NEW YORK | One World Trade Center | 1,776' Pinnacle / 1,373' Roof | 108 FLOORS

[mheadroom]

Originally Posted by Davidsam52

Andrew Cuomo I think is a good governor, but clearly he made a mistake by removing Chris Ward from the head of the PA.

The funny thing about the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is that Andrew Cuomo doesn't run it. Instead, both governors from both states pick 6 board members each who then pick an executive director.

What you're probably thinking about is the notoriously difficult working relationship Ward and Cuomo had. Ward resigned because he hated working with Cuomo but that doesn't mean Cuomo fired him.

[Bill Ditnow]

Originally Posted by nyc_alex

This whole Durst/antenna thing is amazingly disgusting to even think about.

As I understand it, this change will save $20 million. So the PA will get $5 million of that savings, Durst gets the other $15 million for helping the PA save money.

So for that $5 million saved for the PA, I will, for possibly the rest of my life, have to live with looking at a sub-par design on the most visible thing in the city. It is something I CAN SEE FROM MY BED and wake up to. Millions of people see it on a daily basis.

🞵🞵🞵🞵 you Durst.

While I understand your feelings, maybe you ought to take a bit more expansive view of matters.

Every day, you get to wake up and see, from your bed, Lower Manhattan.

How many people can say that?

How many people in the world wake up and see, oh, I don't know, rocks? How many people wake up and see another day of trying to eke out a living in some arid land, or trying not to get shot by some crazed militants, or ... etc. etc.

I think the take-home point here is, "count your blessings."

[Enigmatism415]

So close! Once the two spandrels on either side of the north corner node, and the two on either side of the south corner node, are placed... 1WTC will be topped out!

[kpdrummer82]

Originally Posted by hunser

That's like saying "he's a good pilot but due to his incompetence the plane crashed" lol. Let's be honest, Cuomo is right there- in the middle of the pig party.


Southern Tip Skyline, Manhattan, New York City von jag9889 auf Flickr

not really the best forum to go ahead and say quirky lines about planes crashing, ya think?

[CarlosV]

DSC_4885 copy by Ceva321, on Flickr

[Davidsam52]

Originally Posted by mheadroom

The funny thing about the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is that Andrew Cuomo doesn't run it. Instead, both governors from both states pick 6 board members each who then pick an executive director.

What you're probably thinking about is the notoriously difficult working relationship Ward and Cuomo had. Ward resigned because he hated working with Cuomo but that doesn't mean Cuomo fired him.

Well either way, this project after being a huge mess early on was humming along very nicely under Chris Ward's direction. When he left, everything began to go to pot again.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by 1wtcspiresavor

No its the same antenna everyone thinks is 🞵🞵🞵🞵



^Notice the top of the antenna fans or spears out (whatever you want to call it) .. that "fan out shape" is a result of what you are seeing on the truck

Looks even more ridiculous at the top of the antenna. Why they wouldn't just go ahead and build the whole thing without the radome is beyond me. The entire point of not building the spire was supposedly because of the radome.

Originally Posted by mheadroom

The funny thing about the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is that Andrew Cuomo doesn't run it. Instead, both governors from both states pick 6 board members each who then pick an executive director. What you're probably thinking about is the notoriously difficult working relationship Ward and Cuomo had. Ward resigned because he hated working with Cuomo but that doesn't mean Cuomo fired him.

Both the board and directors are "puppets" of the governors, who pull the strings. That's how governor Pataki wielded so much power over the Freedoom Tower and its construction when he was in office. While both states must approve PA business, one side rarely interferes with action on the other side. Ward, who was appointed by Gov Patterson, left before there was a chance of him being pushed out.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/ward_cleaver_andy_set_to_ax_pa_boss_ZQZDRkbZOXLYsdR9WTWLHO

Gov. Cuomo is planning to boot the Port Authority executive director -- who's widely credited with getting construction at the World Trade Center back on track after years of delays -- following the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, The Post has learned. Christopher Ward -- a Gov. Paterson appointee whose string of successes includes the recent $1.9 billion deal to bring Conde Nast to 1 World Trade Center -- never managed to develop a rapport with Cuomo, multiple sources told The Post.

