THE US: The unveiling of six "alternative" proposals - each broadly similar - for the renovation of the World Trade Centre site and a memorial to September 11th appears set to provoke a fierce political controversy. It is one that the Governor, Mr George Pataki, a key figure in the decision-making process, will not enjoy as he launches into his November re-election campaign, writes Patrick Smyth in New York
The proposals unveiled on Tuesday by the Port Authority and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation for the 16-acre site are dominated by substantial office and retail complexes, needed to meet the controversial decision to replace all the space lost in the attack - 11 million sq ft of office space and 600,000 sq ft each for retail and hotel outlets.
Such priorities are driven by the economic requirements of the public-private partnership, which will be charged with rebuilding the area, and by the needs of the Port Authority to generate $120 million a year in lease income from the developers. Groups representing the families of those who died have already criticised the priorities of commercial interests and have been angered that two of the proposals involve building on top of the footprints of the destroyed buildings, which many see as akin to despoiling graves.
The alternative designs all reject the idea of reconstructing two massive 110-storey towers in favour of a cluster of between four and six towers, ranging from 32 to 80 storeys. The taller towers may be difficult to lease to business-users, fearful they may again be seen as targets. Each design provides for significant public and memorial space, varying from five to 10 acres. They all incorporate a major transit station, cultural space and they broadly retain existing street alignments.
New York Times planning specialist Robert Muschamp says "the plans have little to recommend them" and he denounces the privatisation logic which he sees as the rationale for all the designs.
The downbeat response of the paper is in marked contrast to its review of the Irish Hunger Memorial, opened in Battery Park nearby on Tuesday. Roberta Smith, the paper's critic, said it had the potential "to be New York City's equivalent of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, an unconventional work of art that strikes a deep emotional chord, sums up its artistic moment for a broad audience and expands the understanding of what a public memorial can be".