"As someone who got married last year, it was certainly the happiest day of my life to be able to marry my best friend," she said of her 2010 wedding to husband Marc Mezvinsky. "I fundamentally believe that every New Yorker, every American, and everyone should have the same right."

This closely follows Bill Clinton's latest comments in support of same-sex marriage, which was announced by the New York office of the Human Rights Campaign earlier today. The announcement by the former president marks just how widely accepted the issue has become in the mainstream--Clinton, after all, was the president who signed the Defense of Marriage Act and Don't Ask Don't Tell into law--and adds yet more power to the increasingly active movement to get same-sex marriage legislation passed in New York. Every statewide elected official supports it, as does New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Politico said the former president's comment earlier today "underscores" the fact that "President Obama is increasingly to the right of his party" on this issue.

"I was very grateful that my father gave me yet another reason to be proud," said the daughter of the former president,  standing inside the 1199 SEIU Headquarters on West 42nd Street.

The phonebank is part of a larger campaign by New Yorkers for Marriage Equality, a coalition of gay rights organizations that is now attempting a final push for same-sex marriage by reaching out to supporters in swing districts through the end of the 2011 legislative session. Meanwhile, Cuomo has announced that he's about to hit the campaign trail to rally support for (among other things) getting gay marriage legislation passed in June.

"I also know, having grown up in politics, that sometimes we need to help politicians do the right things, and that we need to help constituents understand what's really at stake," she said. "I know that we'll get there."

Now, where's Hillary Clinton?

"To stand at Church and Vesey streets," Cuozzo says, "is to witness a new Downtown being born."

After nearly a decade of false starts, delays, and general confusion, the city is finally beginning to see the emerging outline of the new World Trade Center. Cuozzo writes a quick rundown on the status of each project, and even manages to be positive--or at least restrained--about plans he previously criticized, saying that it's "too late to turn back" on the Transportation Hub (though he also calls the project "tortured"), and concedes that the surrounding trees soften the memorial's effect.

Cuozzo also spoke to critics who believe that the scope of the real estate project exceeds the demand for the space in a city that currently has a commercial vacancy rate of more than 10 percent. Following this logic, he argues, the Twin Towers should never have been built, as they took decades to fill. Of course, he also says that detractors are either jealous, defeatist or Twin Towers fanatics "for whom only restoration of the banal hulks would do."

From a real estate perspective, Cuozzo's argument makes sense. For the past several years, "Ground Zero" has described the rubble on which the Twin Towers once stood-and the site of impotent development plans, delays, and indecision. He seems to believe that with the area's reconstruction, the term will no longer apply to the location. It will refer to a prior state of flux in which we were still dealing with the tragedy of September 11 in some form or function. Since the project finally appears to be on track, we should let "Ground Zero" go.

For more general purposes, however, we would be doing the victims of September 11 a disservice in retiring the phrase. Developing projects may stand on the site, but the memory of what occurred there less than a decade ago remains. It is the only 9/11-specific phrase that applies to the location: "World Trade Center" described it before the tragedy, and will apply to the new buildings going forward. "Ground Zero" is the term that allows us to preserve, in daily language, the legacy of those who died.

Despite the site's reconstruction and bin Laden's death, 9/11 is still a source of grief for many; and the terrorist group that masterminded it, though reduced, still poses a threat to our country. The last people who truly occupied the site were those who were injured, killed, or in serious danger during the terrorist attack. The term ground Zero, though obsolete in terms of physical real estate, recalls a tragedy that is still too fresh to leave behind

realestate@observer.com

Jamestown's plan would stack two new multi-story spaces on top of the complex. Above the 10^th Avenue side, the company would add an eight-story glass office building; and a 12-story boutique hotel would sit atop the east side of the complex. The proposal to build these structures--which, admittedly, may be of dubious aesthetic appeal--has become a subject of outrage for longtime residents who have witnessed the Chelsea Market building's transformation from old industrial complex to developed neighborhood hot spot over the past two decades.

