The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), the agency
in charge of World Trade Center site reconstruction, on Friday
approved the new, scaled-back design for the September 11 memorial
at Ground Zero, clearing the way for environmental and other
reviews to proceed.
The changes unveiled last week to cut costs include a smaller
memorial museum, as well as moving the gallery of victims' name to
street level.
According to the LMDC, the public has responded positively to
the changes.
"Removing the waterfalls is very unpopular, removing the
galleries people are fine with," said LMDC President Stefan
Pryor."(People) recognize that it can actually result in an
improvement in the visitor experience, and in the accessibility of
the names."
However, on its Friday meeting the agency did not touch on the
most controversial part of the project, the listing of the
names.
The proposal calls for a random list, but some family members
want the names to be more uniformly arranged.
Meanwhile, the WTC Memorial Foundation is expected to restart
fund-raising efforts early next month.
The foundation has so far raised US$130 million of the projected
US$500-million budget. The government has committed to pay US$200
million.
Last week the cornerstone for the Freedom Tower was moved to
Long Island after officials realized new design and construction
plans required its location to be moved.
The cornerstone was placed at the Freedom Tower site during a
July 4th ceremony in 2004. It was supposed to mark the start of
construction on the massive skyscraper. The cornerstone could stay
in Long Island for up to two years.
(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2006)
