Put It Above Ground

Do you remember the old Henny Youngman joke where a patient goes to the doctor and is told he has 30 days to live? When he doesn’t have enough money to pay the bill the Doctor gives him another 30 days.

Well Henny would have been proud of Governor Patterson.

On June 12 the Governor demanded that Christopher Ward get back to him with a report detailing the status of the rebuilding effort at Ground Zero.

So 18 days pass the new Executive Director comes up with nothing and the Governor gives him another 90 days.

If any of us did that with our bosses we would be shown the door.

But not at Ground Zero where incompetence has been rewarded for the last seven years and it does not look like it is going to change any time soon.

Now they are even talking about putting together a governing board of representatives.

Just what we need another level of bureaucracy.

And what will we get from this collection of bureaucrats.

More memos like the one we got today because as Charles Peters said “Bureaucrats write memoranda both because they appear to be busy when they are writing and because the memos, once written, immediately become proof that they were busy”.

And Silverstein laughs all the way to the bank.

More of the same at Ground Zero.

Dear Family Members,

As recent reports have indicated work at Ground Zero is well over budget and behind schedule.

We are moving forward with our Hearts and Hands Memorial and our goal is to create a facility by 2011 where family members will be able to honor their loved ones in a peaceful and serene setting.

This $6.5 Million Memorial will include everything that family members have asked for including

The United in Memory Memorial Quilt

A Corridor of Memories that will honor the victims with 8×10 photos and information supplied by family members arranged in alphabetical order by affiliation

A section dedicated to those who came together after the attacks as well as memorials to all who have died since 9/11

The Hearts and Hands Memorial will also allow family members to record audio and visual memories of their loved ones as well as document the many programs developed since 9/11 both educational and practical so that they can be shared with others.

The facility will surround a 21,000 square foot memorial garden.

Please click the links below for more details and how you can supply photos for the Corridor of Memories.

Please share with your distributions and if possible supply contacts with the companies that occupied the World Trade Center.

We are developing a fundraising plan to raise the remaining $5.5 Million that we need which will include ways for people and corporations to contribute at all levels.

Thank you in advance for your assistance and feel free to call me at 718-966-6531 if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Dennis McKeon

YOUR CHANCE TO BE PART OF THE HEARTS AND HANDS MEMORIAL

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=42214

9/11 PHOTO REQUEST REMINDER

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=38649

Good Morning,

I hope this note finds you all well. Once again I am asking for your help in distributing information to the families of those lost on September 11 and February 26. Attached is a statement from the Port Authority to family members. Your networks are the most effective way to reach the most family members and we always appreciate your willingness to do so. Please pass this along as soon as you can.

Many thanks, as always.

Norma Manigan
Manager, Public Relations
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
212.435.6547

Three weeks ago, New York Governor David Paterson called on the Port Authority to assess the overall rebuilding effort at the World Trade Center site and to look at whether existing public timelines and budgets are realistic and achievable. We’ve conducted an initial assessment that found that while there has been substantial progress in construction, the current schedule and cost of the rebuilding effort are not realistic because 15 issues that fundamentally drive the schedule and cost still must be resolved. The assessment will continue through September, when we will have a better handle on what the schedules and costs will be for all of the site’s projects, including the Memorial.

Let me assure you that the Memorial is being built and will be completed and its signature design will not change. Let me assure you also that the entire site is being built with the highest safety and security standards in place.

I know that as family members of those lost on September 11, 2001, and February 26, 1993, you have a special and important interest in what is happening at this unique site. However, we owe it to you and the rest of the public to finally produce deadlines that can and will be met – ones that are backed up by the reality on the ground. We will be sure to keep you informed as we move forward.

Dear 9/11 Family Member:I’m looking for 9-11 family members or survivors who would be
interested in sharing their thoughts on, and experiences of, the ways
that the events of 9-11 have come to be talked about in public forums.

This is as part of my dissertation research for my PhD in Anthropology
at the University of Toronto, which looks at the experiences of people
directly impacted by the war on terror as well as public discourses of
the war on terror.

As per my university approved ethics protocol, all conversations would
be totally anonymous and would be audio recorded if participants
consent. They may be as short as 30 minutes or as long as a few
hours, depending on how much each participant wants to say.

I’m looking to schedule the interviews in New York between the 17th and the 24th
of July and the 24th-29th of August, though I can also arrange them
anytime before the end of August and I am able to meet people anywhere in
the New York or DC areas.

If you or anyone you know is interested in participating I can be reached by email at zoe.wool@utoronto.ca or by phone at: 917-621-6224.

Sincerely,

Zoë

Zoë H Wool
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Anthropology
University of Toronto
http://individual.utoronto.ca/zhw
e-mail: zoe.wool@utoronto.ca

On June 30 a “Non Progress” report will be released and to no ones surprise it will show that the entire redevelopment project at Ground Zero is drastically behind schedule and over budget.What is interesting is that even though everyone involved was aware of how poorly this project has been handled from day one they will have yet another report that will probably cost a few hundred thousand to put together that will be ignored as all others that have gone before it.

Christopher Ward, the new Executive of the Port Authority is already expected to ask for an extension as in his words he needs additional time “to sort out stakeholder accountability and gain insight on more than 20 unanswered policy, engineering, and design questions facing the reconstruction”

He will probably say that he needs a few months to put this together.

