Charlie Bagli and David Dunlap frontload their analyisis of the bungled talks at Ground Zero with Charles Gargano’s press-conference statement last night:
“We fully expect Larry to begin construction on the Freedom Tower in April. This is a commitment he made to the public and to the Port Authority and we expect him to fulfill that commitment. And if he does not, then we want him to move out of the way.”
Michael Cooper’s somewhat perplexing news analyisis accompanying the piece notes something we looked at yesterday:
But most of the rest of the piece analyzes how Larry Silverstein appears to have miscalculated in the development of his relationship with the governor, with potentially disastrous results for him.
So–which is it? Delays are bad news for Pataki, or bad news for Silverstein? That is, can Pataki control Ground Zero or can’t he?
Steve Cuozzo rips everyone.
Steve Cuozzo over at the New York Post seems to have the answer.
Who blew most of 2003 by meddling in the Freedom Tower’s architecture and ultimately forcing Silverstein to accept a hybrid design that very possibly could not have been built? Pataki.
Who was the man in charge during the 14 months when the NYPD said it had security concerns over the tower’s design and location, but couldn’t get anyone to return its calls? Pataki.
But, as he notes, it probably won’t matter.
That is, the delays are bad news for everyone.
– Tom McGeveran
