The Remarks Of Speaker Sheldon Silver

The Alliance For Downtown New York/Downtown Lower Manhattan Association Breakfast

New York Academy Of Science
7 World Trade Center, 40th Floor, Manhattan

Friday, May 2, 2008 [8:00 A.M.]

Elizabeth Berger. Bill Rudin. Avi Schick. Jim Cavanaugh. Carl Weisbrod. Madelyn Wills. Ladies and Gentlemen.

Liz [President Berger], as grateful as I am for your kind words, let me use this occasion to thank you for the energy, the vision and the leadership you are bringing to our great Downtown community.

Clearly, your Chairman, the distinguished Bob Douglass and his committee chose wisely in appointing you as President.

So I thank your Chairman and each and every member of the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association and the Alliance for Downtown New York for the difference that you have made, that you are making, and that we will need you to continue to make as we proceed with the reconstruction and revitalization of Lower Manhattan.

Let me also take a moment to acknowledge the Chairman of the Association for a Better New York, my friend, Bill Rudin who is continuing the Rudin legacy and the Rudin commitment to revitalizing all of New York.

Although he could not be with us this morning, I am delighted to be joined with you here in Larry Silverstein's Seven World Trade; a building many said would never be built much less house a prestigious and historic institution such as this Academy of Science.

I am relieved, as I know we all are, that since my last progress report, work is finally under way on the foundations for World Trade Centers Three and Four.

That said, I believe it is appropriate to commend Larry Silverstein and his team - represented here by Janno Lieber and Dara McQuillan - for demonstrating the drive and the "can do" attitude that is consistent with the spirit that makes New York the greatest city on Earth; the drive and the attitude that should always define a New Yorker.

As I said at last year's breakfast, I believe that it is one of my responsibilities to present an honest appraisal of Lower Manhattan's recovery post-9/11.

Over the years, I have openly discussed my concerns with the pace of - and the impediments to - the rebuilding effort, and I have not been shy in placing fault where it was deserved, nor in giving credit where credit is due.

This morning, I can sum up my concerns with Lower Manhattan's recovery effort in five words:

THE JOB IS NOT DONE.

Given the history, I suppose it was inevitable that this would become my overall concern.

The economy rises and falls. Politics, like the seasons, change and then change again. And time has a way of easing the pain of loss and presenting us with new worries and new issues to occupy our minds.

So today - as we approach seven years since the towers were brought down - we have reached the point here in Lower Manhattan when we must renew our pledge, when we must refresh those promises that we made to each other, to those who gave their lives at Ground Zero, and to the world.

We must recommit ourselves as a city, as a state, as a nation to the moral obligation we declared on September 11th and we must finish the job that was so violently foisted upon this community.

That is the only way that Lower Manhattan can rise from the rubble to fully realize its full and incredible potential.

There will always be grand and important projects to complete in this City. Lower Manhattan must be accomplished first.

I remember vividly the challenge posed by the attacks as it unfolded over the years and the actions that were required of all of us:

• Fighting for The Liberty Bonds program;

• Establishing a Lower Manhattan Empire Zone;

• Creating and putting into motion my Lower Manhattan Marshall Plan;

• Pushing to provide direct, financial assistance to residents and businesses in Lower Manhattan;

• Fighting for the dollars to support affordable housing, transportation, schools, recreational space, health clinics, retail space, and our Downtown Hospital;

• Standing up for our injured and suffering 9/11 rescue and recovery workers;

The list was endless.

We knew from the beginning that "partnership" was the key: federal, state and local … public and private … business and individual … labor and corporate.

At a time that cried out for unity, we had to fight in Washington. We had to fight in Albany. We had to fight in City Hall.

As a result, Lower Manhattan's recovery has been slower and weaker than it could have been and should have been, and the cost of delay - compounded over the years - is incalculable.

Yet, our passion and our persistence have yielded progress; and with progress has come optimism.

Tourism and hotel occupancy rates are up considerably.

Downtown office vacancy rates are down and rents are up considerably.

The downtown residential market is doing extremely well.

As I mentioned earlier, foundation work is under way on World Trade Centers Three and Four.

Construction of the new world headquarters for Goldman Sachs in Battery Park City is progressing rapidly.

Two days ago, we announced that another milestone has been achieved at the Deutsche Bank building. The final stages of the abatement and decontamination have commenced.

Progress is also being made on our vision of a vibrant, 24-hour, community-oriented Lower Manhattan where more than 35-percent of residents currently walk to work.

Last September, we gained seven new classrooms with the opening of the new P.S. 234 annex.

After too many delays, the Forest City Ratner tower project is back on track meaning that the Beekman School that I fought for and won, is also moving forward and will, when completed, add 600 classroom seats for our rapidly expanding residential population.

