January 5th - January 11th, 2007

WTC Site Expansion Proposed

Friday, January 5^th: At a recent Community Board 1 World Trade Center Redevelopment Committee meeting, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) proposed amending the World Trade Center site boundaries to reestablish the Greenwich Street corridor, the Battery Park City Broadsheet reported. According to the Broadsheet, LMDC spokesman Seth Meyer proposed changing the site's boundaries for "infrastructure and support reasons" because the underground rock anchors for the World Trade Center construction extend past the current site boundaries. Residents who wish to comment on the proposed construction extension are invited to do so on the LMDC's website, at www.renewnyc.com.

New Orleans Art Installation at Liberty Street Bridge

Sunday, January 7^th: New Orleans artist Jana Napoli has installed her new exhibit, entitled "Floodwall," along the Liberty Street pedestrian bridge, the Associated Press reported. "Floodwall" is from Napoli's collection of 700 dresser drawers salvaged from the floodwaters of New Orleans and is accompanied by LED signs that run snippets of conversations with the drawers' owners, the AP continued.   Juxtaposing the New Orleans disaster with that of 9/11, the exhibition will be at the site through February 9^th, the AP added.

Fulton Street Transit Hub to Keep Form and Function

Monday, January 8^th: Fulton Street Transit Center planners have come to an agreement regarding the design's architecture, functionality, and funding, the New York Times reported. Riders will be able to connect via an underground passageway to the E train, a link that planners had proposed to remove from the transportation hub's original design to curtail costs, the Times continued.

In addition, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has agreed to make up the difference between the current estimated project cost of $888 million and the $847 million in committed federal funds, the Times added. According to the Times, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey planners discovered that they could use an existing temporary PATH train terminal to build a relatively inexpensive connector from the E train to the transit center.

The glass dome, which will sit on top of the transit center and was designed to provide daylight to the tracks below, has undergone several trips back to the drawing board but has been preserved, the Times continued. A recent revision to the dome's design was for security reasons to increase the number of steel ribs in the glass structure, the Times reported. Light will enter through a circular skylight at the top of the dome and will then be reflected down to subway tracks by an interior structure of triangular aluminum panels supported by a crisscross net of steel cables, the Times added

South Street Seaport to House Revolutionary Playground

Wednesday, January 10^th: New York City, in a partnership with David Rockwell, is installing a new playground at the South Street Seaport that will feature "play workers" on hand to help children interact with the playground's signature features, the New York Times reported. The playground will include water, ramps, sand, and specially designed elements meant to spur a child's imagination, and the cost of the play workers is being funded by Rockwell, who is in the process of raising $2 million for the project, the Times continued.

According to the Times, the playground will be located in what is currently a parking lot at Burling Slip and has already won the support of elected officials and community leaders. The Landmarks Preservation Commission still needs to approve the playground, the Times continued, but the parties involved hope to have it completed sometime in the next year. The proposed playground landscape is a figure-eight shape connected to a zone of sand and a zone of water by sloping wooden ramps, the Times reported. A system of pulleys and ropes, climbing nets, and shading sails will help link the playground to the area's maritime history and setting, and a structure will be built to house an array of loose parts, the Times added. "We're creating as many opportunities as we can for collaborative play -- thinking of imagination as important a muscle as running," Rockwell told the Times.

Former AT&T Building Redesigned

Wednesday, January 10^th: The lobby at 195 Broadway, AT&T's former headquarters, will soon be open to the public, the Daily News reported. The building, which was given landmark status in July by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, already has three store design plans approved for the lobby, the Daily News continued. The stores remain unidentified. Asked when they might open, L&L Holdings Chairman David Levinson replied, "We're not in a hurry. It's got to be done right," the paper reported.

Workers Begin to Lay Foundation at Ground Zero

Thursday, January 11^th: Construction workers laid the first foundation steel beam at Ground Zero, the Associated Press reported. The beam will be part of the retaining wall that will hold the foundations of towers two, three, and four in place, the AP continued. At Ground Zero, workers have been digging an 85-foot trench that will eventually house the 1,600-foot-long retaining wall, the AP added. "The start of the foundation work for the east side of the site is an important step in living up to the Port Authority's commitment to rebuilding," Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia told the AP.