That wasn't quite the case...


http://observer.com/2011/06/ward-boss-he-resurrected-ground-zero-but-can-chris-ward-save-himself/

The agency’s executive director is a gubernatorial appointee, and the prevailing assumption since Mr. Cuomo’s election has been that—regardless of Mr. Ward’s success—his days were numbered. That assumption finally found its way into print last month when the New York Post reported—according to unnamed Port Authority and administration sources—that Mr. Ward would be dismissed shortly after the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. "There are no plans to replace him at this time,” Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto told The Observer.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/po...s-pedestal-leaking-news-audit-bloomberg-

“A source close to the Cuomo administration” told Dicker that the an audit reveals Ward engaged in “extravagant overspending” in order "to step up the rebuilding" of the site for the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. “There is no doubt Ward got a lot of the construction going, and that he has a network of people he’s pleased as a result, but at what cost?” the source told Dicker. “But you can’t credit Ward with accelerating the construction without holding him liable for the bill. The economics of this are going to be terrible for New York for decades to come as the bills keep coming in.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/nyregi...istopher-ward-is-said-to-be-leaving.html

Mr. Ward’s departure is planned for the end of October. It will create a formidable challenge for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who must now appoint a new chief for two of the most influential agencies under his purview: the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Jay H. Walder, also plans to leave next month, having announced his resignation in July. It is not unusual for new governors to replace the head of a powerful agency like the Port Authority, and Mr. Ward’s decision to resign had been widely predicted in municipal circles for months. Mr. Ward, who earned $304,922 last year as the authority’s highest-paid employee, declined on Wednesday to be interviewed for this article.

Say what you want about Ward, he did get things moving again, and we saw more real progress at the site.



agreatbigcity





Mitch Waxman

[1wtcspiresavor]

Originally Posted by kpdrummer82

That antenna doesn't look nearly as bad now that we can clearly see it's not pencil thin. I believe the mass hysteria coming from the loss of the randome was that the antenna would be an eye-sore but honestly, it's not too shabby. Plus, who looks at an antenna when you can't see the top of the tower from street level...

I think you are confused! No IT IS the same antenna that everyone was upset about and it is still pencil thin like most people are claiming ... nothing was changed with the antenna design since the radome was scraped. Let me go further and say ... nothing was changed with the spire design except the radome being scrapped! Hopefully now we are on the same page.

Originally Posted by NYguy

Looks even more ridiculous at the top of the antenna. Why they wouldn't just go ahead and build the whole thing without the radome is beyond me. The entire point of not building the spire was supposedly because of the radome.

I agree it does look ridiculous and I have no idea why they wouldn't carry through with what you suggest ... it is beyond me! I guess they are doing a "form follows function policy" and even though I am an engineer, I do not agree with incorporating that philosophy on a building that is supposed to be an aesthetic symbol. I don't know how to describe it but I guess the inconsistency in the antenna top makes it look very ridiculous!

[NewYorkDominates]

WiredNY

This spire Radome "problem" was a lie by Durst.As can be seen:why did they also take away the outer skeletal portion of the spire?I know for sure it wasn't for the "weather-related problems" it would cause for the maintenance workers.It was robbery.It was robbery to America's grandest and greatest monument for Americas's future-yet Durst "hacks" one of the most important aesthetic features of this monumental tower.

I was never into this debate,but the more you notice and read about Durst's past,present and future,the more you notice and see their crime in pure daylight

[Silverfox]

Originally Posted by NewYorkDominates

WiredNY

This spire Radome "problem" was a lie by Durst.As can be seen:why did they also take away the outer skeletal portion of the spire?I know for sure it wasn't for the "weather-related problems" it would cause for the maintenance workers.It was robbery.It was robbery to America's grandest and greatest monument for Americas's future-yet Durst "hacks" one of the most important aesthetic features of this monumental tower.

