Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Security Tightened for Passover - Mar 30, 2004
Elite squads of counterterrorism cops will safeguard potential targets in Jewish communities as part of a massive NYPD effort to protect the city during Passover. (New York Daily News)

Mayor Donates $100,000 for Statue of Liberty Security - Mar 30, 2004
Lady Liberty has a new man in her life and, just like her, he has lots of green. Mayor Bloomberg, one of the richest men in the world, has donated $100,000 to help reopen the shuttered Statue of Liberty, the Daily News has learned. (New York Daily News)

Clash Between Police, Firefighters Risks Homeland Security Funds - Mar 30, 2004
Cops and firefighters still have not agreed on how to work together during major emergencies, putting millions of dollars in federal anti-terror funds at risk, city officials said yesterday. The plan, known as citywide incident command system, must be in place by October - or else Homeland Security Department grants will dry up. (New York Daily News)

Fire Department Presents New Counter-Terrorism Plan - Mar 30, 2004
Thirty months after it lost 343 firefighters on Sept. 11, 2001, the Fire Department has produced a sweeping plan that lays out a two-year strategy to better prepare the department for future terrorist attacks. (New York Times)

Daniel Pearl's Wife Files For 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund - Mar 30, 2004
A federal Victims Compensation Fund application was filed on behalf of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped in Pakistan, then beheaded by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, once Al Qaeda's top operational commander and the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 hijackings. (New York Times)

Artist Who Worked With Ground Zero Dust Honored - Mar 29, 2004
A New York-based artist became the first winner of a new British art prize on Sunday for a work made from dust collected from the streets of Manhattan after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. (Associated Press)

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Doubles Police Budget - Mar 29, 2004
The MTA has nearly doubled its police budget over the last three years in an effort to beef up security at its sprawling transportation network, guarding against a terror attack, officials said. (New York Post)

Federal Government Criticized For Leaving 9/11 Rescue Workers Without Medical Care - Mar 29, 2004
Hundreds of Ground Zero workers have lingering illnesses, but the government isn't paying for their care, said a leading doctor and two federal lawmakers. Of 700 workers in a treatment program at Mount Sinai Medical Center, three-quarters still suffer from upper-respiratory problems brought on by work at the World Trade Center site, said Dr. Robin Herbert, co-director of the hospital's Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine. More than 40% suffer post-traumatic stress, said Herbert. (New York Daily News)

Fire Department To Focus On Counterterrorism - Mar 29, 2004
Counterterrorism training will be the FDNY's top priority for the next two years, according to a landmark plan prompted by the Sept. 11 attacks and slated for release today. (New York Daily News)

At Ground Zero, Retail Development Must Step Carefully - Mar 29, 2004
At the new World Trade Center, an area of six acres will be set aside for mourning and remembering. And in the surrounding buildings and concourses, an area of 650,000 square feet - almost 15 acres - will be set aside for shopping and dining. The retail space poses planning challenges rivaling those faced by the memorial, the Freedom Tower and the combined PATH terminal and transportation hub. (New York Times)

Rice: Bush Asked Clarke To Look Into 9/11 Iraq Link - Mar 29, 2004
The White House acknowledged Sunday that on the day after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush asked his top counterterrorism adviser, Richard A. Clarke, to find out whether Iraq was involved. Mr. Bush wanted to know "did Iraq have anything to do with this? Were they complicit in it?" Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, recounted in an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes." Mr. Bush was not trying to intimidate anyone to "produce information," she said. Rather, given the United States' "actively hostile relationship" with Iraq at the time, he was asking Mr. Clarke "a perfectly logical question," Ms. Rice said. (New York Times)

9/11 Families Can't Recover Possessions of Loved Ones - Mar 28, 2004
About a third of 9/11 families are still hoping to claim loved ones' missing belongings, but the NYPD won't let them see the thousands of yet-unidentified pieces of jewelry, watches and other objects remaining in storage. (New York Post)

9/11 Families Accuse Clarke Of Exploiting 9/11 - Mar 28, 2004
A group of New York families of 9/11 victims came out swinging against Richard Clarke yesterday, accusing the former White House anti-terror chief of cashing in on the tragedy with his explosive book. (New York Post)

Kerry Assaults Bush On 9/11 - Mar 28, 2004
Joining a debate that has dominated Washington for days, Senator John Kerry on Saturday accused the Bush administration of "character assassination" against critics and said that the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, should publicly testify under oath about the Sept. 11 attacks. (New York Times)

White House Backs Down on Some 9/11 Claims - Mar 27, 2004
A member of the 9/11 commission said yesterday that national security adviser Condoleezza Rice indicated in a private session she was wrong to have once stated no one expected terrorists to use planes as missiles. The White House reportedly also backpedaled yesterday on whether President Bush pressed counterterror czar Richard Clarke the day after the attacks to find evidence that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was involved. (New York Daily News)

New Bill Would Expand Services For Those Affected By 9/11 Dust Cloud - Mar 27, 2004
Thousands of people who live or work in Lower Manhattan and were exposed to the dust plume after the World Trade Center attack would be eligible to undergo health screening under a bill expected to be introduced in Congress on Monday. The legislation would greatly expand an existing health monitoring program that covers New York City firefighters and about 12,000 others who responded to the attacks. (New York Times)

In Informal Deal, Bloomberg Cedes Control of Ground Zero to Pataki, Takes Lead On Far West Side - Mar 27, 2004
Gov. George E. Pataki and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg have each carved out a piece of Manhattan on which to fasten their economic development visions, with one another's blessing. Mr. Bloomberg has laid claim to the development of the far West Side. Mr. Pataki wants credit for the rebirth of Lower Manhattan. (New York Times)

