Seven Years Later: Why Is There Still A Hole at Ground Zero?

Seven years ago this week, I stood on the pile of burning rubble at the south end of Manhattan with thousands of other Americans who in our nation's defining hour did what we could to make a difference. Firefighters, doctors, soldiers, cops, steelworkers, and nurses--we all came together to serve our country in a time of exceptional need. I will never forget the demonstrations of courage and the expressions of sorrow, the sight of the bodies and the smell of the smoke. And I will never forget the bold promises of our leaders, uttered loudly before the smoke even cleared.

They stood on the pile with bullhorns, they issued press releases, and spoke at benefit concerts. We heard politicians from every corner of America swear: "Never Again! We'll make them pay! The terrorists won't win! We will rebuild!"

Seven years later, that hasn't happened. And we should all be embarrassed as a nation for one simple reason more than all the others--there is still a mammoth, gaping hole at Ground Zero.

Bureaucratic gridlock, partisan bickering, old-fashioned greed and failed leadership have all been blended together perfectly in one big pot to create a colossal, historic stew of inaction. And that stew has given the terrorists a score that not only have we failed to avenge, but we have failed to fully recover from. The wounds of 9/11 are not healed, the statement has not been made, and the country--especially the President and the two men running for that office--seem to have forgotten about the recovery of Ground Zero altogether.

Now this week, of course, we'll get the standard, annual photo ops, bold promises and tough talk. Rudy Giuliani will be celebrated, and plastered on every TV network in America. Emotional remembrance videos will run on a loop all week long. Politicians will manipulate the tragedy into a gotcha talking point to bolster their position on one issue or another. And more promises will be made. But the fact will remain--there is no monument, there is no building, and there is no attention. No one in Washington seems to give a second thought to the south end of Manhattan anymore. Except when it's politically convenient for them.

New York is the city I love most in the world. I lost friends on 9/11. I pulled bodies from the rubble there. I, along with almost two million other troops, were sent to war because of what happened there. And I am sick and tired of walking and driving by it and seeing a stalled construction site.

So today, I call on Senators Obama and McCain to make a promise they will keep. Pledge to all those that died, all those that served, and all those that remember, that Ground Zero will be re-built by the end of your first term. Blow through the logjam, bring the divided interests together, craft a plan, flex some muscle, and start moving forward briskly. If you want to unite the country as President, this is a perfect place to start. If we can put a man on the moon, create the internet, and fight two wars simultaneously, I am sure that America can mobilize all its political will, ingenuity and resources to rebuild one of the most important pieces of real estate in the world. And it can start with new leadership under your watch. You can't shake up Washington, if you can't even rebuild Ground Zero.

On September 11, 2001, millions of young Americans like me promised to take a bullet for this country. Seven years later, the least our presidential candidates can do is make a promise to rebuild a few sacred acres of it.

Comments

[mjjcpa]

While I share your disappointment with the progress at ground zero, I think two things must be pointed out. First the government is involved. The municipalities of NYS, NJ and NYC all have various agendas and are trying to make everyone happy, including victims relatives, commercial interests and residents. In my opinion, the government does a lousy job at most things, so I'm not surprised by this. Secondly, I understand that on 9/11, the WTC was being purchased from the Port Auth of NY/NJ, and had only TEMPORARY insurance that did not cover this type of casualty loss. Since then, the new owner has been embroiled in legal battles, and has been unable to recoup much of the funds necessary to proceed.

[LeftRight]

The govt does a lousy job? Really? That's why the FAA has kept the number of airplane crashes lower here than anywhere else in the world? That's why the police are able to cut the amount of crime from anarchy levels down to a reasonable level? That's why the public schools, in spite of being starved for funding are STILL outperforming most private schools?

[mikeodd]

The stasis at the WTC site is more relevant to this election than flag pins, knocked up 17yr olds, lipsticked pigs and a demented definition of what a 'community advisor' is. Alas, the only man who could do something chooses not to -Bloomberg. He knows how to get things done and he speaks fluent billionaire. Only NYC can save NYC. The albatross that is NY state is only good for sucking billions from the city. Pataki only pretended to care while GOP 2004 was in town, then handed the ball to the 9/11 families who virtually have ground the process to a halt with their almighty veto power. Larry Silverstein jacked up rents 40%!! With no anchor tenant, this thing is doomed. In a perfect world Mike Bloomberg would bitch slap the interlopers, lean on Silverstein and declare WTC strictly a memorial site.

[WorkingClass]

The hole should remain until we find out what happened that day.

[LeftRight]

You mean about the few Terrorists who flew two planes into the buildings, causing extremely hot fires which weakened the steel support structures, causing the buildings to simply collapse under their own weight? Or are you trying to claim some conspiracy?

