Under the terms of a January ruling by an arbitration panel, the two sides have until Thursday to either reach an agreement or face the prospect of the panel coming up with its own solution.
Saying that there's "a moral imperative" to step up work on the project eight-and-a-half years after the 9/11 attacks, Rep. Carolyn Maloney told the audience, "For too long, Ground Zero has been exhibit A for those who say you can no longer build big in New York. We need to prove them wrong."
Other speakers, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Rep. Joseph Crowley and Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer, sounded similar themes. Quinn called it "a disgrace" that the project hasn't been completed yet. Crowley acknowledged that "there's plenty of blame to go around" for the slow progress at Ground Zero, but said the delays cannot continue.
Alluding to a 2009 study conducted for the Port Authority which said that construction and leasing of the project's commercial components might not be finished until 2037, Crowley asserted, "2037 is too long." The same message was delivered by Rep. Gregory Meeks, as well as by protest signs carried aloft by hardhats in the crowd.
The rally was sponsored by the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. A BCTC spokesman puts attendance at "a couple thousand" and says the council is hopeful that the rally proved effective. The council says that going full speed ahead on construction at Ground Zero will mean 10,000 union jobs "and tens of thousands of permanent jobs upon completion."
A spokesman for SPI tells GlobeSt.com the company has no comment on the rally. Earlier today, the developer denied having a hand in organizing the gathering, according to the New York Times.
In recent weeks, the Port and SPI, who have been at odds over the timetable and financing for construction at Ground Zero for more than a year, have showed signs of coming to terms. Most recently, the Port responded to SPI's offer of more skin in the game with a counter-proposal.
According to published reports, the Port offered to financially support SPI's first tower, known as Tower 4 and currently under construction, and back Tower 3 after the developer pre-leased 500,000 of its 2.5 million square feet. In return, the Port wants SPI to raise $300 million in new private capital, pool the remaining construction funds from tax-free Liberty Bonds and the insurance money from the 9/11 attacks and continue paying full rent at the site until the insurance proceeds are exhausted.
Although neither SPI nor the Port would comment on the details of the published accounts, an SPI spokesman told GlobeSt.com last week that the company is studying the Port's counter-proposal. "We will continue to work with the Port Authority and other stakeholders in order to achieve an agreement that will protect the public's interests and ensure the World Trade Center is rebuilt in a timely manner," the spokesman said last week.
Asked to comment on Tuesday's rally, a spokesman for the Port Authority forwarded a statement from executive director Chris Ward. "An offer is on the table that is responsible, protects public interests and gets the entire site moving," says Ward. "The Port Authority can't do it at the expense of a full public bailout."
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Paul Bubny
Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.