The Site 2B school in Battery Park City, another school construction project for Lower Manhattan, will add 900 seats when it is completed.

And thanks to a $3 million state investment in the project, the Manhattan Youth Downtown Community Center had its formal grand opening on April 10th.

There are a number of new retailers downtown, including Barnes and Noble, Bed, Bath and Beyond, BMW, Daffy's, Hermes, Tiffany's, and Whole Foods is scheduled to open in a few months.

A number of new parks are currently in the works for Lower Manhattan and progress is being made on the East River Waterfront restoration.

And, to keep the ball rolling, I was able to secure funds as part of the final, enacted state budget that range from an unprecedented investment in affordable housing totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, to hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Alliance programs, including the "Business to Business Marketing and Branding" program.

In addition to the millions of dollars that helped open Millennium High School several years ago, the new state budget contains $750,000 to help create a gym in the school.

Let me take this opportunity to thank the Chair of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Avi Schick, for the leadership that he has brought to Lower Manhattan.

More than his expertise, it is good to have a partner who grasps the importance of rebuilding Lower Manhattan, who is willing to listen, and who is truly committed to making a difference for residents and businesses.

Avi, I thank you for your commitment and for your service to Lower Manhattan. As I said earlier, I will not hesitate to give credit where credit is due.

One would think, that almost seven years after 9/11, the economic recovery would be complete.

THE JOB, my friends, IS NOT DONE.

At our lowest point, post 9/11, Lower Manhattan was down nearly 90,000 jobs. By last Fall, we were up sixty of the ninety thousand but still short nearly 30,000 jobs.

To this day, Downtown has still not regained its position as the third largest central business district in the nation.

You might think that the only obstacle in our path is the recession. And yes, it will be very difficult to add jobs when the economy is shedding them.

The economy, however, is only part of the problem.

We need a re-commitment to Lower Manhattan. We must not allow ourselves to be distracted.

We must work together. Partnership must be considered part of our obligation.

We recognize the importance of keeping Ground Zero secure, but that security must be part of the planning from the beginning and not when we're trying to nurture street life and put utilities in place.

We expect timetables from the LMDC, the Port Authority, the MTA, from everybody, and we expect them to be kept.

We must remove Fiterman Hall.

In the budget, the Assembly's Higher Education Chair, Assembly Member Deborah Glick and I secured an additional $50 million for the deconstruction and the reconstruction of the Fiterman Hall site.

In his budget, the Mayor failed to put up the City's share of funding for this project. The City must honor its commitment to Fiterman Hall and put an end to the almost seven years of blight.

As much as anything, we need a fully and properly funded MTA capital plan, but more than that, we need a realistic, long-term vision for mass transit in this City.

Mass transit is the cornerstone of economic growth in this region.

That said, I was pleased that Governor Paterson appointed Richard Ravitch to lead a task force on the MTA Capital Plan and to help craft a long-term funding solution.

I have the utmost respect for Mister Ravitch's experience and for his leadership, and I have had an extensive conversation with him.

I repeated to him what I made clear to MTA Chairman Lee Sander in my letter of January 30, 2008:

That I expect to see the Fulton Street Transit Center fully funded, complete, and at a scale that resembles what has been repeatedly promised to this community.

I told Mister Ravitch that we must have the Second Avenue Subway and that we must have one-stop rail from Downtown to JFK, Nassau and Suffolk.

Let me add that the Port Authority must also fund the PATH station at Ground Zero.

These projects are part and parcel of the moral obligation to Lower Manhattan, and they are essential for our long-term growth and recovery.

We cannot be distracted by the business cycle.

We need to put in place the vision and the financing to get these projects completed, to provide for the long-term viability of the system, and to set the stage for future expansion.

Ultimately, we need to work together with Governor Paterson, with Chairman Lee Sander, with Richard Ravitch, and with the Port Authority to get this plan done.

That is my appraisal.

Progress is being made. Lower Manhattan is coming back. Hard times are ahead.

Almost seven years have passed, but THE JOB IS NOT DONE.

Certainly, we do not lack the vision or the leadership.

In David Paterson, we have a governor who has demonstrated that he will support and listen to us, who is a real leader, and who will be a real partner.

Now, we must get back to our obligation.

We must learn from the past. We must not waste time fighting.

I will continue to be a critic. I will continue to be involved.

This is my hometown. I owe a great deal to this community and I intend to honor my commitment to it and to the future of Lower Manhattan.

We have serious challenges ahead of us, but as long as we work together, as long as we honor our obligation, we can convert the tragedy of September 11th into a community where freedom and opportunity awaits any citizen of the world.

We have work to do. Let us finish the job together.

Thank you very much.