The real estate company seems surprised at the backlash (the Times reported yesterday that Jamestown has been "taken aback by the uproar"), but may have allies in nonprofit group Friends of the High Line. To build the plan's structures, the company would have to obtain a zoning variance that would also require them to contribute roughly $17 million to help fund improvements to the High Line project.

Chelsea Market isn't a designated landmark, but the plan will still have to go through reviews by the community board and the City Planning Department. Given Manhattan's boundaries, vertical expansion in the neighborhood is inevitable--it's just a question of whether economic function or aesthetic appeal will win out in this particular battle.

asterling@observer.com 

The Observer spoke with a few national security and terrorism experts, who posited that while remaining Al Qaeda forces may attempt to retaliate, the death of the terrorist leader may indeed have "cut the head off the snake."

"The world is indeed a better place without Osama bin Laden," said terrorism expert Dr. Hassan Abbas, who is a Bernard Schwartz fellow at the New York-based Asia Society. "There may be a brief upsurge in terrorist activity around the world as a reaction from members of Al Qaeda and its affiliates, but overall his death will prove demoralizing for the terrorist group."

Others said that bin Laden's death will likely have a decentralizing effect on remaining Al Qaeda forces and allies. Bin Laden was an extraordinarily charismatic leader who had the power to unite different factions, and he will be difficult--perhaps impossible--to replace. This may well lead to the demise of bin Laden's movement, but it may also motivate remaining forces to retaliate.

"I would expect that whoever replaces bin Laden will not really be able to be as effective a leader as bin Laden was," said Dr. Vanda Felbab-Brown, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institute. "I don't think that we can at all conclude that the demise of bin Laden means the end of Salafi or Al Qaeda activity around the world, including against the United States."

She added, "In fact, they will be very highly motivated to show that they aren't finished."

Dr. Felbab-Brown has noted, however, that the death of bin Laden may lead to a severance between Al Qaeda and the Taliban, which has been a goal for the U.S. Other experts aren't so sure that remaining Al Qaeda forces will have the capabilities to carry out the attacks.

"Al Qaeda has been trying for some time now to mount attacks," said Dr. Angel Rabasa, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. "They have, I think, an added motivation with bin Laden's killing, but I don't know that they have any enhanced capabilities to do that."

There was general agreement that the Obama administration should release the photos of bin Laden's body--to disprove conspiracy theorists, and to drive home the reality of the situation with the American public.

"At the end of the day, this is a moment of justice in the world," said Dr. Felbab-Brown. "And people should be allowed to express the catharsis."

"Americans benefit from free trade," said Chocola in a press release this morning. "It forces companies to innovate and compete leading to greater variety, lower prices, and better quality goods and services."

Club for Growth, which advocates and promotes free-market principles, has a long history of denouncing politicians who the group believes are not fiscally conservative enough. (The Club recently declared Donald Trump the "King of Protectionism" in response to his call for a 25 percent tax on Chinese imports.)

Schumer has been outspoken lately in his criticism of China's economic policies following a trip to Beijing earlier this month; and yesterday he declared his intention to unveil "a bunch of legislation" that would encourage the country to play nice with the U.S. by accelerating the appreciation of the yuan.

In the past, Schumer tried to take similar legislative action when he sought to impose a tariff on Chinese imports, which the Club for Growth calls "protectionist."

"Chuck Schumer likes to talk about how he's looking out for the middle class," said Chocola. "But he wants to hit Americans in all income brackets with a massive new sales tax on the goods they buy every day."

UPDATE: A Schumer spokesman emailed a response from the senator. "It is a betrayal of free-trade principles to let China continue taking unfair advantage of the rest of the world's economies. Every major American company that I met with in China told me that China does not trade fairly and their protectionism against foreign firms is getting worse. There is no bigger step we can take to promote U.S. job creation, particularly in the manufacturing sector, than to confront China's currency manipulation and I intend to do just that." 

"We talked about currency, we met with the American Chamber of Commerce," said the senator, offering one example. "They're afraid to speak out publicly, but when they met with us privately, every one of them had a complaint."

