Category Archives: News

New Downtown Skyline by Day (Courtesy: Silverstein Properties)

Lower Manhattan Becoming Media Hot Spot

New Downtown Skyline by Day (Courtesy: Silverstein Properties)
New Downtown Skyline by Day (Courtesy: Silverstein Properties)

A recent New York Times report has shined a spotlight on the fact that Lower Manhattan is now considered a media hub. While Park Row was the media center in the 19th century, the digital age has allowed downtown to become a hot spot for the ever-evolving and changing media. Lower Manhattan is no longer reserved for financial types.

The Alliance for Downtown New York counts 60 media outlets occupying space below Chambers Street. Among other companies planning to migrate south from Midtown to the Financial District and the World Trade Center hood are Conde Nast, The Daily News, US News & World Report, Newsweek, The Daily Beast and that bastion of gossip The National Enquirer, which is the print pre-cursor of TMZ and Perez Hilton. Men’s Fitness is already enjoying downtown space. The Alliance for Downtown New York also indicates that nearly 5,500 media types will eventually be working downtown, excluding Conde Nast employees.

Another reason that downtown offices are appealing to journalists and bloggers? Their proximity to Brooklyn, which are affordable locations for those with media salaries.

What do you think of Lower Manhattan’s new reputation as a media hot spot?

Deutsche Bank 130 Liberty Street Deconstruction

Deutsche Bank Building is Finally Gone

Deutsche Bank 130 Liberty Street Deconstruction
The Deconstruction of the former Deutsche Bank building.

After nearly a decade cloaked in black netting and causing general health concerns due to its condition, the former Deutsche Bank Building in Lower Manhattan has been dismantled with the crane being removed from the site. The first floor and the foundation are the only parts remaining and are in the process of being removed. The building, which once stood 41-stories tall, was lanced by debris from the World Trade Center during the terrorist attacks of 2001, as it stood opposite of the WTC on Liberty Street.

9/11 wasn’t the only tragic event that occurred at the site. It was further damaged in 2007 after a fire blazed through several floors and claimed the lives of two firefighters. The site is now managed by the Port Authority, which will use it as a staging area for vehicle security sweeps.

How do you feel now that this painful, visual reminder of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is no longer visible?

A visual depiction of the world trade center site

673 Officers to be Assigned to New World Trade Center

All of the officers will be placed once buildings are complete
An illustration of the WTC site

The new World Trade Center site is scheduled to open with a 9/11 memorial planned for September 11, 2011, which is the tenth anniversary of the terror attacks. The site will eventually have 673 officers assigned to patrol it and keep it safe.

The Washington Post reports that New York Police Department Commissioner Raymond Kelly revealed the news on Tuesday when he spoke about the security needs for the 9/11 memorial and the new buildings that are slated to open after the fact. The full 673 officers won’t be in place until all the buildings on the site are completely erected. Kelly also acknowledged that the memorial and the site require special attention and even more security detail because they remain terrorist targets.

Do you think 673 offices is enough to keep the site safe?

Imam Feisal Abdul Raif is leading the Ground Zero mosque building efforts

Ground Zero Mosque Gets New Imam

Imam Feisal Abdul Raif is leading the Ground Zero mosque building efforts
Imam Feisal Abdul Raif is taking a reduced role in the Park 51 "Ground Zero Mosque"

The New York Times reports that there are some new issues surrounding the hot-button issues that is the planned “Ground Zero Mosque” AKA Park 51. Feisal Abdul Rauf, the mosque’s Imam, which is the prayer leader, will remain on the board of the Islamic Community Center and the mosque. But his role will be greatly reduced as a result; Abdul Rauf, who has gone on international and domestic speaking tours, will no longer raise funds for the project nor will he speak on its behalf.

Sharif el-Gamal, who is Abdul Rauf’s partner in the project and who owns the former coat store where the community center and mosque are planned, announced the split late last week.  It appears that Abdul Rauf was not “Lower Manhattan” enough for the project. “While Imam Feisal’s vision has a global scope and his ideals for the Cordoba movement are truly exceptional, our community in Lower Manhattan is local,” said Gamal in a statement. “Our focus is and must remain the residents of Lower Manhattan and the Muslim American community in the greater New York area.”

However, other sources have indicated that Abdul Rauf and Gamal also have opposing opinions on the size, scope, commerciality and the interfaith nature of the planned center. They even refer to the project by different names; Abdul Rauf called it “The Cordoba House” while Gamal referred to it as “Park 51,” which is also how most New Yorkers recognize it.

What are your thoughts on the Ground Zero Mosque/Park 51 in 2011?

Ground Zero Mosque

American Center for Law and Justice Criticizes Mayor’s Office

Ground Zero Mosque
The planned location of the Park51 Community Center

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which represents Tim Brown, a New York City firefighter who was a first responder to the September 11th attacks and ultimately survived the collapse of the Twin Towers, recently filed a lawsuit to stop the erection of the Ground Zero Mosque. As of Wednesday, the ACLJ requested that the court enjoin the mosque’s developers from performing any demolition or construction at the site.

The situation is a bit sticky, as the ACLJ claims that Mayor Bloomberg’s office is getting in the way of justice, in terms of reluctance to issue documents, and released a statement on the matter. “There is a disturbing pattern of stonewalling by the City and Mayor’s Office in providing information about what’s clearly been a politically tainted process from day one,” said Brett Joshpe, ACLJ Counsel.  “The limited release of documents by the Mayor’s Office underscores our concerns.  With developers moving forward with their plans and the continued lack of response by the City, we’re seeking an injunction from the court to halt the destruction of any of the buildings at issue in the case.”

