Remarks by President Barack Obama on the plans to build a mosque near ground zero, as provided by the White House:

Here at the White House, we have a tradition of hosting iftars that goes back several years, just as we host Christmas parties and Seders and Diwali celebrations. And these events celebrate the role of faith in the lives of the American people. They remind us of the basic truth that we are all children of God, and we all draw strength and a sense of purpose from our beliefs.

These events are also an affirmation of who we are as Americans. Our founders understood that the best way to honor the place of faith in the lives of our people was to protect their freedom to practice religion. In the Virginia Act of Establishing Religion Freedom, Thomas Jefferson wrote that “all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion.” The First Amendment of our Constitution established the freedom of religion as the law of the land. And that right has been upheld ever since.

Indeed, over the course of our history, religion has flourished within our borders precisely because Americans have had the right to worship as they choose — including the right to believe in no religion at all. And it is a testament to the wisdom of our founders that America remains deeply religious — a nation where the ability of peoples of different faiths to coexist peacefully and with mutual respect for one another stands in stark contrast to the religious conflict that persists elsewhere around the globe.

Now, that’s not to say that religion is without controversy. Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities — particularly New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. And the pain and the experience of suffering by those who lost loved ones is just unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. And ground zero is, indeed, hallowed ground.

But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the founders must endure.

We must never forget those who we lost so tragically on 9/11, and we must always honor those who led the response to that attack - from the firefighters who charged up smoke-filled staircases, to our troops who are serving in Afghanistan today. And let us also remember who we’re fighting against, and what we’re fighting for. Our enemies respect no religious freedom. Al-Qaida’s cause is not Islam — it’s a gross distortion of Islam. These are not religious leaders — they’re terrorists who murder innocent men and women and children. In fact, al-Qaida has killed more Muslims than people of any other religion — and that list of victims includes innocent Muslims who were killed on 9/11.

So that’s who we’re fighting against. And the reason that we will win this fight is not simply the strength of our arms — it is the strength of our values. The democracy that we uphold. The freedoms that we cherish. The laws that we apply without regard to race, or religion, or wealth, or status. Our capacity to show not merely tolerance, but respect towards those who are different from us — and that way of life, that quintessentially American creed, stands in stark contrast to the nihilism of those who attacked us on that September morning, and who continue to plot against us today.

In my inaugural address I said that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and every culture, drawn from every end of this Earth. And that diversity can bring difficult debates. This is not unique to our time. Past eras have seen controversies about the construction of synagogues or Catholic churches. But time and again, the American people have demonstrated that we can work through these issues, and stay true to our core values, and emerge stronger for it. So it must be — and will be — today.

And tonight, we are reminded that Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity. And Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been a part of America. The first Muslim ambassador to the United States, from Tunisia, was hosted by President Jefferson, who arranged a sunset dinner for his guest because it was Ramadan — making it the first known iftar at the White House, more than 200 years ago.

Like so many other immigrants, generations of Muslims came to forge their future here. They became farmers and merchants, worked in mills and factories. They helped lay the railroads. They helped to build America. They founded the first Islamic center in New York City in the 1890s. They built America’s first mosque on the prairie of North Dakota. And perhaps the oldest surviving mosque in America — still in use today — is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Today, our nation is strengthened by millions of Muslim Americans. They excel in every walk of life. Muslim American communities — including mosques in all 50 states — also serve their neighbors. Muslim Americans protect our communities as police officers and firefighters and first responders. Muslim American clerics have spoken out against terror and extremism, reaffirming that Islam teaches that one must save human life, not take it. And Muslim Americans serve with honor in our military. At next week’s iftar at the Pentagon, tribute will be paid to three soldiers who gave their lives in Iraq and now rest among the heroes of Arlington National Cemetery.

These Muslim Americans died for the security that we depend on, and the freedoms that we cherish. They are part of an unbroken line of Americans that stretches back to our founding; Americans of all faiths who have served and sacrificed to extend the promise of America to new generations, and to ensure that what is exceptional about America is protected — our commitment to stay true to our core values, and our ability slowly but surely to perfect our union.

As Tower Rises, So Do Efforts to Buy In

How NY handed Osama a victory

By STEVE CUOZZO
Last Updated: 8:25 AM, September 11, 2009
Posted: 1:14 AM, September 11, 2009

New York decided to hand Osama a victory after all.

Al Qaeda didn't bring the city to its knees on 9/11. But, as of today's eighth anniversary, we've failed utterly to replace what the terrorists destroyed. Ground Zero remains a pit -- and looks to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

Some naive souls fall for the official claims that "progress" is being made at a supposedly full-bore construction site. Newsday just reported excitedly that structural steel for 1 WTC has risen 100 feet above street level, compared with "only" 25 feet a year ago.  Gee, that leaves 1,676 feet to go. At 75 feet a year, it will only take until mid-2031 to finish the job.  What's mostly being done is infrastructure work that should've been finished years ago. Only one of Larry Silverstein's office buildings, Tower 4, has even started -- below ground.

