Ward: WTC Timetable Must Be Realistic

NEW YORK CITY-In the first public discussion of the progress report on World Trade Center rebuilding ordered by Gov. David Paterson, the head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reiterated the report’s basic message: The entire process will take longer than projected and a new, more realistic timetable must be devised.

“The original completion dates are just not going to be met,” Christopher Ward, the Port Authority’s executive director, told his audience at Tuesday’s breakfast meeting sponsored by the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association. Until 15 fundamental issues raised in yesterday’s report are resolved, he said, “coming up with another set of dates would not be appropriate.”

Ward cited the enormity and complexity of the rebuilding—which the authority is overseeing—currently under way on 16 acres at Ground Zero. It includes five skyscrapers, with three being developed by Silverstein Properties; the Fulton Street Transit Center, now projected to cost $1 billion more than originally estimated; a new PATH station; a WTC memorial; an extensive retail component; and a vehicle screening area.