HS:
What’s your take on continuing terrorist threats against the city?
CG:
Right now we have to be vigilant and shouldn’t let our guard down. But at the same time, we have to live our lives as normally as possible. We are New Yorkers: we are strong, resourceful people and we won’t allow the terrorists, even though they damaged our buildings, to win. In fact, we’ll rebuild better than ever. Obviously we can’t bring back the innocent lives that were lost. This wasn’t military action where soldiers and weapons fight against each other. These were innocent people going to work, and those cowards just took their lives. We will honor the victims by rebuilding a magnificent memorial park and monument for them on the 16-acre site. At the same time we will rebuild Lower Manhattan to be stronger than ever. We’ll improve and rebuild our transportation systems in Lower Manhattan to meet the needs of the 21st century.
Chairman Charles Gargano downtown with Governer George Pataki
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HS:
Now there’s an army of different groups—developers, government agencies, victims’ family members—with different ideas about what to do with the WTC site. In the end, who decides the fate of Ground Zero?
CG:
We are a democracy, and we want people to be involved. The final decisions of course will be made by Governor George Pataki, in consultation with Mayor Bloomberg, the Empire State Development Corporation and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which will oversee a final plan with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey—who owns the 16-acre site. Also, we’ll work together with the MTA, DOT, Transit Authority—all these agencies will have input into the development that will take place over the
next decade.
A contract was awarded recently to a planning firm to come up with a conceptual urban plan for the development of the 16-acre site and surrounding area. They will present six plans initially over the next several months, and those will be narrowed down to three. Then in December a final plan will be selected that shows a conceptual layout for Lower Manhattan. But keep in mind these are just conceptual plans, and actual designs of buildings and transportation systems will be done by a team of builders in the private sector.
HS:
If you had your way, what kind of memorial would you like to see?
CG:
I think there has to be a meaningful memorial park where people can gather, come and remember their loved ones. Pearl Harbor has its memorial where people have been going for more than 50 years. It should be a monument that will last for centuries. And obviously we’ll have competition to come up with a proper one.
Then I’d like to see the remainder of the site redeveloped commercially—in order to keep Lower Manhattan as a world financial center. The buildings should be more compatible in height with other skyscrapers in the area, and not stick up in the air way above existing ones.
At the Tribeca Film Festival
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