Difficulties, Delays at Ground Zero Site

WCBS-TV cameras were given unprecedented access to the Ground Zero site Thursday, highlighting the difficulties that exist as the city rebuilds in the shadow the World Trade Towers left behind.

WCBS cameras went from the bottom of Tower 4, two stories below street level, to 105 feet up the Freedom Tower, which will reach 1,776 feet when it is completed.

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The tour began with an interview of Chris Ward, director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who says he is happy with the progress being made at Ground Zero.

"It's not a pit. It's not Ground Zero. Now it's a sign of rebuilding and it's a sign of real hope," Ward told WCBS.

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Port Authority developer Larry Silverstein was less optimistic. Power struggles and blame games have led to seemingly endless delays in the development.

"This is a critical part of the infrastructure. They gotta get this started. They gotta get this going," Silverstein said.

Silverstein estimates that Tower 3 will be done by 2013, but a report commissioned by the Port Authority estimated that it won't be finished and filled with businesses until 2037 - 36 years after the September 11th attacks. The Port Authority also says the Freedom Tower won't be completed for another ten years.

On the other hand, the memorials museum will be open for the tenth anniversary of the attacks and the plaza is slated to be opened in 2013.

Local Video from CBS 2 in New York

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[Kallico1]

I'm not from New York City. I remember only being able to see two things from a distant airport - the twin towers. I, like many Americans, were watching the events that one morning when they were struck. The big thing at the time was "we'll rebuild immediately" and show them no matter what they do we will come back from it. We will thumb our nose at those that try to destroy our way of life. The excuses I see for the delays is shameful. Worried about filling office space? This rebuild should not be a purely economic one. This was a symbol of our country & what we can do. It saddens me the chain of delays for purely economic reasons. As a popular line from a movie states - "If you build it, they will come".

[erasmus111]

"Worried about filling office space? This rebuild should not be a purely economic one."


It would be insane to build something so big that you couldn't fill it. That just doesn't make sense. What they should be doing is building smaller towers. Ones that they know they could fill. These towers don't need to be as big as the ones that were there. The fact that the twins towers were as big as they were was ridiculous anyways. And now there are going to be four? What a waste of money. There is no need to go to such an extreme.

[woeisme1]

Difficulties and delay = politics.

[chagrined1]

Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton appeared on News Hour to discuss the 9-11 Report at which time they stated: The 9-11 Report stated that the attack on the WTC and the Pentagon was to protest the presence of U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia and our support for Israel. Bin Laden pressed Mohammad to stage the attacks as early as mid-2000 after Ariel Sharon offended many Muslims by visiting the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. He tried to accelerate the operation again when he learned Sharon would be visiting the White House in June or July 2001"

Bin Laden was not ambiguous about the reasons for the 9-11 attack. We addressed one of his stated reasons ? ?we removed our forces from Saudi Arabia.? Instead of addressing the second stated reason ? ?our support for Israel,? our freedoms have been diminished through the PATRIOT ACT, which is un-American and citizens are being murdered and abused at airports by security personnel, telephone companies are providing information on customers, i.e., warrantless eavesdropping program for which they have been given immunity, etc. This is unacceptable! Most of those who are eroding our cherished freedoms didn't fight nor sacrifice for those freedoms. Our freedoms are not theirs to squander.

[erasmus111]

"Silverstein estimates that Tower 3 will be done by 2013, but a report commissioned by the Port Authority estimated that it won't be finished and filled with businesses until 2037 - 36 years after the September 11th attacks."


2037? Are you kidding me? This is ridiculous.