The models and images -- like the renderings of Towers 2, 3 and 4 posted around the site -- are a cruel joke, and the public knows it. It's impossible to imagine any of them rising soon -- if ever.

The "World Trade Center Transportation Hub" -- a $3.4 billion temple to New Jersey commuterdom -- is as much a tease. Its famous "wings" aren't even bid out yet; don't be surprised if no contractor is willing to do the job for anything like what the PA can pay.

After eight years of political obstruction and Port Authority stalling, Silverstein finally got land he can build on -- only to be foiled by an unforgiving credit market that's snuffed out construction lending.

That's given a dubious plausibility to the PA's claim that it's Silverstein who's holding up the works. Of course, he could have started work years ago -- if the PA had managed to turn the site over to him, as it was supposed to, in build-ready condition.  Now the PA has balked at Silverstein's plea for financing help. It has a point, if not quite a case: It was never expected to help bankroll the developer's towers. It's hard to see where "binding" arbitration, insisted upon by Silverstein, can lead -- except to indefinitely drawn-out litigation.

Only the unloved, morbid Memorial has found traction -- and even it will only be partly done by Sept. 11, 2011.

Things near the site are no better. The singular exception is Silverstein's 7 WTC -- an eloquent reproach to the zero that's Ground Zero. But eight years later, the blackened hulks of 130 Liberty St. (the Deutsche Bank building) and Fiterman Hall yet stand.

How did we come to this? We let our "leaders" do essentially nothing for nearly five years after 9/11 -- a time when the boom could have supported Silverstein's borrowing effort and provided tenants for his towers.

The corrupt, rudderless state government is mostly to blame. Then-Gov. George Pataki wasted 2002 and 2003 setting up an impotent Lower Manhattan Development Corp. He authorized interminable design competitions, then overrode his advisers to choose the Daniel Libeskind site plan -- which was so inappropriate that it took another year of emendation to make it even remotely buildable.

Even after endless tweaking, the plan -- which ought to embrace a soaring verticality to exceed the Twin Towers' impact on the skyline -- remains infuriatingly overcrowded and focused underground, both at the Memorial and the PATH terminal.

Pataki prohibited building on the Twin Tower footprints, thus forcing new buildings into too small a space. He fussed with the original Freedom Tower design -- even as he ignored the NYPD's objections to the tower's location on security grounds, concerns that would force a complete redrawing of the structure, delaying everything by yet another year.

The scandals of 130 Liberty St. and Fiterman Hall are also the state's doing; the LMDC controls the former, while the state-dominated City University of New York owns the latter.

Blame also George W. Bush, a wartime president who was oblivious to the symbolic urgency of swiftly rebuilding the World Trade Center. If he ever picked up the phone to say, Boys, let's get on with the job, it's never been reported.

Mayor Bloomberg dithered until 2006, when he brokered a deal that forced Silverstein to cede Tower 1 to the PA -- which is building it at the slowest pace since the elements forged the Grand Canyon.  Rudy Giuliani, a 9/11 hero, called for the entire WTC site to be made into a memorial -- lending rhetorical throw-weight to the insidious campaign led by The New York Times against commercial rebuilding.

And we're all to blame. How? For allowing most of the $20 billion the feds sent to rebuild Lower Manhattan to be wasted on tax credits and ancillary projects -- even on new buildings far from Ground Zero -- instead of the one thing that was needed: a new World Trade Center. scuozzo@nypost.com

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US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary
Memorial services are set to be held to mark the seventh anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed when four planes were hijacked and flown into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.

The presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, will attend a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York.

At the Pentagon, President George W Bush will dedicate a new memorial for the 184 people who died there.

The memorial in Washington was built at a cost of $22m (£12.6m) on a 1.9-acre (0.77-hectare) parcel of land within view of the crash site.

Mr Bush will attend the New York ceremony after standing for a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House at 0846 (1246 GMT) - the time that the first of the two passenger planes hit the World Trade Center.

9/11: THE NEW FRONTIER More coverage throughout the day on BBC World News and BBC World Service

It is the last time Mr Bush marks the anniversary as president.

The attacks are regarded as the defining moment of his time in office so far, and they had a huge impact on the foreign policy of his administration.

"The president thinks about 9/11 every single day when he wakes up and before he goes to bed," White House press secretary Dana Perino said on Wednesday.

'Put aside politics'

Senators Obama and McCain, the Democratic and Republican nominees in November's election, will appear together at Ground Zero in the afternoon to lay wreathes in honour of the victims.

In a joint statement from the campaigns announcing their decision to visit Ground Zero together, the two men vowed to come together "as Americans" and suspend their political campaigns for 24 hours.

"All of us came together on 9/11 - not as Democrats or Republicans - but as Americans," the statement said. "In smoke-filled corridors and on the steps of the Capitol; at blood banks and at vigils - we were united as one American family.

