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CBS, June
30, 2005
The 9/11 Funds:
Where Are They Now?
Earlier this year, everything seemed to be in place for
the construction of the freedom tower. Then Governor Pataki made a
surprising announcement, ordering the designers back to the drawing board.
The cause stemmed from concerns about the tower's structural strength and
about security and terrorism.
Bringing lower Manhattan
back from an unthinkable disaster will take piles of cash. President Bush
knew that, when just days after the September 11th attacks caused
devastation downtown, he promised the city help and $20 billion.
But did the city get all of the money?
“Some of it came very quickly in the form of emergency
response aid,” said Preston Niblack, Deputy
Director at the Independent Budget Office.
“The city was not handed a check for 20 billion and we
are still to this day arguing over how much the federal government has
given us, or not, and in what categories,” says New York State Senator Liz
Krueger.
Immediately after September 11th, the city received $6.3
billion for emergency response. This included the cost of debris removal,
overtime expenses for the police and fire departments, emergency
transportation projects, and aid to residents for housing assistance and
small businesses.
That money was spent and is now gone. Also almost gone
is the money the city for economic recovery, which included a lot of the
grants and assistance to businesses.
More than $4.4 billion was divided up to help businesses
and residents. Utility companies also received three quarters of a billion
dollars to reconstruct telephone and electrical equipment. The balance of
the funds, $1.7 billion, went to the city for budget relief.
But perhaps the most controversial of the funding for
lower Manhattan
involves long term rebuilding. This is where the bulk of the $20 billion is
being spent. $9.7 billion will be allocated among several projects, most of
which haven’t started and may take up to 10 years to complete.
Construction of the new freedom tower is also part of
the reconstruction efforts. Stefan Pryor, president of the Lower Manhattan
Development Corporation, had this to say about the newly redesigned
project.
“We’re confident it’s going to become one of the most
striking features of the New York
skyline.”
While not funded by the $20 billion, it is hoped that
the building will be the showcase of lower Manhattan.
And that’s where the rest of the money comes in. More
than $4.5 billion will be spent on rebuilding of transportation and other
specific projects.
Pryor has high hopes for the future.
“A PATH station that is one of the finest in the world.
You will see a glorious memorial, you will see cultural buildings sprouting
up and becoming a new center of cultural vitality for downtown and the
entire region and you will see commercial buildings like the freedom tower
rising into the sky.”
But not all of the money earmarked for lower Manhattan is being spent in lower Manhattan. Some of it is being spent in
midtown at 43rd and 6th avenue.
Despite being miles from ground zero, Bank of America received $650 million
in liberty bonds to build an office tower there.
“Liberty
bonds are triple tax free bonds that provide a terrific incentive for
development downtown,” says Pryor.
But corporations don’t have to build downtown if the
project benefits the area. Developers including Robert De Niro are picking up millions in tax-free bonds. The
actor is planning to build a boutique hotel in Tribeca.
Other prominent housing developers are also taking advantage of the
program. Some say the bonds set aside for rental housing are nearly all
going to build luxury apartments.
“If you are using government funds to support economic
recovery and development, the last thing you need in New York City is government subsidies for
luxury housing,” says Krueger.
All of these rebuilding projects are still in the
planning phase. The federal government has promised funding for them has
not yet been delivered.
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