December 15th - December 21st, 2006

Freedom Tower Steel on the Rise

Tuesday, December 19^th: The ceremony marked the latest milestone in the World Trade Center's redevelopment and concludes the 4,700-mile journey of the first three 25-ton steel columns from their production in Luxembourg to fabrication in Lynchburg, Virginia, to installation in New York.

"The soaring tower that begins its 1,776-foot ascension today will for generations to come stand as tangible proof of the transcendent power of freedom," Pataki said. "Today, America's strength is evident in these columns of steel -- the footings for the great monument to freedom that is rising on this hallowed site." For more on this story, please click here.

130 Liberty Work Resumes

Tuesday, December 19^th: Façade removal at 130 Liberty Street, the former Deutsche Bank building, has resumed at full tilt after a contract dispute between subcontractor the John Galt Company and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), the Associated Press reported. According to a spokesperson for Bovis Land Lease, the building's main contractor, contract negotiations are currently in progress, the AP continued. In other downtown news, the city opened a debris sifting facility in its continued attempt to recover human remains from a Ground Zero service road and area rooftops, the AP added.

Bone Fragment Found

Wednesday, December 21^st: Two bone fragments were recovered from a previously unsearched manhole at Ground Zero this week, the Associated Press reported. Since the excavation of the service road at Ground Zero began in October, more than 210 remains have been discovered, the AP added.

9/11 Kin Sign Freedom Tower Beam

Monday, December 18^th: Friends and family members of 9/11 victims, invited by Governor George Pataki, gathered at Ground Zero on Sunday to sign the first steel beam that will help support the Freedom Tower, the Daily News reported. The beam is white, weights 53.5 tons, and is nearly 35 feet long, the Daily News continued. Scores of relatives wrote messages, signed their names, and affixed photographs to the beam for five hours in Battery Park City, the New York Times reported. Both Pataki and architect Daniel Libeskind signed the beam, which will support the 1,776-foot-tall tower, the Times added.