Where to put the Survivor's Stair – Of Course! Governors Island
From the Daily News
BY GREG B. SMITH
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, August 1st 2007, 4:00 AM
State officials are considering a highly unusual plan to solve the problem of the World Trade Center staircase that’s blocking Ground Zero reconstruction.
Put it out to sea.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. is floating a plan to place the last remaining piece of the twin towers on a barge and moor it off the shore of Governors Island, sources told the Daily News.
In recent weeks, the sources say, the LMDC, which oversees reconstruction at the site, discussed the plan with the city and the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp.
Errol Cockfield, a spokesman for the LMDC’s oversight agency, the Empire State Development Corp., declined to comment.
The 175-ton staircase is the only remaining above-ground remnant of the Trade Center. Some historical preservationists have pressed the state to keep it intact as a reminder of the twin towers.
The staircase sits in the middle of multiple construction projects, including reconstruction of the so-called “bathtub” that keeps water from flooding the site.
“Everyone acknowledges that it has to be moved in order for the bathtub construction to continue,” said Michael Connolly, a member of Community Board 1. “The question is, where do you put it until a decision is made about its permanent future?”
Last spring the state proposed moving the ragged staircase to Battery Park City, but residents put up a fuss.
The latest plan under consideration is to float the staircase on a barge off Governors Island temporarily until a permanent spot can be found.
Then there are those who would like to see the staircase simply go away.
“If the barge sank, it might make a nice natural reef,” said Bill Love, member of Community Board 1 who opposes putting the staircase in Battery Park City, where he lives.