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Contact: Charles Carrier (518) 455-3888 |
For Immediate Release: November 2, 2001 |
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Statement on Governor's Lower Manhattan Proposal |
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While I am encouraged that the governor finally recognizes the need for a coordinated effort to rebuild lower Manhattan, I am disappointed that his partisan proposal-introduced just four days before the mayoral election-fails to provide for meaningful state-city partnership. Today, seven weeks after the September 11 disaster, businesses are making critical relocation decisions, residents are struggling to return to normal lives and immediate relief is needed. It will take more than a subsidiary of an existing state agency to address essential rebuilding and revitalization issues. I first shared my vision for revitalizing downtown Manhattan with the governor a month ago. The best way to deal with the crisis at hand is by working effectively with the federal government to address the immediate needs of businesses and community residents. Then we can turn our attention to addressing other vital issues, including transportation, security and long-term planning. A bipartisan state-city entity should be established under specific statute and must include state and city elected officials; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; Battery Park City Authority; Metropolitan Transportation Authority; and the New York City Board of Education; as well as representatives from business, organized labor and the local community. I look forward to negotiating the particulars of this entity with the governor, the current mayor and, after November 6, the mayor-elect. Clearly, it is essential to involve the next mayor in this process after next Tuesday's election. I believe that it is also essential to ensure that our effort is bipartisan. This is why I chose to travel with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno to Washington, D.C. yesterday, to meet with our congressional delegation and Senate and House leadership. I continue to strongly support the Assembly Majority's recommendation for a separate memorial commission, to bring together elected officials with firefighters, police officers and all of the victims and volunteers who sacrificed so greatly on September 11 and in the days since the disaster. -30-
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