the same day as the Cahill appointment. But it is Cahill, who will work out of an office at the LMDC, who is now expected to answer to and for the governor. “Rebuilding Lower Manhattan is my top priority, and as such, I am directing my top advisor to provide hands-on leadership,” Pataki said in an address to the Association for a Better New York during a luncheon at Cipriani on Wall Street.

Pataki also announced how he wants the LMDC to allocate the remaining $800 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds. $300 million would go towards the memorial, which he expects be open by 2009. $220 million for rehabilitation projects on the east and west waterfronts, including $70 million for completing the segment of the Hudson River Park from Chambers to Houston Streets. $15 million for the reconstruction of Borough of Manhattan Community College’s Fiterman Hall. Up to $190 million for cultural institutions, new parks, playgrounds and open spaces and the K-8 school planned for Beekman Street.

The governor also said he wants the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to commit $1 billion to create a rail link between Lower Manhattan and Kennedy Airport.

Pataki billed the speech as his “semi-annual” update. The update comes on the heels of recent bad news for the governor who has made downtown rebuilding efforts, including the Freedom Tower, the cornerstone of his third term. Safety concerns over the tower’s proximity to West Street and its ability to withstand a future terrorist attack, reportedly brought up more than a year ago by NYPD officials, finally surfaced last month and forced developer Larry Silverstein to rethink the building’s design. Further, Goldman Sachs, citing many of the same safety concerns, recently scrapped their plans to build their new headquarters on West Street directly across from the future tower. Pataki, in his speech, broadcast his hopes of luring them back. “Goldman, Downtown is your home, you belong here,” he said. Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff told reporters it is likely design changes to the Freedom Tower will “significantly” alter the shape of the building. But neither he nor the governor elaborated on the look of the final design. “The materials will change, the structure will change,” Doctoroff said. “This will be the most secure building in the world.” Pataki called for those design changes to be unveiled by the end of June. He said that no matter the design changes the tower will remain 1,776 feet

tall,and that the NYPD had reviewed and approved of the preliminary redesign. He also appointed Jim Kallstrom, his advisor on counter-terrorism, to address future security concerns with the building’s design.

“Failure to rebuild is not an option,” Pataki said. “We will not tolerate unnecessary delays.”

Cahill said his first priority in his new role is to ensure that the memorial is built, calling it “one of the tragedies” of recent developments that have stalled construction at the site.

Throughout his speech, Pataki, who has yet to announce if he will run for a fourth term, called for unity in the rebuilding process. He concluded with a plea.

“For the sake of those who have died, and those yet to be born, let’s recommit ourselves and build a better, brighter future,” he said.