9/11 Scammer Sentenced to Rikers - Mar 26, 2004
Everybody's working for the weekend - except millionaire 9/11 charity scammer Beatrice Kaufman. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Roger Hayes yesterday sentenced Kaufman to spend the next 52 weekends in Rikers Island for bilking relief organizations out of $78,000 and trying to scam them out of hundreds of thousands dollars more. (New York Post )

Statue of Liberty Will Reopen To Public - Mar 26, 2004
You can almost see the twinkle in the lady's eye. Federal officials revealed yesterday that the Statue of Liberty, which has been shuttered for more than two years, is about to reopen to the public. (New York Daily News)

New Process to Guide Historical Preservation at Ground Zero - Mar 26, 2004
Criticized by preservationists and victims' relatives for indifference to the physical remnants of the World Trade Center, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation proposed yesterday to create a review procedure that would guide the treatment of historical elements at the site for 10 years. The corporation's proposal would open future decisions about structural remains to review by preservationists, civic groups, architectural and planning organizations and relatives' representatives. Those remains include column footings from the twin towers, the foundation wall, smoke-scarred ruins of the underground parking garage, the tubes and terminal of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad and a stairway leading to the vanished plaza. (New York Times)

Environmental Protection Agency Report: Apartment Clean-up Downtown Was Successful - Mar 26, 2004
A report by the federal Environmental Protection Agency shows that the agency's efforts to clean up thousands of apartments in Lower Manhattan after the World Trade Center attack were successful in removing asbestos and other harmful materials. But a critic of the program said the report, released yesterday, confirmed nothing more than the inadequacies of the cleanup and the need for further testing. (New York Times)

Rice Will Meet With 9/11 Commission Again - Mar 26, 2004
Under mounting pressure from Democrats about its response to the investigation into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the White House offered Thursday to have Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, answer more questions from the Sept. 11 panel. At the same time, President Bush forcefully denied accusations that he had ignored the severity of the threat from Al Qaeda. (New York Times)

Profile Of 9/11 Commission - Mar 25, 2004
The bi-partisan commission established by the US Congress to investigate the attacks of 11 September 2001 has received scant public attention outside Washington. But, with recent allegations by former anti-terror aide Richard Clarke that the Bush administration has done a "terrible job" in confronting terrorism, the panel has been thrust into the limelight. High-profile figures from the Clinton and Bush administrations have been testifying on how they confronted terror threats. (BBC News)

Richard Clarke:Terrorism Was Not Urgent For Bush - Mar 25, 2004
Former top counterterrorism adviser Richard A. Clarke told a special commission today that the Bush administration initially did not treat terrorism as "an urgent issue" and sidetracked his proposals to deal with the threat more aggressively. Clarke, appearing before the bipartisan commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, also criticized the FBI's performance in assessing domestic threats from the al Qaeda terrorist network before the attacks and called for the creation of a new domestic intelligence agency. (Washington Post )

City Wonders Whether It Will Ever Get Promised 9/11 Insurance Funds - Mar 25, 2004
A long-running legal stalemate between New York City and federal emergency authorities surfaced at a congressional hearing Wednesday, as New York officials questioned when a promised $1 billion insurance fund will be established. City officials have been frustrated by the yearlong talks with the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the agency's position that the city may have to pay $350 million in legal claims brought by workers at ground zero before the government steps in to pick up the rest. (Newsday )

Red Cross Extends 9/11 Health Insurance Program - Mar 25, 2004
The American Red Cross is extending its health insurance program for survivors of those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and people who were hurt. As part of its national Sept. 11 Recovery Program, the Red Cross will pay their health insurance premiums for two years instead of the current 12 months. (Newsday )

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Lags On Security Measures - Mar 25, 2004
Improvements to two of the MTA's biggest security concerns Ă‘ lighting and emergency radio communication in subway tunnels Ă‘ are behind schedule due to unexpected problems, officials said Wednesday. Both issues have surfaced recently as NYC Transit focuses on its counter-terrorism preparedness and evacuation procedures. (Newsday)

Suveillence Cameras Planned For Buses, Subways - Mar 25, 2004
Transportation officials are considering putting surveillance cameras in buses and subways, the Daily News has learned. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has been boosting security since the terror attacks, has been in discussions with a French-based company that is outfitting Paris-area buses with surveillance equipment, sources said. (New York Daily News)

Designers Struggle To Avoid Windswept Plaza Of World Trade Center - Mar 25, 2004
Austin J. Tobin Plaza was the official name of the vast open space at the World Trade Center. But most New Yorkers knew it as the Barren Windswept Plaza. There is a chance they will recognize its successor, too, just by the gusts. "Typically, pedestrian-level wind conditions will be in the comfortable range," the draft environmental impact statement said about the planned World Trade Center redevelopment. "However, during some limited time periods, uncomfortable conditions may occur and activities like sitting, standing and walking may be impeded." (New York Times)

For Four Mothers Of 9/11 Victims, Hearing Leaves Questions Unanswered - Mar 24, 2004
Four moms from New Jersey, the World Trade Center widows whose tireless advocacy produced the broad investigation into the failures around the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, had high hopes for this weekÕs hearings, which are focused on policy failures. Instead, packed into the car at 4 a.m. in what has become a ritual for them, their hearts were heavy. The Four Moms had submitted dozens of questions they have been burning to ask at these hearings. Mr. Rumsfeld is a particular thorn in their sides. (New York Observer)

9/11 Commission: Bush, Clinton Adminstrations Both Failed on Terror - Mar 24, 2004
Both the Bush and Clinton administrations missed diplomatic and military opportunities to capture or kill Osama bin Laden before Sept. 11, 2001, according to reports yesterday by a federally appointed commission investigating the attacks. (Newsday )

