Pataki at WTC site

The 1,776-foot tower that is the structural centerpiece of the rebuilding plan for the World Trade Center site will be completed by September 11, 2006, Gov. George Pataki said today, as he outlined an ambitious and specific timetable for the revitalization of Lower Manhattan, a plan consistent with the one the Mayor presented in December 2002.

Pataki's schedule, which touches on a wide range of plans, programs and construction downtown, begins with the memorial competition that will start Monday and ends with the completion of a rail link to Kennedy International Airport in 2013.

Addressing the Association for a Better New York, a business and civic organization, Pataki pledged that the office of the governor will be the first tenant in the new signature building, which is to be built by developer Larry Silverstein. The governor also called on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation -- the agency that is overseeing rebuilding efforts -- to provide $50 million in funding to improve accessibility in and around downtown and to otherwise enhance the quality of life in the area.

Most of these latter measures to benefit downtown residents, workers and visitors will be in place within six months, the governor said. The remainder are slated for completion by this time next year.

In remarks last week to the same group, LMDC acting president Kevin Rampe had promised that a rebuilding timetable would be unveiled soon, and the governor certainly delivered. In a speech that embraced much of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's own vision for downtown, Pataki conveyed perhaps the strongest and clearest message to date as to what will happen, and when.

Pataki did not mince words, acknowledging that the timetable "leaves no room for error or delay, for parochial concerns or unnecessary legal battles."

The plan, he continued, demands unity -- "a collective sense of determination [and] a shared vision for our future."

It is in the short term, Pataki said, that downtown conditions need to be "normalized" for area workers and residents. But some of the gestures will have a more lasting impact; LMDC will give $3 million, for example, to ensure that the new Millennium High School opens at 75 Broad Street this fall.

Construction proceeds at Ground Zero

The popular greenmarket that formerly was held on the WTC plaza will reopen this summer on Broadway at Liberty Park Plaza.

Pataki also announced the launch of a new tourism marketing campaign that will specifically promote Lower Manhattan. The targeted "I Love New York" promotion is one of a series of efforts by the Empire State Development Corporation to not only retain and bolster small businesses downtown, but also attract new ones.

In the longer term, Pataki reiterated that several rebuilding-based transportation initiatives will indeed go forward. A consortium of city and state agencies are committed to building a grand train station downtown; untangling the Fulton Street subway complex; and refurbishing and expanding South Ferry station (without harming Battery Park, the governor added). The governor also mentioned his firm commitment to establishing direct links between downtown and the region's airports.

The transportation plan offers a number of possibilities for rail access to JFK, either via a new tunnel or using existing subway infrastructure. In his speech, the governor said that he will indicate which of these possibilities he most supports with a year. In the meantime, fast ferries will be implemented -- to LaGuardia beginning in 2004 and JFK in 2005. Newark Liberty Airport will eventually be accessible via an extended PATH train.

Pataki speaks to the Association for a Better New York

All told, the governor's speech reinforced the oft-repeated refrains that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city and rebuilding officials have long emphasized: a 24-hour community with lively shops and cafes, an arts district along Fulton Street and new housing.

The governor pledged to seek a permanent solution to replace the hodgepodge of barricades that clog the area around the New York Stock Exchange, and also pledged that West Street itself will eventually be redesigned as a grand boulevard to rival or even surpass the Champs-Elysees.

The LMDC will provide the final $4 million for the Alliance for Downtown New York's $20 million streetscape improvement program for the Canyon of Heroes. Alliance president Carl Weisbrod said that he was "thrilled" with the pledge, and said the improvements should be completed by July 2004.

As for that signature tower, though the physical structure will have "topped out" by the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks if all goes according to plan, it will not be ready for occupancy until 2007 or 2008. But overall, the plan appears to reinforce the 10-year goal that has been mentioned by various officials for substantial completion of rebuilding downtown.

To read the full text of Gov. Pataki's speech, click here.