11 September 2001 is a day many around the world will never forget

"We will put aside politics and come together to renew that unity, to honour the memory of each and every American who died, and to grieve with the families and friends who lost loved ones," it said.

Their appearance is to be followed by another in the evening at a Columbia University forum to discuss their views on public service.

The ceremony in downtown Manhattan will mark the times when the planes hit the Twin Towers, and the times when each tower fell - pausing for silence at 0846, 0903, 0959 and 1029.

Family members and students representing the 90 countries that lost people in the attacks will also read out the names of all the 2,973 dead.

Seven years after the attacks which shocked the world, Ground Zero is a construction site.

After years of delays and disagreements over how to commemorate the dead, work has finally begun on a memorial and a new skyscraper - the Freedom Tower - which is due to be completed by 2012.

On Wednesday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for the abolition of the WTC planning agency, saying the reconstruction was "frustratingly slow, owing in large part to a multilayered governance structure that has undermined accountability from the get-go".

"Most important, the memorial must be completed by the 10th anniversary. No more excuses, no more delays," he added.

New York State Governor David Paterson said he also shared "a sense of disappointment and frustration at the unacceptable pace of the Ground Zero rebuilding".

On the eve of the anniversary, a top US military commander warned that new tactics were needed to win the conflict in Afghanistan, which the US and its allies invaded three months after 9/11.

They intended to topple the Taleban regime and root out Osama Bin Laden, who the US believes masterminded the attacks.

Admiral Mike Mullen believes insurgents are launching attacks from neighbouring Pakistan, and US-led forces must target their "safe havens" in that country.

"In my view, these two nations are inextricably linked in a common insurgency that crosses the border between them," he said.

Pakistan has refused to allow foreign troops to fight on to its territory.

These Wings Will Not Fly

NEW YORK -- The rebuilding of the World Trade Center, destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, won't be completed until the middle of the next decade, and will cost as much as $3 billion more than planned, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the 16-acre site in Lower Manhattan, is expected to release a report Monday detailing significant delays and cost overruns on construction there.

The report won't specify new completion dates or budget figures, but people familiar with the project say major components of it will be delayed one to three years and will cost $1 billion to $3 billion more than the current estimate of $15 billion. They caution that those estimates are preliminary and could shrink.

The delays mean the Sept. 11 Memorial planned for the site probably won't be finished by Sept. 11, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks. Port Authority executives hope at least part of the eight-acre memorial -- which includes two massive voids representing the shattered Twin Towers, an underground visiting area and a museum -- will open by then, people familiar with the project said. However, the foundation in charge of planning the memorial remains committed to finishing it by the anniversary date.

"Our goal out of this process is to ensure that the memorial is completed and open in time for the 10th anniversary," Lynn Rasic, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said Sunday.

Monday's report also will likely damp enthusiasm among potential tenants and outside investors for taking space in the planned office skyscrapers. Investment giant Merrill Lynch & Co. has been in talks to take over one of the planned buildings, Tower 3. But Merrill, the Port Authority and private developer Larry Silverstein, who is building that tower, remain far apart, a government official said. That official called a deal unlikely. Others involved said it was unclear that the delays would greatly affect Tower 3, and that Merrill could still be coaxed onboard at the right price.

Associated Press

Construction continues on the foundations of the Sept. 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site. In addition to the memorial, the Freedom Tower, three office towers, and a transportation hub are under construction.

A Merrill spokeswoman declined to comment. Silverstein spokesman Dara McQuillan couldn't be reached for comment.

Symbol of the City

The rebuilding on the site of the Sept. 11 attacks has been hailed as a symbol of the city and the nation's resilience after the deadliest act of terrorism on American soil. Plans for the Trade Center call for it to eventually include the memorial, five office towers, a transit hub providing access to underground rail lines, and a performing-arts center. But repeated delays, budget overruns and -- lately -- logistical hurdles and poor management among the site's half-dozen major elements have marred the project.

New York Gov. David Paterson, who controls the Port Authority along with New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, ordered the new progress report amid rumblings that construction was falling behind.

The challenges center on the Port Authority's planned transit hub and the memorial, which sits above commuter-rail tracks. Decisions at one project affect the other, but they are being designed and built by different teams.

The hub's wing-shaped design and its underground passageways and underpinnings have proved to be difficult to execute within the original $2 billion budget. The transit hub, most recently scheduled to open in 2011, probably won't open until perhaps 2014, officials say, though estimates of the delays are still preliminary. The foundation overseeing the memorial, meanwhile, has yet to finalize some aspects of the above-ground portion of that project.

Any delays related to the transit hub also would set back the 500,000 square feet of retail space located within the hub and adjacent spaces.  Westfield Group, an Australian mall operator, owns the development rights to the planned collection of shops. A Westfield spokeswoman declined to comment.

Before 9/11, the retail space at the Trade Center was among the highest-grossing in the nation.