Silverstein Testifies in Insurance Trial - Mar 24, 2004
Just a day or two after the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, a friend warned World Trade Center landlord Larry Silverstein that he "was facing a major insurance] problem," the developer told a jury yesterday. After six weeks of testimony from witnesses for 13 insurance companies fighting over the size of his WTC payout, a subdued Silverstein took the stand for 24 minutes in his $7 billion lawsuit against the insurers. Silverstein said he started to focus on the insurance ramifications of the disaster on Sept. 12 or Sept. 13. (New York Post)

9/11 Families Criticize Staten Island Memorial - Mar 24, 2004
Many unhappy families of World Trade Center victims are refusing to articipate in Staten Island's 9/11 memorial after hearing that some preliminary sketches of the victims don't look like their loved ones. The $2 million waterfront memorial, entitled "Postcards," will be covered with 9-by-11-inch tablets featuring facial profiles of Staten Island's 268 victims etched in granite. To create the initial paper and pencil sketches, families have been asked to submit pictures of the victims by April 1. But about 15 families have said the sketches are inaccurate or unflattering, said Dennis McKeon, who runs St. Clare's WTC Outreach Committee, a group that includes most Staten Island victims' families. (New York Post)

Answering Republican Criticism, Silver Proposes Anti-Terrorism Plan - Mar 24, 2004
A week ago, Gov. George E. Pataki and a chorus of Republican leaders accused the Democratic State Assembly of endangering the welfare of all New Yorkers by failing to act on a set of antiterrorism laws they have been pushing for two years. On Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver shot back, proposing his own wide-ranging set of laws that he said would combat terrorism by doing everything from cracking down on money laundering to tightening gun laws. (New York Times)

At 9/11 Commission Hearing, Terrorism Transcends Politics - Mar 24, 2004
Yes, election-year politics crackled in the air. Yes, Republican members of the 9/11 Commission prodded and scolded Bill Clinton's cabinet members, and Democrats did the same to President Bush's. But the secretaries themselves often agreed with one other, regardless of party, and their public presence was a powerful sign that terrorism transcends politics Ă‘ and that blame abounds for failing to fully face the threat in time. (New York Times)

Mayor Meets With Senate Majority Leader To Discuss Security - Mar 23, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg had an unannounced private meeting with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist at City Hall yesterday to talk about homeland-security funding and the upcoming Republican National Convention. The hush-hush get-together comes as some observers claim the Republican mayor seeks to distance himself from his party as he plans his re-election campaign in the heavily Democratic city. Ed Skyler, the mayor's press secretary, said of the half-hour meeting, "They discussed federal aid for New York City, homeland-security funds, preparations for the Republican National Convention and transportation issues." (New York Post)

Killing Of Hamas Leader Has New Yorkers Worried About Security - Mar 23, 2004
The NYPD stepped up security across the city yesterday as members of the Hamas terrorist group vowed revenge for the killing of its founder by Israel, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. NYPD patrol cars were outside mosques and synagogues, and security was visibly increased at the UN and in front of the Israeli Consulate. (New York Daily News)

Silverstein Avoids Contempt of Court Charge - Mar 23, 2004
The developer Larry A. Silverstein narrowly escaped a civil contempt charge yesterday in the seventh week of a trial pitting him against his insurers for billions of dollars he seeks to rebuild the World Trade Center. (New York Times)

Downtown Residents Approve Of Rebuilding, Distrust Environmental Protection Agency - Mar 22, 2004
Things are looking up Downtown, according to a new poll of Downtown residents, but the distrust of the Environmental Protection Agency has climbed to 72 percent. (Downtown Express)

Rebuilding Funds Going To Organizations Run By Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Board - Mar 22, 2004
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board has handed out at least $19.6 million in the past year to organizations run by LMDC board members Ñ raising questions about the federally funded corporationÕs ethics and priorities. When former New York Stock Exchange CEO Richard Grasso was on the LMDC board, the corporation gave the stock exchange about $10 million to get rid of its jersey barriers and put up attractive security systems, like the iron gates Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg unveiled this winter. In July, the LMDC board voted to give $4 million to the Alliance for Downtown New York for Òstreetscape improvementsÓ from Battery Park up to City Hall Park. Carl Weisbrod, an LMDC board member, runs the Downtown Alliance. (New York Sun)

Unprecedented Security Measures on Subways - Mar 22, 2004
In the wake of the commuter train bombings in Madrid that claimed 202 lives, the NYPD has mounted an unprecedented security effort in the city's subway system in the hopes of thwarting a massive terror attack here. (New York Post)

Taking Souvenirs From Ground Zero Common Practice For FBI Agents - Mar 21, 2004
Everbody does it. That's the response Jane Turner got when she told federal investigators that a fellow FBI agent had stolen a Tiffany globe found at the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. (New York Post )

9/11 Families Sickened Over Ground Zero Souvenirs - Mar 21, 2004
Families of 9/11 victims are sickened that their loved ones' belongings and other Ground Zero remains may now be strangers' trophies. (New York Post )

Disagreement Over How To Spend $1.2 Billion In Federal Rebuilding Funds - Mar 21, 2004
here is only $1,163,955,348.58 left. Though that sounds like a lot, it is not enough to cover the many claims on the federal grants for rebuilding Lower Manhattan. These competing claims expose something of a divide between the established downtown, an unalloyed business hub, and the emerging downtown, with its residential overlay. It is not that businesses and residents disagree on the broad goal of creating a lively mixed-use area. But they may struggle over the spending needed to get there. (New York Times)

