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February 17, 2007
Dear Governor Spitzer,
We hope that as you prepare to take a stand on the “Freedom Tower” and the future World Trade Center you will carefully consider the case that has been presented to you – both while Attorney General and as Governor – for rebuilding the Twin Towers.
The terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 loathed our democratic way of life and hoped to bring it down. Since then we’ve found that many of our own officials and civic leaders seem to lack respect for our democracy as well, having done their best in the past five years to ignore the will of the people. But the fact remains that most Americans want to rebuild the Twin Towers.
A newly-released American Institute of Architects/Harris interactive poll just ranked the Twin Towers in the Top 20 of “America’s Favorite Architecture” – which underscores how deeply they are embedded in our hearts and minds. There is no good reason to do anything but what polls and anecdotal evidence have shown the people calling for all along – restore America’s Skyline.
It’s up to you. If you choose to ratify the mistakes of the past administration, you will deserve 100% of the blame. If you choose to rebuild the Towers, you will deserve 100% of the glory.
The only excuse for endorsing the current site plan is the spurious claim of momentum. But why should we pay such an awful price for what obstinate and willful officials forced on us? Columnist Steve Cuozzo’s charge in a recent New York Post opinion that stuffing the Freedom Tower with government agencies will turn it into damaged goods is incontrovertible. If instead there were the bold promise of new Twin Towers in a new World Trade Center, the current progress at Ground Zero would likely be dwarfed by the energy, passion, and market interest that would follow.
Regarding the solicitation of bids from private investors to acquire the property, it would be very wrong to disenfranchise the rest of us – in a move driven by purely commercial concerns. Please consider: The Twin Towers belonged to the people of New York and New Jersey when they were destroyed. We leased them to Larry Silverstein, who is entitled to comparable space in comparable buildings. If he had done the sensible thing to begin with and rebuilt, as he pledged to do in September of 2001, then he would have had no trouble collecting from the insurers and could now be well on the way to reclaiming his space. But Governor Pataki caved in to the contingent that pushed the inane “imperative to restore the street grid” and to other narrow interest groups, giving them disproportionate power in spite of what the majority of us wanted. And Mr. Silverstein caved in, too. The result was both predictable and indefensible.
If, once our Twin Towers are back, the Port Authority decides to sell them to a private investor, or one steps in with a promise to rebuild them, then that would be in order – the messy deal between Silverstein and the Port Authority notwithstanding. But to ignore what a bipartisan majority of Americans has always supported would be outrageous – and official incompetence is no excuse. A true referendum was never sought because those who were in charge would have had to respect the results. BUT, UNTIL THAT IS CORRECTED, ANY SCHEME OR ACTION THAT IGNORES THE PUBLIC’S ASPIRATIONS FOR THE FUTURE WORLD TRADE CENTER COULD ONLY LEAD TO AN ILLEGITIMATE RESULT.
What we are asking of you is consistent with your stated aims and beliefs. We are not minimizing the tactical problems involved, but the result would be worth whatever it takes. You have said that your sole criterion for decision-making is: Is it right or is it wrong? If you would like to consider all of your options before making your announcement, instead of just some of them, we encourage you to contact us. We would be happy to lay out the people’s case in greater detail.
We are attaching for your reference a survey that we’ve faxed to all the members of Congress and we’ll soon send it to the 2008 Presidential candidates as well. We believe that the investment of the tens of billions of dollars that Americans made in helping New York to recover – including the latest request for over $1 billion for the re-opened 9/11 victims compensation fund – makes us the majority stakeholder and we are holding our Federal officials accountable.
We refuse to believe that the current master site plan is a foregone conclusion. We refuse to believe that our government is so sclerotic that it cannot change course when it should. We refuse to accept that vested government, business, and media interests rule.
Don’t let them set this agenda. You have always been a leader, not a follower. It would be out of character for you to bow to these special interests now.
Last week you sent out an email update to inform supporters of some of the steps you have taken to “change everything”. In it you defined your concept of One New York as “a state in which all New Yorkers are afforded the same opportunities.” We hope that means a state in which what the citizens want counts as much as the lobbies and vested interests. In conclusion you asked: “Please share this email with your friends, family, and colleagues, and encourage them too to share with me their vision for One New York.”
That’s simple: One New York – Two Towers.
Sincerely,
Margaret Donovan and Richard Hughes
for The Twin Towers Alliance
“Because People Want Their Towers Back”
Online links to our prior communications:
www.twintowersalliance.com/WHATTHEPEOPLEWANT.pdf
The Silent Majority
The People’s Lawyer