The delays at the memorial could put Mr. Paterson at odds with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who serves as chairman of the effort to build the memorial and is also regarded as a potential contender for the governorship in 2010. The mayor stepped in to lead the memorial effort after it floundered earlier on, and has staked his reputation on its completion on time and on budget.

As critical security screening facilities and the adjacent transit hub fall behind, completion of the office space at the site will be pushed back. Officials cautioned that it will require additional study to know for sure how much longer it will take to build the office space.

Mr. Silverstein's three towers could see their deadlines delayed past the current 2013 targets. But that could give the developer some respite from the credit crunch and the weak economy, which have helped to reduce major companies' demand for office space.

The Freedom Tower, an office tower controlled by the Port Authority and currently under construction, had been targeted for completion by the end of 2011. Now, the tower, which is expected to be occupied by state and federal agencies, is likely to be delayed a year.

Monday's report, to be issued by Port Authority Executive Director Christopher Ward, will identify 17 to 20 logistical, contracting and budgetary matters that need to be resolved before a firmer schedule and budget can be set in a second report, promised for September. The report also will call for a new committee to oversee the Trade Center project, including representatives from various government agencies and private organizations that have a role at the site.

Supporting Role

Attempts at coordination have been made before. Shortly after the attacks, New York state and city established the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. to oversee construction. But, as the Port Authority has asserted its ownership rights at the site, the LMDC has been reduced to a supporting role.

In 2006, the Port Authority emerged as the lead agency. But it has found itself unable to push forward while coordinating with the other players, including New York City and state agencies that have roles in transportation, planning and funding.

N.Y. to Unveil Redesigned Freedom Tower
Jun 29, 5:36 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- After concerns were raised about security at the soaring skyscraper proposed as the centerpiece of the former World Trade Center site, architects went back to the drawing board.

On Wednesday, officials were to unveil a more bomb-resistant design for the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, which is to offer 2.6 million square feet of office space and is expected to become the world's tallest building.

In an effort to make it more resistant to truck bombs, the building has been moved farther from West Street, a major North-South throughway along the West side of Manhattan. The distance from the street was increased from 25 to an average of 90 feet.

The updated plans also call for reinforcing the middle of the tower and having it capped with a mast incorporating an antenna, meant to suggest the torch of the Statue of Liberty.

The redesign is meant to signal a newly aggressive effort to rebuild the 16 acres devastated by the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.

"The redesign of the Freedom Tower shows how our city is able to respond to the opportunities and challenges of our time," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a statement.

Gov. George Pataki laid the tower's cornerstone on July 4, 2004, but the last year has seen more fighting than progress by the agencies and individuals responsible for rebuilding. The security concerns likely delayed the tower's original 2009 ribbon-cutting by at least a year.

New York — The rebuilding of Ground Zero has fallen on bleak times.

The Police Department has sent designs for the Freedom Tower, that replacement for the twin towers and symbol of a city reborn, back to the drawing board, saying the structure would be too vulnerable to truck bombs. Goldman Sachs has become the latest Fortune 500 corporation to balk at returning downtown, abandoning plans in recent weeks for a headquarters near Ground Zero.

Developer Lawrence Silverstein, meanwhile, is charging so much rent for his rebuilt 7 World Trade Center that he has not attracted a single corporate tenant.

The New York Post now refers to Ground Zero as “Pataki's Pit” as it tweaks Republican Gov. George Pataki, for the delays and dismisses the Freedom Tower's architect as the “elfin Daniel Libeskind.” The New York Times editorial board has taken to calling Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg, “Mayor Ahab,” complaining that Hizzoner has neglected the revival of Ground Zero.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., sounded his own alarm last week, warning that the city could lose $2 billion in federal funding because of a “culture of inertia.” “Let's stop twiddling our thumbs,” he said.

The criticism has grown so loud that Pataki came to the city Thursday and announced that he has appointed his chief of staff to take charge of the rebuilding. “Failure to rebuild,” he said, “is not an option.”

A growing number of influential New Yorkers question whether downtown Manhattan can retain its status as the world's best-known financial district.

“There's a sense of crisis because the private sector is uncertain about its commitment to relocating to Ground Zero,” said Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, which represents the city's 200 top private-sector chief executives. “Even if we build the Freedom Tower, do businesses want to relocate next door to a target? No one has a good answer yet.”

WTC leaseholder wins court battle
Mr Silverstein wants to restore 10 million sq ft of office space

The World Trade Center leaseholder has won a court victory over his insurers as he attempts to rebuild the site.

A New York jury has decided that the 11 September 2001 attack on the two towers constituted two separate events.  The US District Court ruling means Larry Silverstein could now get an extra $1.1bn (£0.56bn) from nine insurers to finance reconstruction.

He has been fighting the insurance companies, arguing he was owed $7bn (£3.6bn) - double his $3.5bn policy.  The firms had argued at the District Court for the Southern District of New York that the twin strikes on the trade centre were part of a single, continuous, planned attack.

'Complete rebuild'

Mr Silverstein said in a statement that he was "thrilled" with his victory.