Schumer has been an outspoken critic of several Chinese policies, which he believes gives the country an unfair advantage in the international market. During his trip, which included nine of his fellow senators, Schumer criticized China's financial leaders for refusing to accelerate the appreciation of the yuan. The senator also said today that the country's current economic arrangement with the United States is unfair.

"Major, major [U.S.] companies are not allowed to sell goods in China. We allow China to sell goods here," he said. "They do not reciprocate."

Schumer said that he plans to take steps to deal with the situation through legislative action, following similar recent comments by Harry Reid.

"I have a whole bunch of legislation that I will be announcing on currency and other issues to deal with the fact that China doesn't treat us fairly," he said.

"Donald's from Brooklyn," Schumer explained. (But wait, isn't he from Queens?)

"I used to see his father driving the Cadillac that said 'FT' down Ocean Parkway when I was playing on the street," Schumer reminisced. (Trump's father was named Fred Christ Trump.) "So I'm not going to be critical of Donald Trump. All I say is, as a Democrat, the more Republicans in the primary, the merrier."

Of course, Trump has also donated money to Schumer's campaigns over the years. When asked if he thought that Trump would run, the senator kept mum.

"You'll have to ask him," he said.

Some are referring to this as "burning garbage," which may be overstating the issue a bit. The new PlaNYC plan mentions that the city may explore technology that converts waste into energy, but it seems that for now, we'll be sticking with out of town landfills.

"While we are continuously researching alternative methods for disposal and working to increase our diversion rate (the percentage of materials recovered from the general waste stream)," it says on page 137, "we will likely maintain our reliance on landfills far from the city."

The booklet notes, however, that this isn't a viable long-term solution. It outlines some of the ways that the city can encourage its residents to recycle, and mentions a few processing technologies that may be commercially applicable in New York-though one would hope that these would be a little more scientifically advanced than simple incineration. There's a lot of talk of exploration of these technologies, but not much concrete discussion of implementation.

"We will expand opportunities for community-based composting and encourage commercial food waste recovery operations," the plan reads. "Advances in technology will also allow us to pursue alternative disposal methods by safely and efficiently converting our waste into a source of clean energy."

It adds, "We will analyze opportunities to use new conversion technologies as commercially viable alternatives to landfilling."

Well, if it works for Denmark....

The event, at Harlem Stage, gave away free reusable water bottles to the media, and distributed press releases on individual flash drives rather than on paper. A high-definition slideshow of natural and city scenes played as the mayor spoke about the updates to the plan to make New York "the most environmentally sustainable 21^st-century city."

"The earth was not given to you by your parents," said Bloomberg, recalling an old proverb. "It was loaned to you by your children."

The clean heat campaign is a public/private initiative that will phase out low-grade heating oils, which contribute to air pollution, in city buildings. The mayor also hopes to install solar panels over landfills, and potentially on some city rooftops as well. He also announced that the city will use $40 million in federal stimulus funds to help property owners make energy-efficient upgrades.

PlaNYC was launched in 2007 to increase the city's long-term sustainability, and specifically aims to have one million trees growing in the city by 2017 and reduce carbon emissions 30% by 2030. The mayor must update the plan every four years.

DNAinfo's Murray Weiss reports the breakdown of cops involved: seven on Staten Island; 30 in Queens; 30 in Brooklyn, 55 in Manhattan and 380 in the Bronx. The grand jury in the Bronx, which is reviewing evidence on the investigation, is so swamped by the caseload that prosecutors are delegating some cases to the jury's counterparts in other boroughs.

The cops aren't the only ones being investigated, however.

Weiss reports New York Yankees executive Douglas Behar received a court summons, and prosecutors believe that he called in a favor to get an August 2010 speeding ticket dismissed. While prosecutors allege that many cops received bribes such as free food, booze, sports tickets, home renovations and car repairs, it's unclear who or what was involved in Behar's specific case.

Union reps, however, deny that ticket-fixing is a big deal.

Edward Mullins, head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, has recorded a message defending the practice by calling it "just a courtesy." Mullins says that the charges of widespread corruption and bribery in the NYPD are "ludicrous," and calls on members of the force to tell their ticket-fixing stories so that the public can understand how benign the practice is.