We must Implement a Grand Revitalization Plan for New York City (including the rebuilding of WTC Twin Towers)

Before we list the preliminary plans for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center and the rest of New York City, I need to express my opinions on the rebuilding process in an essay.

I became a hardened pro-rebuilder after reading about the mediocre plans for Ground Zero last July. The plans were eventually scrapped, forcing the planners to start from scratch. Im also pro-rebuilding also because of the way 9-11 has affected the citys psyche and the national psyche. Lower Manhattan has been hard hit, and is suffering a severe exodus of jobs and companies. The rest of the New York City area is also suffering, with more than 200,000 jobs lost throughout the metro area since Oct 2001, and even Jersey City losing companies and employees despite an influx from Lower Manhattan. At the same time, the authorities, especially the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, are taking a hand in the rebuilding process, and often going slow paced and giving us ineffectual plans or blueprints. Some other activist groups have even proposed ridiculous ideas such as 'affordable' housing, a Greenmarket, or even a farm on Ground Zero.

We cant afford to wallow or go for short-term gains, we need to innovate and create and revitalize for the long term. How did our politicians become more weak-willed and ineffectual than the Spice Girls? How did the rebuilding and memorial process disintegrate into this political pandering and virulent NIMBYism and what not? We need to end this factionalism and wallowing and get on with the revival ASAP.

At least the Bush Administration didnt wallow in What if? Why the intelligence failure? He ordered the troops to go to Afghanistan and obliterate Bin Ladens cave-houses and dirt-coated training camps and roach-infested compounds and oust the illiterate Taliban militants who had sheltered them, all the way to the end. We set a precedent by going after Al Qaeda in Afghanistan armed with smart bombs and cruise missiles. Eventually their Taliban hosts were routed, this effectively liberated the country from Al Qaedas extremist tyranny. And Afghanistan is rebuilding itself anew with international help. Warlords, land mines, and chronic poverty remain serious obstacles, but the Afghan people are rebuilding their lives and their nation, and we need to do the same here.

Hence I have created preliminary plans for the revitalization of the greatest city in the United States, if not the world. The need for one has become a lot more urgent since 9-11. Chicago is already working on its grand plan, which emphasizes developing new commercial and residential buildings on land south of the main commercial district there. New York City needs a similar long-term strategy, and the rebuilding of the WTC and Lower Manhattan has to go hand in hand with this grand plan. The Towers rebuilt to their former glory will serve as a symbol to New Yorks recovery, and will also be useful in pushing it along. The energy that epitomized Downtown New York and the rest of the city needs to be brought back. We all know that we cannot afford to wallow in grief forever.

Here is the list of recommendations for the rebuilding plan for New York, which is specifically designed to bypass or defy the NIMBYs:

1.
a. Rebuilding of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to their full 110-floor height right on Ground Zero (hopefully higher, and with a proper memorial to honor the dead at the base) and 10-11 million sq. ft. bulk (Hopefully it will be heavier) will be vital since it creates badly needed office space for many firms and serves as a magnet for the area, as did the previous Twin Towers. The rebuilt towers dont have to be on the exact footprints of the originals.

b. The new Twin Towers should have a much stronger structure than the originals, including thicker and stronger steel plates and supports, better quality fire insulation, wider fire escapes, and concrete-coated interiors.

c. The WTC superblock proved to be an oasis for those escaping the horrid traffic of the streets, so it should be preserved without a street grid. A public transportation station on the lines of Grand Central and Penn Station should also be added, and the retail space lost on 9-11 should also be restored. Any hint of a land swap on the site between the Port Authority and the city of New York must be opposed.

d. Once the Twin Towers are rebuilt to heir original size and capacity, there will be plenty of room left for a proper memorial, as well any other amenity that the authorities that be may come up with. At least everyone is realizing how detrimental and ridiculous a full 16-acre memorial would end up being, so that is out of the question. The 40-floor Deutsche Bank next door should also be refurbished and landmarked.