Clinton Officials To Tell 9/11 Panel That They Warned Bush Of Terror Threat - Mar 20, 2004
Senior Clinton administration officials called to testify next week before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks say they are prepared to detail how they repeatedly warned their Bush administration counterparts in late 2000 that Al Qaeda posed the worst security threat facing the nation Ă‘ and how the new administration was slow to act. (New York Times)

Judge Bans Silverstein From Insurance Trials - Mar 19, 2004
A Manhatan Federal Court judge barred World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein from being a spectator at his $7 billion insurance trial after the developer violated a gag order. Chief Judge Michael Mukasey said he was holding Silverstein in civil contempt for conducting a news conference Monday. (New York Daily News)

Council Says Metropolitan Transportation Authority Is Wasting Terror Funds - Mar 19, 2004
With the train bombings in Madrid fresh in their minds, City Council members grilled city transportation officials yesterday over why they have not put nearly $600 million in federal anti-terror funds to use. Metropolitan Transportation Authority bosses appeared at a City Council budget hearing yesterday, but offered little information about what the agency plans to do with $591 million it received from the feds last summer. (New York Daily News)

Federal Hall, Damaged On 9/11, Is Rehabilitated - Mar 18, 2004
Federal Hall, a 162-year-old Greek Revival landmark at Wall and Broad Streets, is undergoing repairs. Last summer, a dangerously undermined corner was shored up. Later this year, two other corners and part of the east wall will be shored up. Cracks will be stabilized and patched. And a new heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system will be installed. The $16 million rehabilitation can be traced directly to the attack on New York. (New York Times)

New Yorkers Happy With Rebuilding Process, Poll Finds - Mar 18, 2004
People who live in Lower Manhattan appear to approve of the direction rebuilding plans are taking there, according to a new poll released Wednesday. (New York 1)

Agencies Clashed Over Terror Drill - Mar 18, 2004
When the city's Office of Emergency Management was scouting a location to test response to an attack with a weapon of mass destruction, it first settled on Penn Station. But the various sides, who in a real emergency would be expected to work together to save lives, couldn't agree on how to carry out the drill without disrupting riders and commerce. (Newsday)

Anti-Terror Money For Metrpolitan Transportation Authority Goes Unspent - Mar 18, 2004
The MTA has not spent any of the nearly $600 million in counter-terrorism funds that it received nine months ago, officials acknowledged Wednesday, explaining that building security projects takes time. (Newsday)

Senators Tell FBI Director To Return Ground Zero Souvenir - Mar 18, 2004
Four senators are calling on the FBI to return a Tiffany globe lifted from Ground Zero to the mother of the 9/11 victim it belonged to, The Post has learned. The letter, to be sent today to Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director John Mueller, also demands the return of "every other souvenir that FBI agents took from the rubble of Ground Zero," officials said. (New York Post)

Design Approved For 1993 Trade Center Memorial - Mar 17, 2004
A design for a temporary memorial to the six victims killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing will include a piece of the original memorial destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, authorities said. The Port Authority received final approval for the design last week from victims' relatives, PA spokesman Steve Coleman said yesterday. (New York Post)

Silverstein Faces Contempt Of Court Charge In Insurance Trial - Mar 17, 2004
World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein's big mouth has landed him in hot water with the federal judge who's overseeing his $7 billion insurance lawsuit. Judge Michael Mukasey will hold a contempt-of-court hearing tomorrow to see if comments the real-estate honcho made about the case broke a gag order barring him from talking to the press. (New York Post)

Police Extend Stay In Spain - Mar 17, 2004
New York's anti-terrorism detectives dispatched to Spain after the fatal train bombings last week will stay there as long as necessary, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Raw Confrontation In Albany Over Terror Bill - Mar 17, 2004
Against the backdrop of the terrorist bombings in Madrid, which Governor Pataki and Senate Republicans seized on as evidence that New York remains at risk, the emotional exchange showed how even two and a half years after the World Trade Center was destroyed, the issue can trigger a welter of strong feelings and tricky political equations. While Mr. Pataki has made the new terrorism laws, which were passed by the Senate on Tuesday, a priority of his administration, similar legislation was passed by the Senate last year only to die in the Assembly. The bills deal with everything from cyberterrorism to money laundering to safeguarding crops. This year, both because it is an election year for the lawmakers and because events overseas may serve as a reminder of the terrorist threat, Republicans are hoping the dynamic is different. (New York Times)

Calls For More In-Depth Analysis In Responses To Environmental Impact Statement - Mar 17, 2004
It is hard to imagine a 2,000-page document missing anything. But critical comments on the draft environmental impact statement for the World Trade Center rebuilding project generally fault it more for what it does not say than for what it does. The comments, which were due Monday but kept trickling in yesterday to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, urged officials to assess more carefully and comprehensively the cumulative effects of several big projects - the office towers and memorial, the PATH terminal, the Fulton Street Transit Center and the reconstruction of West Street-Route 9A - that have been separated for public review. (New York Times)

Bush Aides To Testify At 9/11 Panel Next Week - Mar 17, 2004
Senior officials of the Bush and Clinton administrations will testify next week before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and they will be asked to explain their decisions on terrorist threats and "how they handled the most pressing security threat to our country," the panel said Tuesday. (New York Times)

Whistle-Blower Group Wants Rumsfeld Investigated For Taking Ground Zero Souvenirs - Mar 16, 2004
Law enforcement agencies should investigate Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and FBI agents for possessing mementos from the World Trade Center and other sites of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a group of attorneys said Monday. (Associated Press)

After 9/11 Charity Draws Fire, Mayor Cautions New Yorkers Think Before Donating - Mar 16, 2004
Amid questions of a Sept. 11 charity's philanthropy, Mayor Bloomberg cautioned the public yesterday to do its homework before making donations. (New York Daily News )

