Group Calls for Washington to Take Control of Ground Zero

NEW YORK -

Members of the media are invited to a joint “Twin Towers II” — Twin Towers Alliance press conference and reception at The Fraunces Tavern, 54 Pearl Street, NYC, on Thursday, September 17th, at 6 PM, for the presentation of “A Best-Case Scenario.”

“We don’t think the future of Ground Zero is nearly as bleak as it seems, although the breakdown at the site appears incurable,” Margaret Donovan, a spokesperson for the Twin Towers Alliance, said, referring to doubts that the Port Authority can legally underwrite any of the Silverstein buildings.

The group disputes the conventional wisdom that leaves rebuilding at the mercy of a developer without enough private money to build and a bi-state agency with a limited amount of public money to spend.

“So far, politicians have had very different priorities for the WTC than the rest of us,” Donovan continued. “Their never-ending blunders are the result of their refusal to forgo personal power and prestige in order to serve the highest good.”

“It would be a great pity if citizens who have spent years learning the intricacies of the byzantine process and gaining an in-depth understanding of the challenges are overlooked as a resource at this critical time,” she pointed out.

The event will begin with a statement from “Twin Towers II” designer Kenneth Gardner, who is expected to announce that developments at the WTC site have nullified the transition plan discussed with Director Ward in Ward’s office last September. According to Gardner, building spectacular Twin Towers, even beside the official memorial, would have saved billions of dollars and years of effort.

Gardner is nevertheless committed to seeing the cherished American symbol rise somewhere in the metropolitan New York skyline. He has found strong preliminary interest in the idea of building mixed-use Twin Towers, combined with a world-class galleria, state-of-the-art convention center, and sports complex that would become a stunning visual complement to renewal at Ground Zero.

Following the Gardner statement, Richard Hughes and Margaret Donovan will outline the Twin Towers Alliance program for shifting the focus of the stalled rebuilding effort to the national level. One of their contentions is that it makes no sense for the citizens of two states to bear the burden of rebuilding the emotional property of every American - or to limit the whole nation’s recovery to what those two states can afford.

“There are many reasons why nothing has gone right with this project - and a bad credit market is the least of them,” Donovan noted. “The silver lining is that we still have a chance to get it right - and cannot afford to get it wrong. So, before Mr. Silverstein reaches any deeper into our pockets or Mr. Ward pours any more money down the drain, we owe it to ourselves to address this challenge as a country.”

“People understand that it was America that was attacked on 9/11 and we expect there to be a great deal of bipartisan support for the idea that America must finally come together to rebuild.”

If planning to attend the reception, please advise: +1-212-568-0207 or rebuild@twintowersalliance.com.

Source: The Twin Towers Alliance

Margaret Donovan of The Twin Towers Alliance, +1-212-568-3898