Date: Tue, 6 Aug 2002 20:13:34 -0400 (EDT) From: Louis Epstein Subject: Latest Re WTC Rebuilding I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE PERSON WRITING ME FROM "JPMAVERICK@EARTHLINK.NET" (AN ADDRESS THAT HAS NEVER BEEN ON THE LIST) DEMANDING TO BE REMOVED FROM THE LIST, TO TELL ME WHAT LIST ADDRESS TO DELETE. (Sorry about that,everybody,but requests for deletion can only be honored when I'm told what address that IS on the list I should remove!) Excellent results in the Online-LTTC polls that weren't even asked until people pestered for them. How important is it to add a major new element or icon to the lower Manhattan skyline? 71% Very important 8 Important 10 Somewhat Important 8 Unimportant 2 No preference 1 Not prepared to answer This is even better than the one at the Javits, where Very Important scored 57% and Important 14%. The best news is... we have wonderful results on the build new towers/how tall poll: 40% Taller! 20 About as tall 8 Shorter 26 No towers,but "something grand and inspiring" 3 No towers,period. 2 No preference. 1 Not prepared to answer These numbers may not be completely final. I bet they'll try to downplay this but let's run with it! Online-LTTC participants are reminded to make sure they get their views on new Towers into their group's Elements-of-rebuilding <> topic for maximum impact. I'll note that it's interesting how burying West Street seems popular with everyone except the Battery Park City residents it would greatly affect.My own concept plan only puts a couple of streetcar-plus-pedestrian bridges over it...perhaps extending the Fulton Street bridge south a little to make room for reshaping the Winter Garden to let the streetcars by. No one seems to have addressed how restoring Greenwich Street cripples the possibilities for siting buildings, I continue to favor leaving the superblock intact south of Fulton. Mass transit improvements get distracted by the idea of connecting the Metro-North and LIRR lines to Lower Manhattan...not a bad idea in principle but hideously expensive.I think the next Metro-North station on a southward extension would be where it crossed the LIRR lines crossing town to Penn Station,and I wonder how much business being able to transfer directly between those lines would suck out of both GCT and Penn. After that 14th Street,Canal Street,Fulton Street.... billions for each step.Maybe when the new Towers are done,but we don;t want the budget spread thin in the meantime! (I shudder to think of towers being shortened as a budget cut after construction has started...look at the Shanghai WFC,on hold for years now.We can't rest until the new Towers are DONE). A rather important opportunity to get to a meeting, and even get on television,sent to me by Mitra Samdani: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- I received this information that I think you should send out to all those on the list. I won't be here to attend the 8/29 meeting but I think a whole bunch of you should go. I just hope they'll sign people up who didn't show up on their list. Just make people respond to them via e-mail and see what happens. New York One News is putting together a series of town hall meetings in the month of august as part of their special coverage leading up to the 1 year mark of the terror attacks. They plan on having a panel of 4-6 "experts" talking with about 40-50 audience members about a range of issues. They are planning now for the sessions to last a hour and a half to be broadcast on New York One. The idea is that these town hall meetings will be a help to all those involved as our city continues to heal. New York One would very much like to have as many downtown residents/volunteers/victims families in the audience as possible for all of the discussions. A cross-section would be best...from those who have had good experiences with the charities, to people with strong opinions about the future of the site. Here are the details, Aug 8, the first town hall is about charities...how they have worked, how they have failed, what happens now. Aug 15, the topic is health and mental health...what are the dangers, if any, what are the lingering mental health issues, etc. Aug 22. What's it like to live in new york now...why continue to live here, is it safe, how has life changed. Aug 29 The future of the site, what should go there,the memorial. All four town hall meetings will all take place at Embassy Suites (Battery Park City) 102 North End Ave Link to Directions from Embassy Suites website: http://www.embassysuites.com/en/es/hotels/directions.jhtml?ctyhocn=NYCNYES Arrival time: 6:30pm Refreshments 6:30-7:30pm Live town hall meeting 8-9:30pm Please reconfirm your attendance at each of the four events so that we may pass on your name to New York One as an Attendee. ---------- End forwarded message ---------- And the address to respond to for this is ny1events@radicalhospitality.org. ==>Those readers who lost family on 9/11 are especially encouraged to attend! Joe Wright has asked that I test the waters again for who supports,and would be willing to contribute money to,a full-page (Jason Fane has suggesterd most-of-a-page) advertisement in the New York Times,the cost of which would likely just nudge into six figures.All thoughts welcome. Gary Taustine is hosting a meeting of the petition/literature table volunteers this Sunday at his place on East 19th street. If you want to be part of the effort,let me know! Nicole Gelinas concurs that Bloomberg is anti-Towers. His land grab effort would of course subject the rebuilding effort to much NYC bureaucracy (community boards,building inspections,etc) that Port Authority properties are exempt from. The NY Times is saying no one's against the plan in a news story,and endorsing it in an editorial.(Feel free to send contrary lettera!) Joe Wright reports that Crain's New York Business is taking a build-small approach to the office space, and he is sending them a critical letter.We have to build the space that may be rented while the buldings stand, not the space that there's obvious demand for five years before completion!! Readers far from the physical action are reminded they can send in their comments on the site plans no matter where they are...if they offer plans of their own,they may be asked to sign a release-of-intellectual-property-rights form the Whitehead clique is now sending out. The resource link/timeline page at http://www.put.com/wtc/ has been revised today.If any of the web designers on the list want to help develop it further,please contact me. See you on the 111th floor on 9-11-11! -=-=- The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again, at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.