"The decision means an additional billion dollars of insurance proceeds will be available, which, together with Liberty Bonds, will ensure a timely and complete rebuild of the World Trade Center," he said.

"I strongly felt, and the jury agreed, that the destruction of the twin towers by two separate airplanes at two separate times was two separate occurrences and that these insurers have an obligation to pay their fair share to help make Lower Manhattan whole again."

He lost a similar case earlier this year against a dozen other firms. A different jury ruled policies from those firms had defined such an attack as a single event.  That insurance document tightly defined "occurrence" to make it clear that the 11 September attack in New York was one insurable event.

'Disappointed'

The defendants then included Swiss Re, which is liable for a single payout of up to $880m. A third trial with a different jury might be held to determine how much Swiss Re will pay.  After the latest decision one of the insurers, Allianz AG, said it was "disappointed" and pledged it would appeal against the verdict if necessary.  A spokesman said Allianz would "pursue all our legal remedies".

Mr Silverstein wants to restore 10 million square feet (900,000 square metres) of office space on what has become known as Ground Zero.

Washington — The FBI, concerned that terrorists could use lasers as weapons, is investigating why laser beams were directed into the cockpits of seven airplanes in flight since Christmas.

Laser beams can temporarily blind or disorient pilots and possibly cause a plane to crash.

The FBI is looking into two incidents in Colorado Springs, Colo., and one each in Cleveland, Washington, Houston, Teterboro, N.J., and Medford, Ore., according to federal and local law enforcement and transportation officials, some of whom spoke only on condition of anonymity.

A federal law enforcement official, who declined to be identified by name, said Thursday there is no evidence of a plot or terrorist activity. But pilots are troubled by the incidents, and the FBI earlier this month warned of the possibility that terrorists might use the devices as weapons.

“It's not some kid,” said Paul Rancatore, a pilot who serves as deputy chairman of the security committee for the Allied Pilots Association. “It's too organized.”

Loren Thompson, who teaches military technology at Georgetown University, called it a “rather worrisome development,” though he said experts would be more puzzled than alarmed.

“What we're talking about is a fairly powerful visible light laser that has the ability to lock onto a fast-moving aircraft,” Thompson said. “That's not the sort of thing you pick up at a military surplus store.”

Thompson said a piece of equipment that could do the things the FBI suspects would be “fairly expensive and fairly sophisticated.”

“It sounds like an organized effort to cause airline accidents,” Thompson said.

Law enforcement officials, though, say they have no evidence of such an effort and that the lasers in question are readily available. Further, they say they've had reports of similar incidents since the technology became popular.

But a memo sent to law enforcement agencies recently by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department says there is evidence that terrorists have explored using lasers as weapons, though there's no intelligence that indicates they might use them in the United States.

Pilots and safety officials have long been concerned about the dangers of laser light shows, which have caused temporary eye injuries to several pilots over the last decade.

Most recently, a pilot for Delta Air Lines reported an eye injury from a laser beamed into the cockpit while approaching the Salt Lake City airport in September. The plane landed safely.

The Civil Aerospace Medical Institute has a database of several hundred reports in which civilian or military aircraft were illuminated by lasers. Though there have been no accidents reported, pilots in some cases were startled, temporarily blinded and disoriented.

The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates laser light shows, consults with the FAA when someone proposes operating a laser outdoors near an airport. The FAA recommends the maximum safe level of laser light exposure for pilots maneuvering near airports.

NEW YORK (AP) -- After concerns were raised about security at the soaring skyscraper proposed as the centerpiece of the former World Trade Center site, architects went back to the drawing board.

On Wednesday, officials were to unveil a more bomb-resistant design for the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, which is to offer 2.6 million square feet of office space and is expected to become the world's tallest building.

In an effort to make it more resistant to truck bombs, the building has been moved farther from West Street, a major North-South throughway along the West side of Manhattan. The distance from the street was increased from 25 to an average of 90 feet.

The updated plans also call for reinforcing the middle of the tower and having it capped with a mast incorporating an antenna, meant to suggest the torch of the Statue of Liberty.

The redesign is meant to signal a newly aggressive effort to rebuild the 16 acres devastated by the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.

"The redesign of the Freedom Tower shows how our city is able to respond to the opportunities and challenges of our time," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a statement.

Gov. George Pataki laid the tower's cornerstone on July 4, 2004, but the last year has seen more fighting than progress by the agencies and individuals responsible for rebuilding. The security concerns likely delayed the tower's original 2009 ribbon-cutting by at least a year.

New York — The rebuilding of Ground Zero has fallen on bleak times.

The Police Department has sent designs for the Freedom Tower, that replacement for the twin towers and symbol of a city reborn, back to the drawing board, saying the structure would be too vulnerable to truck bombs. Goldman Sachs has become the latest Fortune 500 corporation to balk at returning downtown, abandoning plans in recent weeks for a headquarters near Ground Zero.

Developer Lawrence Silverstein, meanwhile, is charging so much rent for his rebuilt 7 World Trade Center that he has not attracted a single corporate tenant.