Money From One 9/11 Charity Going To Its Lawyer -- Not Needy - Mar 15, 2004
A lawyer for the charity created by the three firefighters in the iconic flag-raising photograph at Ground Zero has reaped more than $500,000 in legal fees while the charity has given just $73,000 to the needy, the Daily News has learned. (New York Daily News)

Terror Drill At Shea Stadium Provides Training - Mar 15, 2004
ith the specter of coordinated terrorist bombings on railroads in Madrid looming in the background, New York City staged one of the largest mock terrorist attacks in the nation at Shea Stadium yesterday morning. The drill began at 11 a.m., when the city's Office of Emergency Management detonated an unspecified type of fake weapon of mass destruction inside the stadium. Soon after, fire trucks and ambulances straggled through gridlock in the parking lot toward the stadium, while rescuers inside coped with fake rubble and terrorist suspects as they rushed mock victims to safety. (New York Times)

New York Gives Politicians Lessons on Mixing 9/11 And Politics - Mar 15, 2004
The nation is on the threshold of a long and potentially nasty contest for the White House and for the first time it is being forced to consider 9/11 in purely political terms, terms the Republicans would like to frame around the notions of leadership and security, and the Democrats around exploitation and outrage. But while this is all new and raw on the national stage, it is a dynamic that has played out in New York - especially during the governor's race in 2002 - and continues to influence the thrust and parry of local politics at the highest levels. In that regard, New York's experience provides insight into the benefits and pitfalls Democrats and Republicans risk as they continue to play the Sept. 11 card in this year's contest for the presidency. (New York Times)

Artists Struggling After 9/11, Survey Finds - Mar 15, 2004
They are, to a large extent, the same worries that have always been voiced by New York City artists: the rents are too high, the pay is too low, and if things don't get better soon, I'm going to have to go. But according to a new survey released last week, those problems have only grown in the two and a half years since the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. (New York Times)

Downtown Street Corner To Be Named After Two Brothers Who Died on 9/11 - Mar 14, 2004
In a reversal of its earlier position on naming streets after 9/11 victims, a Community Board 1 committee voted to co-name the northeast corner of Beach St. for two Tribeca brothers who died in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Mark and Stephen Colaio, third-generation Downtowners, worked together at Cantor Fitzgerald and lived close to one another in Tribeca. Their sister, Jean Colaio Steinbach, and MarkÕs wife, June, appeared before the board on March 4 to request that a street corner where Mark lived at 260 W. Broadway be co-named ÒColaio Way.Ó (Downtown Express)

Ground Zero Architect, Memorial Juror To Discuss "Building Memory" At Jewish Museum - Mar 14, 2004
ÒRemember, never forget.Ó The words on the wall of New YorkÕs Museum of Jewish Heritage in Lower Manhattan will come to life this month when the museum hosts a half-day symposium exploring how Holocaust memories are preserved and passed down from generation to generation. The symposium will feature three separate panels. Daniel Libeskind and James Young will discuss building and rebuilding memory in the symposiumÕs closing session at 4 p.m. Libeskind, the son of Holocaust survivors, designed the master site plan for the World Trade Center and Young, a Holocaust scholar, was one of 13 members of the jury that evaluated entries in the World Trade Center site memorial competition. (Downtown Express)

Schumer Calls For Tighter Security On Trains - Mar 14, 2004
The Madrid train bombings should serve as a wake-up call to protect the subway and American railways from terrorist attacks, Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday. Standing on the uptown platform of the No. 6 train at 33rd Street, Schumer called on the federal government to speed up development of bomb-detecting sensors for subway and rail stations. (Newsday)

Building The Freedom Tower on Site Full of Fear - Mar 14, 2004
ight now, the designers of the Freedom Tower are struggling to master three colossal forces that are at work in the stark, empty sky above the World Trade Center site: gravity, wind and, perhaps most formidably, fear. Any architect or engineer who works on a tall structure is morally and professionally obligated to become something of a safety obsessive. The steel and concrete of every Manhattan skyscraper has to resist hurricane-force winds, for example, as well as the downward pull of the Earth. But only the Freedom Tower will rise over a patch of ground that is forever shaken with the terror and paranoia of the worst building catastrophe in the history of the planet. (New York Times)

Officials Tell New Yorkers To Stay Calm After Madrid Attacks - Mar 13, 2004
A day after nearly 200 people were killed in a horrific train bombing in Madrid, Gov. Pataki reassured jittery New Yorkers yesterday that they were safe from terrorism. "Go about your lives just as if it were prior to Sept. 11," Pataki said at a hastily arranged press conference at Grand Central Terminal. Hours earlier, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Peter Kalikow had ridden with subway riders cheek by jowl, inspecting the heightened security measures put in place after the Madrid attack. (New York Daily News)

Security Remains High On Trains, As Police Team Gathers Information In Spain - Mar 13, 2004
For the second straight day, the police maintained a heightened presence in the New York City region's subways, commuter railroads and transit hubs. Meanwhile, New York police officials sent representatives to Madrid to learn about the attacks. The team will be looking for clues on a variety of issues, including where the explosive devices were placed and how they were detonated, he said. The information will be put into training materials and new programs as quickly as possible, he said. (New York Times)

Mayor Defends Bush's Ads -- And Kerry's - Mar 13, 2004
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg refused to be drawn into the partisan politics of the looming presidential race yesterday, jumping in to defend first President Bush and then his main Democratic rival, Senator John Kerry, on his weekly radio show. Mayor Bloomberg was asked by the radio show's host, John Gambling, about the Bush campaign ads focusing on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The mayor, a Democrat who switched to the Republican Party to run for office, responded by saying that he supported the campaign strategies of both candidates, even though the question was about only one of them. (New York Times)

