John Cahill, the Chief of Staff for Governor George E. Pataki, recently provided the New York Building Congress Council of Presidents (C.O.P.) with a progress report on the reconstruction of the World Trade Center and the ongoing revitalization of Lower Manhattan.

Mr. Cahill, who was appointed by the Governor in May
2005 to oversee all aspects of the project, pointed to a number of milestones that have been achieved in recent months, including:

• The successful redesign of the Freedom Tower with construction to begin in the spring of 2006 and to be ready for occupancy by 2011;
• Goldman Sachs’ decision to build a 43-story headquarters tower in Battery Park City, which is slated for occupancy in 2009 and will house 9,000 employees of the firm;
• Commencement of construction on the Santiago Calatrava-designed transit hub on the WTC site, which encompasses the PATH terminal and the Fulton Street Transit Center and is expected to open in 2009;
• Ongoing design and preparatory work on the Memorial with a groundbreaking planned for spring of 2006.The Memorial and the related Memorial Museum are set to open in 2009.

Mr. Cahill noted that government must assist rather than hinder the evolution of
Lower Manhattan from a purely financial district to a more dynamic, mixed use community encompassing commerce, residential living and culture.

With this in mind, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has agreed to expedite the planning process for the retail component of the site, which can serve the needs of the thousands of workers, residents, tourists and students who use the neighborhood on a daily basis.

In response to a question about security, Mr. Cahill said that such concerns are being addressed as an integral part of every structure built downtown. As a result, people should feel secure in the knowledge that each building will incorporate the latest innovations in security and engineering.

The session concluded with C.O.P. members providing their insight and expertise on ways to mitigate the impact – on residents and businesses – of the massive amount of construction planned over the next decade in such a confined area of the City.