The New York Post now refers to Ground Zero as “Pataki's Pit” as it tweaks Republican Gov. George Pataki, for the delays and dismisses the Freedom Tower's architect as the “elfin Daniel Libeskind.” The New York Times editorial board has taken to calling Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg, “Mayor Ahab,” complaining that Hizzoner has neglected the revival of Ground Zero.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., sounded his own alarm last week, warning that the city could lose $2 billion in federal funding because of a “culture of inertia.” “Let's stop twiddling our thumbs,” he said.

The criticism has grown so loud that Pataki came to the city Thursday and announced that he has appointed his chief of staff to take charge of the rebuilding. “Failure to rebuild,” he said, “is not an option.”

A growing number of influential New Yorkers question whether downtown Manhattan can retain its status as the world's best-known financial district.

“There's a sense of crisis because the private sector is uncertain about its commitment to relocating to Ground Zero,” said Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, which represents the city's 200 top private-sector chief executives. “Even if we build the Freedom Tower, do businesses want to relocate next door to a target? No one has a good answer yet.”

WTC leaseholder wins court battle
Mr Silverstein wants to restore 10 million sq ft of office space

The World Trade Center leaseholder has won a court victory over his insurers as he attempts to rebuild the site.

A New York jury has decided that the 11 September 2001 attack on the two towers constituted two separate events.  The US District Court ruling means Larry Silverstein could now get an extra $1.1bn (£0.56bn) from nine insurers to finance reconstruction.

He has been fighting the insurance companies, arguing he was owed $7bn (£3.6bn) - double his $3.5bn policy.  The firms had argued at the District Court for the Southern District of New York that the twin strikes on the trade centre were part of a single, continuous, planned attack.

'Complete rebuild'

Mr Silverstein said in a statement that he was "thrilled" with his victory.

"The decision means an additional billion dollars of insurance proceeds will be available, which, together with Liberty Bonds, will ensure a timely and complete rebuild of the World Trade Center," he said.

"I strongly felt, and the jury agreed, that the destruction of the twin towers by two separate airplanes at two separate times was two separate occurrences and that these insurers have an obligation to pay their fair share to help make Lower Manhattan whole again."

He lost a similar case earlier this year against a dozen other firms. A different jury ruled policies from those firms had defined such an attack as a single event.  That insurance document tightly defined "occurrence" to make it clear that the 11 September attack in New York was one insurable event.

'Disappointed'

The defendants then included Swiss Re, which is liable for a single payout of up to $880m. A third trial with a different jury might be held to determine how much Swiss Re will pay.  After the latest decision one of the insurers, Allianz AG, said it was "disappointed" and pledged it would appeal against the verdict if necessary.  A spokesman said Allianz would "pursue all our legal remedies".

With pressure increasing to begin the rebuilding at ground zero, the architect with the winning design for the World Trade Center site plans to meet today with representatives of the developer to try to resolve clashing visions of what will be built.  The meeting between the architect, Daniel Libeskind, and senior aides to the developer, Larry A. Silverstein, is the latest attempt by rebuilding officials to force an agreement over the future of the site and the degree of Mr. Libeskind's influence in the design and placement of the commercial office buildings there.

Mr. Libeskind claims a public mandate on the project's future after his design was chosen over eight other proposals in a competition of renowned architects. His vision is of a spiral of five towers including one 1,776-foot spire surrounding a hallowed, empty ground on the site where the twin towers once stood.

But Mr. Silverstein believes the details of the commercial development are up to him. He advocates a more compact site containing all of the office space that was once there, saying that other arrangements would threaten the project's commercial viability.  Because he obtained the lease for the site less than two months before the Sept. 11 attack, his vow afterward to rebuild the fallen towers was all but laughed off. But now he has emerged as the single person who can meet Gov. George E. Pataki's aggressive timeline for beginning the rebuilding, and in the process he has seized much of the initiative from Mr. Libeskind.

In his effort to mold the project to his liking, Mr. Silverstein has persuaded the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the trade center property, to consider several changes to Mr. Libeskind's vision, and he has even hired his own architect one of Mr. Libeskind's rivals in the design competition to come up with plans.

After prodding by the developer, the Port Authority asked Mr. Libeskind to study the effect of moving his signature 1,776-foot tower to the eastern portion of the site, closer to a planned new transit hub, and to consider adding an office tower above that train station.  Mr. Libeskind has fought back, however, claiming his winning design should hold sway. And he has backed up that assertion by hiring Edward W. Hayes, the scrappy Manhattan lawyer who was a classmate of Gov. George E. Pataki at Columbia Law School and was a model for the lawyer Tommy Killian in Tom Wolfe's novel "The Bonfire of the Vanities," to negotiate with Mr. Silverstein.