2. The development of Lower Manhattan as a diverse economic and cultural epicenter with a 24-7 economic mindset, while keeping its status as a major financial and corporate hub. Also vital will tax credits for diverse firms setting up shop in the area, especially hi-tech and bio industries, and all kinds of art studios. A thriving art and culture scene, already prevalent in Midtown and the Village, will also be inviting and should be encouraged downtown. The entire South Street Seaport district should also be improved and refurbished but not completely cleared away for new development. An already recovering residential population should also be assisted with tax incentives to create and attract new small businesses to the area.

3. Further development of certain busy commercial or mixed-use districts, of the major ones are in upper Manhattan, South Bronx, Long Island City in Queens, the area around downtown Brooklyn, and the St. George district in Staten Island. The tight zoning regulations may need to be loosened in order to allow for these developments, especially the building of commercial, residential, and other buildings. Such loosening will allow for more capacity for all kinds of activities, especially corporate business, a thriving art scene, and plenty of retail space. Current landmark buildings and districts, such as Brooklyn Heights and Soho, will and should remain the way they are as long as theyre not dilapidated or infested with crime, homelessness, dilapidation, or extreme poverty. More schools and community services will be useful in providing for new residents, but so will the need for new businesses and more office and retail space in the area. A significant number of industrial-zoned blocks in these regions should stay that way, since the businesses there provide vital services for the metro area.

4. Creation of a new commercial district called Far West Midtown between 42nd Street and 29th Street. The district has been an underused area for many years; even LIC is still a thriving industrial district compared to this. Tall skyscrapers could be built in the area with proper air rights. Zoning regulations should be further loosened anyway to allow for tall towers, perhaps even one as high as the Citicorp Center or Chrysler Building. Residential housing and all the various services should also be built. If possible a stadium could be built on the site of the LIRR rail yard. And screw the local NIMBYs.

5. Further integration of the city's mass transit system, including bringing the LIRR to Grand Central and construction of a Second Avenue subway alongside the 4,5, and 6. The subway system also needs to be further overhauled The subway stations should be cleaned and refitted with murals and new tiles, while new technologies for announcements and ventilation should be installed. A new transportation hub built in Downtown could also help; it should serve as a major terminal for both PATH and the LIRR. The major stations in downtown Brooklyn and Jamaica Queens should also be renovated and their capacity expanded. Light rail could also be built in certain parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan to serve locals. The Long Island Rail Road should be brought into Grand Central, and the Metro North to Penn Station. All the regional systems, especially Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit, and Metro North should be integrated into a single, interconnected rail system if possible.

6. Redevelopment of thousands of brown fields in such areas as Upper Manhattan, South Bronx, and eastern Brooklyn. Badly needed affordable housing (preferably apartments and row houses), schools, commercial buildings, and even a few parks and gardens could be built into these blocks. Although this trend is already happening in many areas, more of these brown fields need to be reclaimed before tree-hugging PC's hijack them, although current community gardens, especially those licensed or permitted by the city, can and should remain the way they are.

7. Revitalization of Brooklyns Coney Island into the powerful entertainment and recreation district it once was. The area west of the subway station and amusement park is currently marked by lots of vacant brownfields. It could be rezoned with space for new cultural centers and other attractions. An expansion of the current amusement park and aquarium will also be needed. Perhaps a convention center could also be built on site.

8. Expansion of the convention business in the city, including further expansion of the Jacob Javits Convention Center all the way to 41st Street, and perhaps to the south below 34th Street. Further space for new convention centers could also be found in Brooklyn and the Bronx and even Long Island City. New tax incentives to bring convention businesses into the city will also be useful.

9: Controls on traffic in the streets, especially on highways and bridges. New tolls on the East River bridges should be a high priority. The current laws are geared towards favoritism for cars and trucks at the expense of pedestrians and businesses, and such an attitude must change. Banning of private cars except for those driven by the proper authorities in Prospect Park and Central Park (Central Parks east-west road crossings can stay), and creation of more bikeways and walkways in major streets and parks alike. Traffic control measures in many dense residential and commercial districts should also be implemented. Implementation of laws restricting the flow of trucks and other big vehicles in areas other than distinct commercial and industrial districts should also apply.

