Meeting with Larry Silverstein Regarding WTC Site Redevelopment:
By: Colleen Ashton, Sister of Tommy Ashton

Several family group members sat down with Larry Silverstein and his partner on Friday, February 22, 2002. During this meeting, the rebuilding and memorial design of the World Trade Center site was discussed.

Monica Iken from September's Mission presented the views of many families to Mr. Silverstein. She brought up the suggestion of former Mayor Giuliani to arrange a land swap, where Mr. Silverstein would give up the 16-acre area at Ground Zero and obtain the same amount of land elsewhere in Manhattan (perhaps the West Side). Monica pointed out that Ground Zero is a burial site and should not be rebuilt on at all. She challenged Mr. Silverstein to “do the right thing”. She indicated that Mr. Silverstein’s legacy could be one which will show Americans what is truly important to us…that we honor our dead. She said this area could be used to build a memorial park, etc. This idea was compared to that of Central Park. This would provide grieving families with a place to go to be with their loved ones. It would also provide one of the largest tourist attractions in the world, therefore generating growth for the city.

Mr. Silverstein was fairly receptive to all that was said. He recognized that the families’ message was one of deep emotion and that this attack has been the tragedy of our time. His office has received thousands of letters in regards to whether or not to rebuild the World Trade Center towers. The overwhelming response from these letters has been to rebuild. The sentiment seems to be that if we do not, the terrorists win. Originally, Mr. Silverstein had thought to rebuild the towers just as they were, but then he realized that even he would not be comfortable with his own children working in the upper floors of such a structure. Instead, Mr. Silverstein is considering building four 50-60-story buildings. The lease under which Mr. Silverstein is bound, calls for the rebuilding of exactly the same amount of space that was there prior to the attack. Mr. Silverstein mentioned that only the Port Authority could rewrite the terms of the lease. He agreed that he could build a park, however, he recognized that the extensive office space that once existed on that site generated huge amounts of growth for NYC (15% of overall growth). He wants to rebuild and improve the quality of life for downtown Manhattan, including facilities that were never there before. He admitted that he did not know the right answer but only hopes that he can do what is right for New York. He challenged the families with the idea that perhaps his legacy is to help make downtown Manhattan better than it had ever been before.

Monica brought up the religious/moral issues with building over a burial site. Mr. Silverstein stated that after talking with clergy from 3 religious denominations, he feels certain that this would not be a religious/moral issue. Monica disagreed based on her own discussions with clergy. She proposed seeking the advice of the Pope. Mr. Silverstein stated that if the Pope felt as though rebuilding on this site would be a serious moral issue, then the families would have a much stronger case. Monica vowed to get in touch with the Pope.

As the meeting concluded, Mr. Silverstein thanked everyone for being there and invited us back again anytime we would like to continue this discussion with him.