Whether any final decisions will emerge from today's meeting, which will also include officials from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Port Authority, is unclear. Mr. Libeskind is seeking a clearly defined role in the design of the outside of the 1,776-foot tower, while Mr. Silverstein would like Mr. Libeskind to agree to a different design being put together by David M. Childs, the architect who has worked extensively with Mr. Silverstein.

To that end, Mr. Silverstein's office sent a letter last week to officials at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is overseeing the rebuilding effort, and the Port Authority, claiming that delays in decisions about the location and size of buildings could cause him to miss a summer 2004 deadline that Governor Pataki has set for construction to begin.  What is clear from the battle is that Mr. Silverstein has transformed his place in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan in recent months.

When Mr. Libeskind unveiled his design in February, Mr. Silverstein rushed to embrace him, and rebuilding officials were loath to give a formal role to Mr. Silverstein in the process.  But Mr. Silverstein continued to push. With the state and the city facing vast budget gaps, it became clear that Mr. Silverstein alone had the money to begin the rebuilding effort. In April, after Mr. Pataki laid out his timeline to complete the erection of steel on the 1,776-foot tower by the end of his term in 2006, he made clear that he was handing over much of the responsibility for the rebuilding to Mr. Silverstein.

Most recently, when the Port Authority and the development corporation laid out responsibilities for the memorial, the cultural space and the office development at the site, Silverstein Properties and Westfield America, the company controlling the retail space at the trade center, were given specific roles in reviewing their elements of the plan.  All of the parties say publicly that their collaborative effort is proceeding smoothly, and most of them agree that for construction to begin a year from now, as scheduled, the architects will have to begin producing detailed blueprints of the commercial parts of the site soon.

In any large-scale development, conflict normally occurs over details.  Pitched battles are taking place over certain features of the memorial to victims of the terrorist attack, and differences have also emerged over the future cultural components of the rebuilt trade center.  So perhaps it is not surprising that behind the scenes, an increasingly rancorous process has threatened to delay the start of office space construction.

Mr. Silverstein believes that the shape and size of Mr. Libeskind's proposed towers will not provide enough space or the right kind of unobstructed, column-free floor space for top-flight tenants.  To that end, Mr. Silverstein and Mr. Childs have conceived a design that places the centerpiece tower directly over an office building about 70 floors in height. They also want to move the tower closer to the transportation hub, which they believe will also attract more tenants.

Mr. Libeskind, meanwhile, has pushed to preserve the unique elements of his design, including the off-center spire that forms the top of the 1,776-foot tower, a feature that Mr. Silverstein has contended will push up the building's cost.  The continuing battles produced more pointed public statements yesterday from Mr. Pataki and other rebuilding officials.  "As the governor said when he outlined his ambitious plan for rebuilding Lower Manhattan," said Lisa Dewald Stoll, a spokeswoman for Mr. Pataki, "this process leaves `no room for error or delay, for parochial concerns or unnecessary legal battles.'  "Quite simply," Ms. Stoll added, "you're either part of the team or you're not. The schedule will be met."

Kevin Rampe, the president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, said that "the redevelopment of the World Trade Center is bigger than any single individual," and Michael Petralia, a spokesman for the Port Authority, said that he expected that the issues surrounding the site's master plan "will be resolved very quickly." Each also vowed that the governor's deadline would be met.  And Howard J. Rubenstein, a spokesman for the developer, said, "Larry Silverstein agrees with that schedule and will make every effort to meet it."  Mr. Libeskind says such disagreements are simply "part of developing a master plan."

"Of course, we have to stick up for the integrity of our plan as it relates to all those issues," he added. "We can compromise so that the scheme evolves into something that is really workable. But at the same time we must keep some boundaries where we don't negotiate."

The Optimistic (and Long) View of Larry A. Silverstein
NYTIMES
By TERRY PRISTIN
Published: May 14, 2008

Larry A. Silverstein, the New York developer, is used to being second-guessed.

By 2012, the developer Mr. Silverstein will control the downtown Manhattan skyline, as the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site is completed.

“There’s no shortage of people who are always trying to tell you what you should do when it’s not their money that’s at stake, and not their property,” he said last week.

Mr. Silverstein completed the first 7 World Trade Center in early 1987, not long after the brokerage firm Drexel Burnham Lambert had run into trouble and abandoned plans to lease all 42 floors of the tower. Later that year, the stock market crashed.

As office vacancies reached their highest level in a decade, Mr. Silverstein allowed his new building to remain nearly empty rather than reduce his asking rent of $37 a square foot annually. Brokers said at the time that he could fill the building in a flash if he would lower the rent to $34. But Mr. Silverstein refused to budge. “I have the staying power and the ability to do what I need to do,” he told The New York Times in April 1988.

Two decades later, Mr. Silverstein has a new 7 World Trade Center. He finished building the luminous 52-story tower in 2006, less than five years after its predecessor was destroyed in the 2001 terrorist attack. But two years later, just as the real estate market is bracing for a significant loss of financial services jobs, no leases have been signed for the top 10 floors. The penthouse is used instead for movie shoots, fashion shows and receptions for civic groups, though Mr. Silverstein draws the line at weddings and bar mitzvahs.

