Friday, August 9
		
In an effort to gain control of the World Trade Center site, the city
		proposed this week that it trades the land occupied by LaGuardia and
		Kennedy airports to the Port Authority in exchange for ownership of the
		16 acres of the World Trade Center site. The Port Authority currently
		owns the land at Ground Zero while it rents the space for the airports
		from the city. A land swap would eliminate the agency from the
		rebuilding process and give the city much more control over the site
		than it currently wields. Advocates of the proposal, which was
		introduced by Daniel Doctoroff, deputy mayor of economic development and
		rebuilding, believe that taking the Port Authority out of the process
		will allow the redevelopment at Ground Zero to be less focused on the
		construction of commercial and office space and more towards varied
		development, including housing. Critics of the plan, however, note that
		if the city gives up the airports, it will lose hundreds of millions of
		dollars in potential revenue from rent increases charged to the Port
		Authority. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that any land swap would be part
		of "a large package," suggesting that the city may consider asking the
		Port Authority for a one-time payment along with the World Trade Center
		land to compensate for lost revenues.
		
		
Mayor Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki announced the official
		plans for commemorating the one-year anniversary of September 11 this
		week. Early morning on the 11th, five bagpipe processions will march
		through the five boroughs of the city, all converging at Ground Zero at
		8 AM. After a moment of silence at 8:46 AM, the official ceremony will
		begin, including readings by Governor Pataki and New Jersey Governor
		James McGreevey of the Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of
		Independence, a roll call of all victims of the September 11 attacks
		read by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and a procession down into the
		excavated World Trade Center site by victims' families. Other events
		during the day will include a visit by President George Bush, the
		lighting of an eternal flame in Battery Park, and candlelight vigils
		throughout the five boroughs.
		
		
Almost 11 months after the attacks, the federal government issued its
		first payment to the family of a September 11 victim. The Victim
		Compensation Fund, a federal relief agency set up to handle compensation
		to victims' families,  distributed $1.04 million to the family of a
		recent college graduate making about $60,0000 a year who died in the
		World Trade Center. Victims' families have been hesitant to apply for
		federal aid due to a complicated application process and a requirement
		that those who accept federal compensation waive their right to sue the
		airline industry.
		
		
The Environmental Protection Agency also announced that in September
		it will expand upon what it calls its largest cleanup ever by testing
		250 apartments for toxic metals like lead and mercury, and then cleaning
		them if necessary. This is an expansion of the program announced by the
		federal agency in June to test and clean any apartments in Lower
		Manhattan for asbestos. All residents downtown south of Canal and Pike
		Streets are eligible, with the agency accepting requests until September
		3.
		
		
Finally, officials from the state Housing Finance Agency announced
		yesterday that they have approved $300 million in tax-exempt Liberty
		Bonds for the construction of three luxury apartment buildings downtown.
		Under the terms of the deal, developers of the three buildings, which
		will be built in Battery Park City and on Liberty Street, will receive
		$100 million each in bond funds, and will not have to pay real-estate
		taxes for 20 years. Opponents of the new housing criticized the deal for
		only allocating five percent of the buildings to affordable housing and
		suspending the 10-day public notice requirement.
		
		
		
		Friday, August 2
		With six weeks remaining until the September 11 anniversary,
		public officials and businesses throughout New York City have
		been taking a serious look at the most appropriate way to mark
		the date. One idea mentioned by officials this week would be to
		hold simultaneous tributes in parks in each borough of the city
		on September 11. While a spokesperson for the mayor refused to
		comment on this proposal, he did remark that Mayor Michael
		Bloomberg would announce plans for commemorating the date soon.
		The city has certainly not lacked for ideas - by at least one
		report, 4,500 people have written or e-mailed the mayor's office
		with suggestions, which have included tolling church bells and
		floating 3,000 candles, one for every victim of the September 11
		attacks, in New York Harbor. However, without a clear sense of
		what the city will be doing, local businesses are hesitant to
		announce any plans out of concerns that they will be seen as
		exploiting the anniversary.
		
A lawyer for Larry Silverstein, the developer who owns the
		lease to the World Trade Center, said that Silverstein has every
		intention of exercising his right to rebuild the 11 million
		square feet of office space at the site. Only a couple days
		later, however, Governor George Pataki said that state or
		federal authorities could condemn the land surrounding the site
		and thus expand the area to be developed beyond the 16 acres of
		Ground Zero. This led to speculation that the state could
		legally condemn the site itself and pay the Port Authority
		billions of dollars for the rights to the land. If this
		happened, Larry Silverstein would lose his right to rebuild,
		according to the terms of his lease, and there would no longer
		be a requirement for millions of feet of office space to be
		built, a requirement which has frustrated the public's desire
		for a more creative plan for the site.
		
Regardless of where the legal wrangling ends up, the Lower
		Manhattan Development Corporation is responding to criticism
		about the mediocrity of their first six plans for the site. The
		agency suggested that they may open up the design process and
		invite more designers to submit proposals, including smaller
		firms and foreign companies. It was also revealed this week that
		there was disagreement within the corporation and with the Port
		Authority over the selection of the six plans that were
		presented to the public. A rebuilding task force made up of
		members of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the
		Port Authority picked the six plans out of nine possibilities in
		July. However, after the group made their six selections, two of
		the designs were switched with two alternate designs without the
		consent of the task force. While the two plans that were not
		presented as part of the six official plans were mostly similar
		to the other four proposals, concerns were raised internally
		about the process, with some of the officials described as
		"furious" about the decision to override the group's vote.
		
						
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