We can save him the time. There has never been any stakeholder accountability and that is why these well publicized problems exist today.

The finger pointing has already started.

The LMDC will blame it on the Port Authority.

The Port Authority will blame it on the Spitzer administration and they will blame it on unrealistic timelines set up by the Pataki Administration.

There is a lot of blame to go around but the bottom line is the two responsible parties are the LMDC and the Port Authority.

The LMDC has lined its pockets for the last seven years and has little to show for it.

One only has to look at the Deutsche Building to see how the LMDC handles things.

They put millions into taking it down and nothing happened so they bought the building for over $80 million and the Building still stands.

So now nearly seven years after the attack and after an accident that took the lives of two firefighters they say they need an additional $40 Million to complete the project.

Well if you believe that we have a bridge to sell you but that wouldn’t work either because then we would have to get the Port Authority involved.

This is the same “authority” that was given full control of the project because they had the skill and expertise to handle a project of this size.

That worked out well.

Anyone involved in project management knows that any time you should be able to report where the project is in regards to time and cost estimates.

But Chris Ward needs a couple of months to find out exactly where they are. Maybe he should give up his part time job and we might get the answer sooner.

What happened to the skill and expertise?

So we will get another report the findings of which will get media coverage for a few weeks and then get placed in the all important circular file.

And the LMDC will blame the PA who will blame previous administrations and good money will be thrown after bad and five years from now after billions of overruns the site will still not be completed.

Back in 2006 the Sciame Report was released to keep the cost of the Memorial under half a billion and the Memorial Foundation stated that it would “continue its efforts to refine the project’s base estimates, resolve all of the outstanding infrastructure cost issues with Port Authority and two, in cooperation with other key stakeholders, outline an array of ways to reduce project costs while maintaining the Arad/Walker vision for the Memorial. The Foundation believes that in order to move forward with construction, the City, the State, LMDC, Port Authority and the Foundation must all be on the same page”.

Has anyone checked lately? Probably not

But as long as all the stakeholders are on the same page we should all feel better.

For that appears to be the most important thing.

So we have the PA (Poor Accountability) and the LMDC (Let Me Double Check) on the job.

Let the finger pointing begin.

Related posts

Port Authority Offers to Build WTC Memorial and Museum 11/22/05

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11812

THE DEFINITION OF DEVELOPMENT

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=26576

ONE BY ONE THEY ALL WALK AWAY

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=26670

World Trade Center Memorial Design - Sciame Report Released

http://www.putitaboveground.org/2006/06/20/world-trade-center-memorial-design-sciame-report-released/

A TALE OF TWO CITY PROJECTS

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=27884

Two events took place this week that reflect the double standard that exists when one is dealing with the City

Earlier in the week it was reported that the city was claiming that a majority of the 9/11 health claims submitted were unwarranted.

They were basing their statistics on data from many short form claims that were submitted to meet the city mandated deadline to for health benefits.

The city was once again trying to justify the millions they have spent in legal fees fighting health claims by 9/11 victims.

Everyone knows how easy it is to make statistics support any argument especially if you control the data.

But according to the city their lawyers will continue to try to fight these claims as it is the proper thing to do and the only way they can weed out those who are trying to cheat the system.

Later in the week when Norman Siegel petitioned a judge for an inquiry into the City Council’s admitted allocation of public funds to nonexistent organizations city lawyer claimed that it was a publicity stunt and stated that the council’s money policies are beyond the court’s authority.

So let’s see how this works.

It is OK for the city to spend millions in legal fees to fight 9/11 health claims but it is not alright to have a legal inquiry into the City Council possible misappropriation of over $17 Million.

Seems like a double standard to us.

But one only has to look over the city handling of all 9/11 issues over the last seven years to see that this type of double standard has been common practice.

The spin doctors will soon follow just wait and see portraying the victims as villains.

Business as usual for this administration.

Clinical Guidelines for Adults Exposed to the WTC Disaster

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=43700

Cutting Corners…..Our Children Deserve Better

http://lostartofcommonsense.blogspot.com/2008/06/cutting-cornersour-children-deserve.html

Please join families of fallen Firefighters lost at the former Deutsche Bank, first responders, Chief Jim Riches, FDNY, and 9/11 Parents, plus downtown community residents in a :

MARCH FOR SAFETY

AT 130 LIBERTY STREET

AND IN ALL NYC BUILDINGS

WE MUST KEEP ALL CONSTRUCTION SITES AND BUILDINGS IN NEW YORK CITY SAFE TO PROTECT OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AND CITIZENS.

WHAT: RALLY AT 130 LIBERTY STREET

WHEN: SATURDAY JUNE 21, 2008

TIME: 10:00 AM

WHY: RALLY AT THE FORMER DEUTSCHE BANK BUILDING, THEN MARCH TO CITY HALL TO CALL FOR SAFETY.

JOIN OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS

CITY AND CONSTRUCTION WORKERS,

UNIONS AND MANAGEMENT TO FIGHT FOR SAFETY

NEW YORK CITY SHOULD BE THE MODEL OF SAFETY FOR ALL

NO BUILDINGS IN NYC SHOULD BE ABOVE THE LAW !

New WTC identification

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=43540