Rumsfeld, High FBI Officials, Took Souvenirs From Ground Zero - Mar 13, 2004
The removal of souvenir debris from the scenes of the Sept. 11 attacks reached the highest levels of government, including Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and FBI Director Robert Mueller's chief of anti-terrorism, a Justice Department investigation has found. The practice was so widespread inside the FBI that it even forced prosecutors in Minnesota to drop plans to prosecute a company that had taken a fire truck door from the World Trade Center, according to a still-confidential report obtained by The Associated Press. (Associated Press)

Madrid Bombings Cause Concerns About US Train Security - Mar 13, 2004
In the hours after the attacks, officials busily moved to put more bomb-detection teams, electronic devices and other measures in place from Washington to New York to Seattle. Transportation experts said, however, that the Madrid bombings underscored the fact that rail security had lagged woefully behind aviation improvements since the 9/11 attacks. And Democrats in Congress quickly proposed a $500 million commitment for rail security to help narrow the gap. Federal officials were most concerned about subway and train systems in and around New York City, Washington and other major Eastern cities. (New York Times)

Tribeca Film Festival Receives $3 Million Pledge From Lower Manhattan Development Corporation - Mar 12, 2004
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Thursday announced a two-year, $3 million commitment to the Tribeca Film Festival, which was the first major event to be held in Lower Manhattan after the September 11th attacks and has attracted hundred-of-thousands of visitors and millions of dollars in revenue to the downtown area since it debuted in 2002. (Newsday)

City Cops Head To Madrid After Bombing - Mar 12, 2004
The subway bomb massacre yesterday in Madrid prompted new precautions in New York, as police heightened patrols on subways and commuter lines and sent intelligence officers to Spain. Two NYPD officers, one with an Interpol background, were to arrive in Madrid "for information gathering," said one official. (Newsday)

New York Drops Out Of Anti-Terrorism Database - Mar 12, 2004
New York has dropped out of a multistate crime database program that civil-liberties groups have criticized as an invasion of privacy, state officials said yesterday. Questions over federal funding for the Matrix database and its potential benefits led state officials to withdraw from the program, said Lynn Rasic, a spokeswoman for the state Office of Public Security. State officials had also previously cited privacy issues as a concern. (New York Post)

President Dedicates Long Island 9/11 Memorial - Mar 12, 2004
President Bush wept with 9/11 families yesterday as he helped break ground on Long Island for a memorial to honor those killed in the Twin Tower attacks. Anti-Bush protesters marched outside Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, but the flap over the brief shots of Ground Zero in Bush's recent TV ads seemed far away as hundreds of family members lined up, each with a single white rose pinned to a lapel. (New York Post)

Subway Security Up After Madrid Bombing - Mar 12, 2004
Hours after deadly terrorist bombings at Madrid's train stations, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday that police and transportation officials had taken steps to increase security in New York's subways. (New York Times)

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Claiming That Firefighters Had Faulty Radios On 9/11 - Mar 11, 2004
A judge dismissed a lawsuit yesterday that alleged firefighters who responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11 were equipped with faulty radios. (New York Daily News)

Buildings For Ground Zero Now Planned To Be Shorter Than Originally Intended - Mar 11, 2004
As plans for ground zero assume their final form, it is more apparent than ever that what New York will get - at least in the near future - is a far cry from the renderings by Studio Daniel Libeskind that captivated and puzzled the public a year ago. (New York Times)

Class Action Suit Filed Against Environmental Protection Agency For Misleading Post-9/11 Statements - Mar 10, 2004
Residents and workers in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, saying the agency improperly let thousands of people return to their homes and businesses after the World Trade Center collapsed. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan accused the agency of making misleading statements about air quality after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. (Associated Press)

Asthma Linked to Ground Zero - Mar 10, 2004
Children with asthma who lived within five miles of the World Trade Center had more severe illness after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, seeing the doctor more often and taking more medication the year after the attack than the year before, researchers found. There were no significant differences in care for asthmatic children farther away. (Newsday)

GOP Head "Insults" 9/11 Families Who Oppose Bush's 9/11 Ads - Mar 10, 2004
The head of the Republican Party angered 9/11 families again yesterday by saying only a "small segment ... who are very anti-war" objected to President Bush's use of Ground Zero scenes in his reelection ads. The father of one 9/11 victim called the comment "insulting." (New York Daily News)

Bush Agrees To Answer All 9/11 Commission's Questions - Mar 10, 2004
The White House said Tuesday that President Bush would privately answer all questions raised by the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks and suggested that the interview might go beyond the one-hour limit originally offered to the panel. (New York Times)

White House Vs. 9/11 Commission - Mar 09, 2004
Ever since first opposing the 9/11 commission's formation, the Bush administration has clashed with the 10-member bipartisan panel over a range of access issues, including aviation records and presidential intelligence briefings. (Washington Post )

Brothers Become Firefighters To Honor Friend Killed On 9/11 - Mar 09, 2004
Brothers Salvatore and Randy Ranieri grew up admiring their friend Kenny Watson, a firefighter who died Sept. 11. And yesterday, they made good on their vow to honor his memory when they became the newest members of New York's Bravest. (New York Post)

Brooklyn Unveils 9/11 Memorial - Mar 09, 2004
It'll be a tribute in light and a warning in bronze. The winning design for Brooklyn's official Sept. 11 memorial, unveiled yesterday, is a 25-foot-tall pillar that was inspired by the trumpets blown by turn-of-the-century firefighters as they rushed to burning buildings. A spotlight on top will shine every night from 9 to 11 p.m. (New York Post)

