By Matt Chaban 8/15/12 5:50pm

The Neverending Story

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Why Is the World Trade Center Lit Up Red? It’s Some Kind of Salute to the Troops

We first noticed it two weeks ago, crossing the Pulaski Bridge between Long Island City and Greenpoint. There it was, monolithic on the skyline as it has been for months now. But there was something different about 1 World Trade Center. Poking up from beneath the skyline of the warehouses in the foreground and the office buildings beyond was a band of red lights. It was hard to tell from there, but maybe there were some blue ones, and it was a U.S.A theme, all be it out of order (white-red-blue) in honor of the Olympics.

Then, there it was again this Friday, almost entirely red, plainly visible up and down Sixth Avenue (above), and no doubt the rest of the city. People have started noticing, and pictures have been making the rounds on Twitter, especially this one at right, shot by Inga Sarda-Sorensen. So we asked the Port Authority—what gives? Read More

By Matt Chaban 8/08/12 8:33am

The Neverending Story

After a huge response, no fire was found at 1 World Trade Center this morning. (Getty)

Possible Fire on 88th Floor of 1 World Trade Center, Second This Summer [Update: Or Was It 'Welding Incident'?]

After about 45 minutes this morning, dozens of firefighters got a blaze under control on the 88th floor of 1 World Trade Center. The Fire Department did not yet know the cause of the fire, which only hit the one floor. There were no injuries reported, according to an FDNY spokesman.

The fire was reported a little before 8 a.m., and 84 firefighters from 26 units responded. That is not an unusual number for a high-rise blaze, according to the spokesman. Read More

By Matt Chaban 6/26/12 5:51pm

The Neverending Story

12 Photos

Topping Off Downtown

Speeches, Spirits and BBQ as 4 World Trade Center Tops Out

The thunderstorm had just cleared over Manhattan on Monday morning as the topping out of 4 World Trade Center was about to get underway. Turning down Maiden Lane from Broadway, the 977-foot tower, looming over the space of the small street, glistened even more than usual, freshly polished by the rain.Even against a backdrop of dark clouds, the building, designed by Japanese Pritzker Prize winner Fumihiko Maki, blends in with the sky in a soothing way that almost makes the 72-story structure disappear. It is much lighter—and, in the estimation of The Observer, quite a bit nicer—than its big brother, also rising, across the 16-acre site.

“Welcome to the first tower that will open for business here at the World Trade Center site,” Janno Lieber, right-hand man to Larry Silverstein at ground zero, boomed into a microphone from the podium. It was the only note of competition throughout the festivities, even though everyone knew the smaller tower, while started three years later, had beaten its sibling to the top by at least a few days. Read More

By Matt Chaban 6/25/12 2:45pm

The Neverending Story

Larry Silverstein and a coterie of elected officials sign the final column. (Joe Woolhead/Silverstein Properties)

Watch the Final Column Hoisted Into Place at 4 World Trade Center as This Unassuming Beauty Tops Out

Two weeks ago, The Observer got a tour of 4 World Trade Center and called it the nicest building at ground zero, including videographic proof. The 72-story tower topped out today in a biggish ceremony (no presidents, governors or mayors were in attendance, though plenty of other local pols) led by the building’s developer, Larry Silverstein. Here is a video of the final column rising, with a full report to come later today. Read More

By Matt Chaban 6/21/12 6:23pm

The Neverending Story

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More than Zero: 4 World Trade Center Will Top Out on Monday, a Day or So Ahead of 1 World Trade

Last week, President Obama visited 1 World Trade Center for an update on the project’s progress. He gave a speech and signed the beam that would top the country’s maybe-tallest tower. It would still be some time until the beam was hoisted into place.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the site, 4 World Trade Center was quietly rising. Today, Silverstein Properties announced that the tower will have its topping out ceremony this Monday, when the building reaches its final height of 974 feet.

What about 1 World Trade Center? The Port Authority did not respond to requests for comment as to when its topping out ceremony might be, but a World Trade Center source said it could come as early as Tuesday. Read More

By Matt Chaban 6/13/12 5:52pm

The Neverending Story

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A Fire and a Roof Garden at 4 World Trade Center

Maybe we were wrong, maybe 4 World Trade Center, rather than going unnoticed, is one of the hottest properties in the city. After all, it caught fire yesterday.

Terrible jokes aside, there are some serious amenities, beyond the views and nifty notched corners, that could attract some of those tentative tenants to the building. One in particular is a roof garden at the 56th-story roof garden. Read More

By Matt Chaban 6/12/12 8:00am

The Neverending Story

Video

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Is 4 World Trade Center Better Than the Big One? Inside the Other Tower About to Top Out

If it were possible for a skyscraper to quietly rise nearly a thousand feet into the sky with little notice, 4 World Trade Center would be the building to do it. It is not simply that its big brother across ground zero is stealing all the attention, though it is. When 1 World Trade Center tops out at the end of the week, following a Flag Day ceremony led by President Barack Obama, it will be another milestone for the site, one of the last. When 4 World Trade Center achieves the same fate sometime next month, will anyone notice? If not, that would be a shame, because this may well be the nicer of the two. Read More

By Matt Chaban 6/12/12 8:00am

The Neverending Story

Is 4 World Trade Center Better Than the Big One? Inside the Other Tower About to Top Out

If it were possible for a skyscraper to quietly rise nearly a thousand feet into the sky with little notice, 4 World Trade Center would be the building to do it. It is not simply that its big brother across ground zero is stealing all the attention, though it is. When 1 World Trade Center tops out at the end of the week, following a Flag Day ceremony led by President Barack Obama, it will be another milestone for the site, one of the last. When 4 World Trade Center achieves the same fate sometime next month, will anyone notice? If not, that would be a shame, because this may well be the nicer of the two. Read More

By Matt Chaban 6/01/12 4:36pm

The Neverending Story

Welcome back. (Getty)

President Obama to Celebrate Flag Day at 1 World Trade Center

Air Force One was headed to Minnesota today, where the president was unveiling a new jobs program for veterans, but en route, the press office revealed that when President Obama visits New York in two weeks, the World Trade Center will be among his stops.

During a press gaggle on the flight, deputy press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that the visit was scheduled to coincide with Flag Day. (Not mentioned: It would also coincide with a fundraiser that night at Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick’s West Village townhouse.) Read More

By Matt Chaban 5/25/12 6:22pm

The Neverending Story

The Sphere, homeless. (Getty Images)

Where’s Fritz Koenig’s Ground Zero Sphere Going? The Port Authority’s Still Working on That

Two weeks ago, Port Authority executive director Pat Foye announced that the agency had found a new home for Fritz Koenig’s Sphere, the sculpture that once graced the middle of the World Trade Center plaza and was nearly destroyed on 9/11. After the attacks, the giant bronze orb, now greatly dented but otherwise intact, was installed in Battery Park City, viewed by many as a sign of the city’s resilience.

“Next week, the Port Authority will announce a new temporary home for the Koenig, the iconic bronze sculpture that miraculously survived the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center,” read an email that showed up unprompted in newsrooms across the city on May 11.

Only thing is, that week, as well as this week, have come and gone without any further news. Read More