Once again, real estate professionals are puzzled by Mr. Silverstein’s refusal to compromise on his annual asking rent, which now ranges from $75 to $85 a square foot for the top floor. Last summer, the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton came close to making a deal, but Mr. Silverstein would not shave a couple of dollars off the rent.

“Our client would have loved to have moved there,” said Cleary’s broker, Barry M. Gosin, chief executive of Newmark Knight Frank.

Mr. Silverstein, who will turn 77 this month, smiled when he was reminded of the 1988 parallel. “History repeats itself, doesn’t it?” he said in an interview in his office on the 38th floor of 7 World Trade Center.

The energetic Mr. Silverstein has other reasons to smile these days. At a time when many developers around the country are being forced to pull in their reins because of the credit squeeze, Mr. Silverstein has only to look out his floor-to-ceiling windows to see a new real estate empire in the making. His private company, Silverstein Properties, has $9 billion worth of projects in the works.

To the south, the Freedom Tower, which Mr. Silverstein is developing for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is rising. Work is finally under way 80 feet below street level on the foundations for two of the three towers at ground zero that Silverstein Properties will control: 3 World Trade Center, with 71 stories, and 4 World Trade Center, with 61 stories.

This summer, the Port Authority is expected to finish building the slurry wall that will allow the digging of a foundation for Mr. Silverstein’s third office building, Tower 2, with 78 stories.

After years of delay — much of it a result of often acrimonious wrangling between government officials and Mr. Silverstein, who signed a long-term lease for the World Trade Center just six weeks before it was destroyed — some 800 construction workers are now employed at the site. Many of them also participated in the rescue efforts at ground zero.

Looking east, Mr. Silverstein can monitor the demolition of 99 Church Street, a 13-story office building a block from City Hall Park that will be succeeded by an 80-story limestone tower, designed by Robert A. M. Stern, with a 175-room Four Seasons hotel and 143 condominiums.

Mr. Silverstein’s financial partner in that project is the California State Teachers Retirement System — also his partner in the recent purchase of two Midtown Manhattan office buildings; one, 1177 Avenue of the Americas, between 45th and 46th Streets, cost more than $1 billion.

Mr. Silverstein acknowledged that the team was also interested in the Midtown buildings that Harry B. Macklowe surrendered to his lenders after defaulting on billions of dollars in short-term debt.

Like Mr. Macklowe, Mr. Silverstein is a famously tough negotiator. But he is also known for his unusually optimistic personality. Within days of the terrorist attacks, he pledged that the World Trade Center would be rebuilt. The cushion on his office sofa that bears a paraphrase of a Thomas Jefferson adage: “Steer your ship with hope, leaving fear astern” Though Lower Manhattan has blossomed as a residential community, growing to more than 50,000 residents, it has nearly 30,000 fewer jobs than it had before the Sept. 11 attack. Office vacancy downtown was 6.7 percent last month, compared with 6 percent in April 2007, according to the brokerage firm of CB Richard Ellis.

Predicting that the current downturn will not last long, Mr. Silverstein said leases throughout Manhattan amounting to 60 million square feet will expire within the next four years, just when his buildings are ready to accept tenants. He is already trying to persuade Merrill Lynch to move out of its offices at the World Financial Center.

Some real estate specialists wonder if Lower Manhattan will be able to attract so many new tenants at once. “I don’t see why all the buildings are being finished at the same time,” said the developer Douglas Durst, who is active in Midtown. “That seems to me a tactical mistake.”

Others say they share Mr. Silverstein’s optimism. “The Lower Manhattan of tomorrow is really a very very different place than the Lower Manhattan of 10 years ago,” said Carl Weisbrod, the president of Trinity Real Estate, which owns commercial buildings just north of downtown. “I think Larry is totally right in betting on the future.”

Interest in 7 World Trade Center remains high, said Stephen B. Siegel, the global chairman of CB Richard Ellis, which is representing the building.

Two decades ago, the tax breaks and favorable financing Mr. Silverstein received for 7 World Trade Center eliminated pressure to fill up the building quickly.

The new $700 million parallelogram-shaped 7 World Trade Center was financed with insurance proceeds and $475 million worth of triple-tax-exempt Liberty Bonds. The building has a mix of tenants, including Moody’s Investors Services; Mansueto Ventures, a magazine publisher; and the New York Academy of Sciences. The cash flow more than covers the debt service, Mr. Siegel said.

“He’s very confident in his product, and he holds out for his number,” Mr. Siegel said. Lowering the rent by $2 a square foot would reduce his annual income by $10 million and would lower the value of the building by as much as $20 million, based on a current capitalization rate of 5 percent, he said. (That figure is a ratio of the building’s net operating income relative to the sales price.)

Mr. Silverstein said he was taking the long view to protect a family-owned asset. “When you get to be in your 70s, you look at things like this through a different lens,” he said. “It’s better to take your time and do it right.”