What should stand where the twin towers once were?

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Thu May 19, 2005 5:56 pm

Trump Proposes New Twin Towers
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
NYT

(May 19) - Donald J. Trump, reality television star, fragrance entrepreneur and developer of tall buildings, revealed his answer to the problems at the World Trade Center site yesterday. That answer, perhaps unsurprising, was himself.

In a news conference at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, Mr. Trump stood before a large model of his vision for a new World Trade Center, which included towers similar to the Twin Towers, and said that he would press government officials and private developers to rebuild more structurally sound versions of the fallen towers instead of the Freedom Tower, which has been sent back to the drawing board for a new design because of security concerns raised by the Police Department.

Mr. Trump's model was designed by his structural engineer, Kenneth Gardner, who quoted poetry at the news conference, apologized to his mother and thanked many people who "made this day possible."

Mr. Trump's comments about the Freedom Tower were not so appreciative. "In a nutshell, the Freedom Tower should not be allowed to be built," he said. "It's not appropriate for Lower Manhattan, it's not appropriate for Manhattan, it's not appropriate for the United States, it's not appropriate for freedom."

But Mr. Trump's proposal is not exactly appropriate for him. He said he would not be willing actually to lease space in the buildings. ("I only go in buildings I own.") Nor would he explain how his towers would be paid for. "Larry Silverstein hopefully can do this," Mr. Trump said, referring to the lead developer of the site. Mr. Silverstein plans to use insurance money from the terrorist attack to develop both the Freedom Tower and 7 World Trade.

Mr. Trump's plan was dismissed by the governmental agencies involved and raised the ire of some people who lost loved ones on Sept. 11. "If he has such grand ideas and imaginative thoughts," said Thomas Rogér, whose daughter Jean was a flight attendant on the plane that hit the north tower, "where was he three years ago when the master planning was going on?"

He called Mr. Trump's proposal and timing "in poor taste," and said they did not reflect the wishes of the majority of families. "The towers are not a memorial to the people who died there," he said. "If anything it is a bitter reminder of how people died."

Joanna Rose, the spokeswoman for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, said in an e-mail message: "Donald Trump is entitled to his opinion, just like the millions of people who actually involved themselves in the public planning process, which resulted in the master plan."

Mr. Trump's scorecard as a developer is mixed. After the city spent six years and $12 million in a failed effort to renovate the Wollman Memorial Rink in Central Park, he took over the project in 1986 and completed it ahead of schedule and under budget.

But other projects have fallen short or have been plagued with financial problems. He built the tallest residential building in the world on the East Side, but not, as once promised, "the tallest building in the world" on the West Side, nor the spaceship-shaped skyscraper he proposed for Columbus Circle, where the Time-Warner Center now stands.

Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection in November under the weight of $1.8 billion in debt, the second casino bankruptcy for Mr. Trump. (The company has since emerged, with a new name and Mr. Trump's ownership stake reduced.)

It was clearly a coincidence that Mr. Trump held his news conference a day before the season finale of his network reality show, "The Apprentice." But he did mention that Gov. George E. Pataki had been on the show repeatedly, and said that his World Trade Center model, which he reported had moved tourists in the Trump Tower lobby to tears, might be featured on tonight's show.

05-19-05 10:43 EDT

Copyright © 2005 The New York Times Company.

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Thu May 19, 2005 6:26 pm

I think he just fired everybody in NY who had anything to do with the plan.

And how about his model? He oughta get together with Ward Churchill and think up something REALLY new!

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Thu May 19, 2005 6:30 pm

I voted "other" but only because I shy away from the words "freedom" anything because of the way they've been used in offensive initiatives I wasn't happy about.

djm · Post by **djm** » Thu May 19, 2005 7:41 pm

Why not a big shiny new Wal-Mart and get on with our lives?

djm

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Thu May 19, 2005 7:59 pm

djm wrote:Why not a big shiny new Wal-Mart and get on with our lives?

djm

I think that would be a little bit too disrespectful.

cowtime · Post by **cowtime** » Fri May 20, 2005 8:59 pm

I think nothing should be built there. The memorial would be the empty space. Of course, I guess a lot of profit would be lost on some prime real estate if there was nothing there......

Wormdiet · Post by **Wormdiet** » Fri May 20, 2005 9:20 pm

I'm thinking some sort of garden/monument dedicated to nonviolent conflict resolution.

Of course I'm a bleedin' heart, so go ahead and dismiss that.

amar · Post by **amar** » Sat May 21, 2005 2:43 am

a big kindergarten-complex would be nice.

Lambchop · Post by **Lambchop** » Sat May 21, 2005 5:48 am

A big public garden with a monument and an education/research center devoted to tolerance and cross-cultural understanding. I think the monetary loss would be fitting, considering that greed was partly responsible for the whole thing to begin with.

I'd be unable to work where so many died under such horrific conditions, and I'd feel that I was trapped inside a terrorist target. Considering that I already work at one of those, I can tell you that the feeling isn't too comfy, but at least it isn't a vertical coffin, like a new set of towers would be.

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Sat May 21, 2005 8:48 am

This is what they did in Oklahoma City, in a similar situation. However, this approach is generally considered impractical for New York, as land is not the scarce commodity in OKC that it is there.

http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org
<img src="http://gassfam.com/images/Journal/03121 ... ty_JPG.jpg" width=350>

It has a reflecting pool, and chair shaped monuments for each victim.

OnTheMoor · Post by **OnTheMoor** » Sat May 21, 2005 3:15 pm

I agree with the garden idea.

On a side note, man I'm getting tired of Donald Trump. I was watching a poker tournament yesterday that the Donald had apparently taken over, and after every hand he came on to give his thoughts on how poker is alot like business. Needless to say, I no longer have a functioning tv.

oleorezinator · Post by **oleorezinator** » Mon May 23, 2005 10:51 pm

djm wrote:Why not a big shiny new Wal-Mart and get on with our lives?

djm

for god sakes man, have you no decency? starbucks!

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Tue May 24, 2005 1:00 am

A big ol' building with a combover!

TomB · Post by **TomB** » Tue May 24, 2005 6:19 am

I voted "other."

I think we should give thougth to the idea of "rebuilding", if you will, the Twin Towers. Sure, if there are new ways to make them safer, fine, but they were good enough before, so lets do them again.

If we want to tell terrorists that they can't beat us, then why not put the Twin Towers back up, so to speak and tell the terrorists, "srew you guys, you can't beat us, we'll keep going on no matter what you do."

All the Best, Tom

Jens_Hoppe · Post by **Jens_Hoppe** » Wed May 25, 2005 7:21 am

The Freedom Tower

Is that modern American code for something French??