Passengers Tried To Stop Plane From Crashing Into Towers - Mar 09, 2004
The widow of a Gulf War veteran aboard doomed United Airline Flight 175 revealed for the first time yesterday that passengers tried to stop hijackers from crashing the plane into one of the Trade Center towers. (New York Daily News)

Downtowners React To Law Banning Vendors From Ground Zero - Mar 08, 2004
Downtowners on both sides of the selling tables had strong reactions to the ground zero vending ban approved by lawmakers on Monday, March 1. (Downtown Express)

Senator Clinton, Environmental Protection Agency, Announce Panel To Examine 9/11 Response - Mar 08, 2004
A panel of government and independent experts will review the Environmental Protection AgencyÕs response to the World Trade Center disaster in an attempt to bolster public confidence in the cleanup process, officials announced on Monday, March 1. (Downtown Express)

Brooklyn's 9/11 Memorial To Be Unveiled Today - Mar 08, 2004
The winning design for Brooklyn's official Sept. 11 memorial will do more than honor the hundreds of residents who died on that awful day - it will provide a spiritual connection to one of America's greatest triumphs. Artist Robert Ressler's winning design will be forged at the same Greenpoint foundry that produced the famous statue in Arlington, Va., of six Marines planting the American flag at Iwo Jima. Ressler's design will be unveiled this morning at the 69th Street Pier in Bay Ridge, where it will be installed this summer. The group backing the memorial still must raise $35,000 to maintain it. Checks can be sent to: Brooklyn Remembers, 9201 4th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11209. (New York Post)

Group of 9/11 Families Issue Letter Supporting Bush's Ads - Mar 07, 2004
More than a dozen families who lost relatives in the Sept. 11 attacks released an "Open Letter to America" Saturday declaring their support for President Bush and his use of images of the destroyed World Trade Center in campaign ads. (Associated Press)

Bush Defends Ground Zero Scene In First Public Comments About Controversial Ads - Mar 07, 2004
In his first direct comments on the advertisements with Sept. 11 images, President Bush showed no sign of backing down. The White House has been embroiled all week in criticism from families of some victims of the attacks, as well from Mr. Kerry and his allies, that the commercials have crassly politicized a tragedy. (New York Times)

Responses To Calatrava's Proposed Tower Downtown - Mar 06, 2004
Architect Santiago Calatrava, who wowed many Downtowners with his design for the World Trade Center train station when it was unveiled in January, may be on his way to doing the same with his proposed 835-foot slender tower design in the Seaport announced on Wednesday. The residential design described as Òtownhouses in the skyÓ received favorable reviews from some local residents who have opposed other large-scale projects in the neighborhood. (Downtown Express)

Advocates Ask That Federal Money Be Used For Housing, Jobs - Mar 06, 2004
Community members rallied at the headquarters of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation on Feb. 27, urging the corporation to direct some of its remaining $1.2 billion towards jobs and affordable housing. (Downtown Express)

Mayor Declines To Criticize Ground Zero Ads - Mar 06, 2004
Walking a fine political line, Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused Friday to criticize political ads being aired by President George W. Bush, a fellow Republican, that some Bush critics said was creating political capital out of 9/11. (Newsday)

Pataki Signs Law Banning Vendors From Ground Zero - Mar 06, 2004
Gov. Pataki yesterday signed into law legislation reinstating restrictions on peddlers in Midtown Manhattan while also barring vendors from around Ground Zero. The law takes effect immediately. (New York Post)

Owners Of Flag Planted At Ground Zero Sue City For Losing It - Mar 06, 2004
The owners of the flag that was planted in the rubble of Ground Zero claim the city has lost it and are suing for more than $500,000 (New York Daily News)

Opinions Vary On Which Parts Of Ground Zero Are Historic - Mar 06, 2004
A debate with few precedents in American historic preservation - what are the meaningful physical remnants of a place that was all but destroyed? - has turned into a confrontation between preservationists and state officials. Yesterday, the National Trust for Historic Preservation called on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to let the keeper of the National Register of Historic Places determine which remnants of the World Trade Center deserved heightened scrutiny; for example, the severed cast-iron PATH tubes or the smoke-scarred ruins of an underground parking garage. (New York Times)

Green In Lower Manhattan: An Interview With Architect Bruce Fowle - Mar 05, 2004
MetropolisMag editor Julie Taraska spoke with architect Bruce Fowle about Ground ZeroÕs environmental opportunities: the chance to readdress the siteÕs density, to explore renewable power sources, and to utilize green roofs. The discussion occurred in January 2004, days before the LMDC released its Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) for the WTC Memorial and Redevelopment Plan. (Metropolis Magazine)

Bush Campaign Will Use Giuliani To State Its Case On 9/11 - Mar 05, 2004
Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will be used by the Bush campaign to get its side across in the national debate over the Sept. 11 attacks, top White House advisers said. (New York Post)

New Design Guidelines For Ground Zero Are Less Restrictive - Mar 05, 2004
A confidential draft of the new desing guidelines for buildings at Ground Zero, obtained yesterday by the Daily News, shows guidelines for building heights and construction materials that are less restrictive than an earlier version. (New York Daily News)

Ground Zero Photo Used To Promote Credit Card - Mar 05, 2004
A photograph that became an enduring symbol of patriotism and firefighter resolve at Ground Zero is being used to promote a credit card. (New York Daily News)

New Design Guidelines For Ground Zero - Mar 05, 2004
Building setbacks, the proportion of towers to their bases, the angle of the rooftops, facade materials, paving and landscaping, the width of sidewalks, even the color and typography of signs - are all covered by the proposed design guidelines for Ground Zero. However, the current draft still leaves open the significant question of who would administer the rules over the many years it may take to complete the reconstruction. (New York Times)

