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WTC Memorial Redesign Committee Presents New Plans To Mayor, Governor
06/15/2006 09:45 AM
By:
NY1 News
The committee appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki to help keep the price of the World Trade Center memorial at $500 million was expected to release new designs Thursday, but didn't.
Instead, the mayor and governor sat down with developer Frank Sciame to review construction costs for the project.
Spokeswomen for Bloomberg and Pataki said a review of Sciame's recommendations should be complete by next week.
Recent estimates put the cost close to $1 billion, but Bloomberg and Pataki have put a cap on the cost at $500 million.
Fundraising for the memorial has been put on hold until the revisions are made.
This comes a day after the governor hinted that the signature waterfalls may not be a part of the revised plan. Pataki says the changes are needed to keep the cost down.
The governor says he expects the "Reflecting Absence" project will keep most of its key features, but never mentioned the waterfalls or the underground gallery, where the victims' names would be inscribed.
The Associated Press says one of the proposals is to raise the list of names of those killed in the attacks to street level.
Many family members have been very critical of the planned below-ground memorial.
"I'm confident that at the price that both the mayor and I agree should be paid — a half billion dollars for the memorial — we can have something that is very similar to the Michael Arad Reflecting Absences design that has those key elements and that allows us to tell the story of September 11th," said Pataki.
"One of these days they'll come to a conclusion on the memorial,” said developer and WTC lease holder Larry Silverstein. “That will get done, that will get built, and when it is finished, it will be a magnificent tribute to those who lost their lives on 9/11."
The Memorial Foundation says it plans to launch a nationwide fundraising campaign next month.
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