I was never into this debate,but the more you notice and read about Durst's past,present and future,the more you notice and see their crime in pure daylight

It runs in the family.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Durst

[eleven=11]

Is that wiki stuff true about DirtBag?
kinda funny , almost like somebody made it up.

I think ONE WTC is perfect.
but I'll take either spire...
the first one was good...
the new one was ok...
with good lighting either one is ok

[Roadcruiser1]

The World Trade Center site is now so tied into politics that I think it's better to not have the World Trade Center at all in the first place. It's turning into one bitter argument over another. Not even the original World Trade Center was decided by politics and now the new one is? Ridiculous.

[YankeesfaninUT]

Originally Posted by 1wtcspiresavor

I think you are confused! No IT IS the same antenna that everyone was upset about and it is still pencil thin like most people are claiming ... nothing was changed with the antenna design since the radome was scraped. Let me go further and say ... nothing was changed with the spire design except the radome being scrapped! Hopefully now we are on the same page.

I agree it does look ridiculous and I have no idea why they wouldn't carry through with what you suggest ... it is beyond me! I guess they are doing a "form follows function policy" and even though I am an engineer, I do not agree with incorporating that philosophy on a building that is supposed to be an aesthetic symbol. I don't know how to describe it but I guess the inconsistency in the antenna top makes it look very ridiculous!

I have a question for you. Are you the spire savior or saver? Because if you are the spiresavor it would mean you enjoy the taste of the spire. Did we flunk the first grade spelling test? And you dont make sense either. You start attacking this guy saying he is confused yet he never said what you are accusing him of. All he said was that the spire didn't look as bad as everyone said. Everything looks a little smaller when it's that high in the sky. You are entitled to your opinion as other's are entitled to their's. I personally think it wont be that bad.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by YankeesfaninUT

Everything looks a little smaller when it's that high in the sky. I personally think it wont be that bad.

That's great to know. In fact, had we not seen the spire as it was intended, there would probably be less people who dislike it now. However, we have seen what was intended. And what we have now is a disgraceful "robbery" of this tower's crowning monument. It's the antenna laid bare. That's all it really is. And there's a very good reason it wasn't designed like that in the first place.



In other matters, I didn't pay that much attention to the observatory in the renderings...

[Fluffybagel]

What Durst does on his free time :babyeat:

[mat97]

New row of glass!! 83rd floor!!!

[NewYorkDominates]

NYGuy
In other matters, I didn't pay that much attention to the observatory in the renderings...

The floor to ceiling height is crazy.Twenty-three feet tall per floor?


WRBphotograph
Flickr.com


New Glass

[1wtcspiresavor]

Originally Posted by YankeesfaninUT

I have a question for you. Are you the spire savior or saver? Because if you are the spiresavor it would mean you enjoy the taste of the spire. Did we flunk the first grade spelling test? And you dont make sense either. You start attacking this guy saying he is confused yet he never said what you are accusing him of. All he said was that the spire didn't look as bad as everyone said. Everything looks a little smaller when it's that high in the sky. You are entitled to your opinion as other's are entitled to their's. I personally think it wont be that bad.

Glad you picked up on my pun! I wasn't attacking him, I was explaining to him that the design has not changed and it is still pencil thin. What he is seeing on the truck (The top of the antenna) is much thicker than the rest of the antenna so if he is using that to gauge whether or not it will look pencil thin then he is incorrect in his assessment. Nothing further to say!

^posted again for reference~!

[pnapp1]

I decided to take a trip around Manhattan on my boat on Saturday. Here are a couple of photos. Since this was a spur-of-the-moment trip I only had my iPhone with me.

[NewYorkDominates]

Are you sure those are iPhone?Amazing quality