The ACLJ’s lawsuit names New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the New York City Department of Buildings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the mosque’s developers.  The suit also cites two complaints to the Department of Buildings noting unauthorized work without proper permits at the mosque site and the developers’ application for $5 million in public funding through the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation as an indication that project is moving forward.

The ACLJ’s lawsuit alleges that the LPC abused its discretion and acted arbitrarily in its deliberations last summer about whether to landmark a building that was damaged on September 11th and which would need to be demolished to develop the Ground Zero Mosque.

What is your opinion on the Ground Zero mosque?

Deutsche Bank 130 Liberty Street Deconstruction

Deutsche Bank Tower Down to Two Stories

Deutsche Bank 130 Liberty Street Deconstruction
The Deconstruction of the former Deutsche Bank building.

The Deutsche Bank Tower, which has been contaminated and shrouded in an ominous black net for nearly a decade at the Ground Zero site, has remained standing despite the hazards of its existence and long-delayed plans to take it down. The 41-story building, marred when the World Trade Center’s South Tower collapsed and tore a 15-story hole in it, will finally come fully down by the middle of the month, reports The Associated Press.

The steel framework of the building is being dismantled, to the delight of locals, as it not only allows more light but it also encourages the healing process to take another step further as a constant visual reminder of the attacks is gone, allowing the new buildings are erected. There are only two stories left of the building and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which oversaw the $300 million project, said that those final two stories should be gone in a week or so. January 15th was the expected completion date, but the snow storm delayed it to January 20th.

The Deutsche Bank building was initially supposed to be taken down in 2005 but the disassembly was stalled over issues regarding who would fund the process. There were arguments about whether or not the building should be razed or restored. However, the LMDC, bought the building for $90 million, cleaned it and tore it down.

How does the final dismantling of the Deutsche Bank building make you feel?

Artist Adorns Wall Street Bull With Crocheted Sweater

This stunt was no bull

The Wall Street Bull, a famous, iconic symbol of the financial district, underwent a bit of an involuntary makeover during the holiday season, as NYC based artist Agata Olek outfitted the bronzed beast with a garish pink and blue crocheted sweater in guerilla fashion on December 27th.

The Charging Bull’s fashionable display lasted a mere two hours and it fell in line with the season’s tradition of ugly holiday sweaters.

However, Olek said that the sweater was a gift to NYC and that it was a tribute to Arturo di Modica, who illegally put the bull on Wall Street during Christmas of 1987 following the Stock Market crash.

What do you think of the Wall Street Bull’s sweater?

Workers at Ground Zero (Photo: Flickr @mashleymorgan)

400 Ground Zero Lawsuits Tossed Out of Court

Workers at Ground Zero (Photo: Flickr @mashleymorgan)
Workers at Ground Zero (Photo: Flickr @mashleymorgan)

400 lawsuits filed by ill Ground Zero rescue workers were tossed out of court by Judge Alvin Hellerstein. According to the New York Post, the workers ignored the city’s effort to settle or they simply could not be located by the attorney who was dispatched with the task of tracking them down.

Conversely, 98 percent of the workers eligible for compensation accepted the city’s offer. Only 152 of the over 10,000 plaintiffs that filed suit opted out of the agreement with the city, which is valued at over $660 million. Whether or not those cases go to trial will be decided on February 2, which Hellerstein set as the date for a court conference to discuss the hot-button matter.

Do you think that the judge should have given the MIA Ground Zero rescue workers more time to respond to the city’s effort to settle? Or is he being fair overall?

Fireman in the wreckage of the World Trade Center

9/11 First Responders Bill Passes House and Senate

Fireman in the wreckage of the World Trade Center
An NYFD fireman in the wreckage of the World Trade Center (Photo:US Navy)

The House and the Senate have passed a compromise bill for the first responders to the 9/11 attacks. The bill is on its way to President Obama to sign into law.

The $4.2 billion bill will provide medical benefits and compensation to the firefighters, police officers and other emergency personnel that immediately responded to the victims of the attacks. The bill has been the subject of controversy among the two parties for a multitude of tax reasons and fear of waste, as well as a scientific conundrum in proving that 9/11 toxins were the actual cause of certain illnesses.

CNN reports that New York Senator Chuck Schumer said the passing of the bill was a “great day” for the nation, especially for first responders who suffer from a variety of physical ailments after breathing in the toxins that were present at Ground Zero and are therefore in need of medical attention due to their courageous and heroic actions to help others as the World Trade Center Twin Towers were collapsing.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the Senate’s approval of the bill “affirms our nation’s commitment to protecting those who protect us all.”

Do you think this bill being passed is a victory for the first responders?

Defining Ground Zero beyond the footprints of the Twin Towers

$7.4 Billion Ground Zero Aid Package Fading

Defining Ground Zero beyond the footprints of the Twin Towers
The aid package for rescue workers at Ground Zero is failing (Credit: FEMA)

In what is sure to frustrate those who gave their time and energy in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it appears that the $7.4 billion aid package designed to benefit workers who got sick from their efforts at Ground Zero is fading. On Wednesday, the Senate passed a tax-cut bill without the 9/11 legislation.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the those who supported the legislation, which would provide both health care and compensation to the people who fell ill after working at the World Trade Center Site after the 9/11 attacks, hoped to get it attached to the tax deal. But that did not happen.

Republicans apparently placed priority on the tax cut. Also, when the Senate’s spending bill was revealed on Wednesday, the 9/11 legislation was conspicuously absent from the list. While the House already passed the measure, many politicos feel that the project is too costly and could become wasteful and/or fraudulent.

Those who were exposed to the dangerous dust and debris from the WTC site are currently receiving piecemeal, government-provided health monitoring. This particular legislation would turn the short-term, case-by-case care into a long-term program. President Obama is a supporter of the bill and has said he would sign it if passed.

Do you think this bill will ever be passed?