10. An economic incentive program to help bring manufacturing and distribution businesses back into the City. New York has been losing decent-paying manufacturing and other industrial-related jobs to other areas for decades; the result is the disintegration of such once-vibrant neighborhoods such as the southern Bronx and eastern Brooklyn and Long Island City. Its time to stop or reverse the trend. An open inquiry into the multiple causes of such job losses, and a set of good solutions to stem or reverse this, are also a must.

11. Wholesale government reform, especially in the FDNY and NYPD. It is now known that poor communication between our cops and firemen led to the high death toll amongst the latter. It must be accompanied by the overhaul of the system of government to allow for less red tape and to weed out weak-willed politicians. This will help free up more money, which can then go over to badly needed pay increases to our officers, firemen, and teachers, among others. Further overhauls of the various government departments should also be implemented, especially to get rid of paperwork and improve services. New government workers must also be given adequate training for the field they will be working in.

12. Further redevelopment of Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports. Economic aid should be injected into these airports to keep them competitive. The Airtrain the authorities began constructing in Kennedy Airport to connect the airports travelers and employees to the subways and the Long Island Rail Road is a good start, and there should be plans for a similar rail line at LaGuardia. More improvements in the cargo area of Kennedy Airport, especially better transit and road connections, should also be considered.

13. Continued assistance to the recovering arts scene in the city. The successes in Times Square and Greenwich Village should be repeated elsewhere, especially in poorer and immigrant areas. That means more funding and more sponsorship for creativity of all types and the establishment of more TV and film studios, as well as more painting and sculpture galleries. It should be done in a way that doesnt turn our friends in the art world into NIMBYs or Politically Correct Utopians. The fabulous nightlife of the city and its bars, clubs, lounges, comedy clubs, and theaters should also be given moral, if not financial, support.

14. An overhaul of the land use and planning system to allow for the construction of new tall buildings while keeping the character of certain existing neighborhoods intact, especially landmarked areas. Heightened floor area ratios for commercial districts, with new zoning to allow for residential construction in some of these areas, especially underdeveloped and poor districts. As previously mentioned, current landmark buildings and districts will not be touched.

15. Improved funding for Business Improvement Districts all over the city. The Times Square, Lincoln Square, Grand Central, Downtown Brooklyn, Union Square, and other BID's have all helped to revitalize what were once dilapidated areas, and funding and continued support should continue. Newly established BID's should also be implemented or encouraged in other areas of the city, especially in the outer boroughs.

We call for the Government of the City of New York to start heeding and implementing some, if not all, of the above recommendations, which are designed to make sure it doesnt become another clone of gang-plagued, traffic-filled, concrete-lined, and racially-divided Los Angeles, so to speak. Two referendums by the San Fernando Valley and the Hollywood District to break from LA were defeated on November 2002, but the fact that these NIMBY-led secession movements still exist at all is a sad reminder of what a city can become if it doesnt hold itself together or use its strengths to become better and more energetic. Let's give New York a new burst of energy and planning and keep it from becoming another Los Angeles. We also call for the State of New York, the Federal Government, and all citizens of New York City and the United States of America to assist in this endeavour.

Final note: In the words of Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman and CEO Howard Lutnick, whose brother Gary was among 655 CF workers who died when the Twin Towers collapsed: "They (he and his surviving employees) took us from destruction and death and in less than one year helped us to get back to where we were before. We're different -- forever different -- but with our place in the market. And that is extraordinary."

As of this writing, Cantor Fitzgerald was eyeing a new corporate headquarters at Union Square, and the hi-tech brokerage firm was still making big profits, with much of the money going to pay living expenses and health insurance for the families of the lost.

God Bless New York and God Bless America.