4 Finalists Picked In Competition To DesignHoboken's 9/11 Memorial - Mar 05, 2004
On Thursday, the Hoboken Sept. 11 Memorial Fund, which the mayor organized three months after the attack, announced that four designs had been selected as finalists in the competition for a memorial. A final design for a memorial that will be erected at Pier A Park along the waterfront will be chosen by May, Mayor David Roberts said. (New York Times)

- Mar 05, 2004
On Thursday, the Hoboken Sept. 11 Memorial Fund, which the mayor organized three months after the attack, announced that four designs had been selected as finalists in the competition for a memorial. A final design for a memorial that will be erected at Pier A Park along the waterfront will be chosen by May, Mayor David Roberts said. (New York Times)

Veil Removed From Historic Skyscraper Next To Ground Zero, Revealing Wounds - Mar 05, 2004
Veiled in its 23-story shroud and braced in scaffolding for more than two years, the cherished little skyscraper at 90 West Street has been a building in mourning. To those living and working near ground zero, it has been a grimly persistent reminder of the terrorist assault on the World Trade Center. Now the cloak is gone. The scaffolding is down. And while the horrific wounds on its northern facade are finally - and shockingly - visible, Joachim Fiebich, a construction supervisor at the site, said that "it is as if 90 West has come back to life.'' (New York Times)

Bush Campaign Defends Ground Zero Ads - Mar 04, 2004
The Bush re-election campaign and the White House stepped up today their defense of three new advertisements that use images of the smoldering remains of the World Trade Center, arguing that the device is appropriate in an election campaign that will be waged, in part, on the candidates' abilities to fight the war on terror. (New York Times)

Bush Television Ads Feature Ground Zero -- Angering Families Of Victims - Mar 04, 2004
The Bush reelection campaign yesterday unveiled its first three campaign commercials showcasing Ground Zero images, angering some 9/11 families who accused President Bush of exploiting the tragedy for political advantage. (New York Daily News)

Arad Demands Full Control Of Memorial, Creating Tension With Officials - Mar 04, 2004
Ground Zero memorial designer Michael Arad is pushing to gain total control of the projectÕs $350 million budget, as well as the power to personally hire construction and engineering firms, determine the treatment of the western slurry wall that was a feature of architect Daniel LibeskindÕs plan for the site, and make all long-term scheduling decisions, according to several sources close to the rebuilding effort. (New York Observer)

Plan For Underground Walkways Downtown Sparking Debate - Mar 04, 2004
Seduced by the distinctive architecture planned around the World Trade Center site, it is easy to forget that one of the most important transformations of Lower Manhattan will be almost invisible, at least from the street. A series of passageways being planned, including underground concourses, would permit pedestrians to make a sheltered journey, uninterrupted by traffic, from Vesey Street and North End Avenue in Battery Park City to Broadway and John Street. (New York Times)

Two New Documentary Films Look Back On 9/11 - Mar 04, 2004
In the two and a half years since they occurred, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, have become so enmeshed in politics, speculation and debate that in looking back one can be distracted from the trauma of the terrorist attacks themselves. Two documentaries, "Collateral Damages" and "The First 24 Hours," both by Ć’tienne Sauret, return to the primal events. (New York Times)

Long A Dream, Skyscraper Museum Will Become A Reality - Mar 03, 2004
For most people skyscrapers are just part of the visual furniture that makes New York New York. For Carol Willis, they are infinitely more: "the most important contribution of American culture to the history of architecture," she says. It seemed obvious to her that there ought to be a museum about them. And on April 2, due to efforts, there will be. (New York Times)

Refusing White House Conditions, 9/11 Commission Calls For Bush, Cheney To Testify In Public - Mar 03, 2004
The independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is refusing to accept strict conditions from the White House for interviews with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney and is renewing its request that Mr. Bush's national security adviser testify in public, commission members said Tuesday. (New York Times)

Reluctantly, Jury Convicts Firefighter Of Removing Items From Ground Zero - Mar 03, 2004
It wasn't exactly a scene out of "Twelve Angry Men" - a juror put his arm around a former firefighter and apologized to him yesterday minutes after he helped convict him of filching personal items from the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center. (New York Post)

Arad: Dispute Over Control Threatens Memorial - Mar 03, 2004
Ground Zero memorial designer Michael Arad has warned development officials in a letter that an escalating dispute over how to run the $350 million project could "prevent" his design from being built, sources told The Post. (New York Post)

Calatrava Designs Residential Tower For Lower Manhattan - Mar 03, 2004
resh from causing a sensation with his avian design for the World Trade Center transportation hub, the architect and artist Santiago Calatrava is ready to make a second startling mark on the Lower Manhattan skyline with a residential tower unlike any New York has ever seen. It would take the form of an offset stack of 45-foot glass cubes, a dozen in all, each intended to house only one or two families. (New York Times)

Firefighter Says Items He Took From Ground Zero Were 'Garbage' - Mar 02, 2004
A retired fireman accused of stealing "souvenirs" while working at Ground Zero told a Manhattan jury yesterday that the items were all "garbage" - even the ID cards of two World Trade Center workers who died in the tragedy. (New York Post)

Vendors Banned From Streets Near Ground Zero - Mar 02, 2004
Legislators voted yesterday to limit the number of vendors who can hawk their wares on crowded Manhattan sidewalks, and to ban street sales near Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)

Breaking Silence, City Planning Commission Weighs In On Trade Center Site Plan - Mar 02, 2004
Breaking its conspicuous public silence on the World Trade Center redevelopment plan, the City Planning Department called yesterday for many changes that would open more of the streets, sidewalks and public spaces on the site. (New York Times)