[appleknocker]

Suggestion: Leave the hole empty (or replace the rubble) and simply put up a sign bearing the words of Breaker Morant: "This is what comes of empire-building!"

[LeftRight]

But then the terrorists win!

[muffler]

As long as there is a hole in the ground the Republicans can use the image to keep the fear going. I think that was and has been the plan. Party first - country last.

When they attacked Pearl Harbor we raised many of the ships, re-outfit them, sent them back into combat and then won the war in fewer years then the rebuilding of downtown.

What a travesty.

I live in NYC and see the hole every day.

[LeftRight]

All but three of the ships damaged in Pearl Harbor were re-commissioned. Those three are the Battleships Arizona, Oklahoma, and Utah. Utah was no longer classified as a BB, but was a training ship, on the other side of Ford Island from Battleship row. She still rests on the bottom. Arizona, we all know about her. And Oklahoma, the only one of the three to be re-floated, she was being towed back to the mainland to be sold as scrap, and sank so fast that she was dragging the tugboat backwards under full power. They had to cut the towlines or be sunk with her.

[Kevvboy]

Paul, I agree with the comment that we can stop calling it "Ground Zero," a media nickname that militarized the place, which was nothing but a bunch of peaceful Americans going about their daily peaceful business. It was and remains the "World Trade Center." Osama bin Laden did not change its name.

Also: it's not quite true that it is now an empty hole. Foundation work has begun on Freedom Tower, work is well underway on the transportation depot, and actual steel is poking up from the hole. (WTC 7 is already rebuilt and occupied, too.)

I would say the biggest cause of the delays has been the inevitable one: too many competing interests wanting their say in what got built there, each with a legitimate stake. Too many ambitions for the site itself. Many New Yorkers thought they should have rebuilt the towers with new and improved safety features, put a nice memorial at the East River, and get on with our lives. But WTC has become a "symbol" and not just a place -- to survivors, families of the victims, Larry Silverstein, the Port Authority, the mayor, the governor, the neighborhood groups, environmental regulators, and on and on and on.

[sueno]

The saddest thing for me is that "this hole" has become a tourist attraction-
I just hope that they put a lot of thought and respect into the next trade center.

[Paul]

There is a hole a ground zero for the same reason Bin Laden has not been brought to justice - poor leadership.

[TRYKER]

That big hole is NOT a national issue for the candidates to add to their already weighty burden. NY isn't the only city that has a gaping hole, there are whole neighborhoods across this country with foreclosed homes and homeless on the streets.
Silverstein got close to $7+ Billion for his towers, with a little help from Judge Mukasey. He can work with the city and build whenever he feels like it. He made out like a bandit when the buildings he wanted to tear down actually were taken down for him, and cleaned up at the expense of the taxpayer.
You want promises for a hi-rise...we want promises to end a war, feed our families, educate our children and restore our Constitution and close GITMO and create JOBS. It isn't even a trade-off.

[martinchill]

word.

i'd much rather hear a promise of a fresh investigation - post CHENEY ADMINISTRATION - into What Really Happened.

[BlackJAC]

Can we first stop calling it "Ground Zero" and instead go back to calling it by its proper name of "World Trade Plaza?"

[max]

Presidential leadership absolutely could get this building going. We don't have a leader now.

[EngineerBill]

As an Engineer, I get infuriated when common sense doesn't prevail. New York politics and muddle-headed thinking have made ground zero the hole in the ground it is today.
I want to tell a quick story about a friend of mine who owned a laundromat. When graffitti taggers marred the outside of his place he told me he would do two things. 1. clean up the graffitti as soon as possible and 2. NOT do any changes to make the graffitti tagging more difficult. The first response is obvious. He explained to me that the second part was to not give the tagger any satisfaction that his activity changed anything.
That second point is crucial. Depriving those who commit criminal activity the satisfacttion that their handi-work permanently changed things.
That is why it is common sense that, at least on the outside, the twin towers should be rebuilt!. Maybe not where the original footprints of the towers are but nearby. It is a shame that this hasn't been done.

[radicalcentrist44]

It is not a federal project. It is a quagmire of NYC, NY State, Port Authority, Unions, Political Bosses, Special interests, government contracts and everything else that makes NY construction so expensive.

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

This is a New York State issue so keep out, we have a hard time funding heathcare in this state... run by DEM's

[Gidster]

Yeah, That's the problem in NYC

[Dianora]

Rebuilding the WTC site has nothing to do with the federal government right now and everything to do with New York City politics. I recommend doing some searching at nymag.com to find out who is really responsible for the disgrace that is that gaping hold downtown.