Who owns ground zero land

But the rebuilt World Trade Center complex is under threat anew - this time, from a microscopic virus. After the Twin Towers and surrounding buildings were destroyed by al Qaeda hijackers, killing 2, of the nearly 3, people who died that day, the economy of lower Manhattan was devastated.

The coronavirus pandemic has stalled its completion, with a performing arts center under construction and a fourth and final skyscraper planned. Ground Zero became both a solemn memorial and a leisure destination. It is the great public space. Free performances will take place on a small stage on the lobby level.

The long-delayed construction of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, replacing the only house of worship destroyed in the attacks, is now proceeding briskly after years of delays.

Slated for completion next year, the church is surrounded by a small public park and features a Byzantine-style dome and marble cladding that can be lit from within.

The project was first delayed by a dispute over location between the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the trade center. Then, project costs soared and construction halted in late after the archdiocese fell behind on payments. A new entity, Friends of St.

Nicholas, led by a core of wealthy Greek Americans, assumed management on behalf of the archdiocese and raised the remaining funds. Construction of a new Fiterman Hall is nearing completion in following years of delays in demolishing its damaged predecessor.

The firm also is tasked with designing and eventually constructing a new Fiterman Hall on the same site. But more delays ensue as the plans are subject to protracted regulatory reviews and as CUNY seeks sufficient city and state funding to move forward with the project.

The fire raises new safety concerns about the pending deconstruction of Fiterman Hall and regulators require CUNY to submit revised proposals that are subject to further review. The U. Decontamination of the old Fiterman Hall is completed in May and deconstruction starts, reaching ground level in November of that year. Among the facilities still being built are a fine art gallery and a public cafe. After interior construction is complete, the rebuilt Fiterman Hall contains about 37, square meters of usable floor space, compared to 34, square meters in its predecessor.

The new story building stands out from its surrounding office buildings with a red brick-and-glass exterior designed to enable passersby to see what is happening inside and encourage community use of its facilities, which include a rooftop conference center. The World Trade Center towers and plaza are dedicated in a ceremony on April 4, The plaza's centerpiece, installed in , is a bronze sculpture by German artist Fritz Koenig.

A study by Columbia University art history professor Holger A. After completing the sculpture, he sends it to the port of Bremen to be shipped in a wooden crate to New York, where it arrives in early ahead of its installation in the WTC Plaza.

Tobin praises the rotating sculpture as a symbol of world peace through trade. Tobin Plaza in his honor. The collapse of the Twin Towers destroys the plaza, but The Sphere suffers only slight damage. It is moved temporarily to nearby Battery Park in and put on display as a tribute to the victims of the attacks. Tobin Plaza. It opens to the public on September 12, a day after the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

The foundation applies for tax-exempt status in September and obtains federal approval shortly thereafter, enabling it to start receiving private donations. Preliminary construction of the memorial project commences in March with workers building protective enclosures around the surviving perimeter columns at the bases of the Twin Towers.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey agrees to take over the entire construction of the project in July after New York state and city authorities decide it is quicker and less expensive for one entity to be in charge of all building work in the WTC complex. The museum and memorial complex is the most expensive to be built in the United States. Visitors make a ramped descent into a vast underground cavity where the original WTC complex was based.

Some family members of WTC victims protest the repository, saying it is insensitive to house the potential remains of their loved ones deep underground in a space adjacent to a major tourist attraction. Other relatives see the underground repository as an appropriate facility.

It says more than 50 million people from around the world have visited the Memorial plaza since it opened in By Michael Lipin September 11, Original 1 WTC Site. Credit: Ray Stubblebine, Reuters Sept. Original 2 WTC Site. Credit: Sean Adair, Reuters Sept. Credit: Bill Biggart Sept. Original 4 WTC Site.

Original 5 WTC Site. New 2 WTC B. Original 6 WTC Site. Credit: U. Tilford Sept. The builders reach the 80th floor of the planned story tower by September New Ronald O. Credit: Luxigon for Perelman Performing Arts Center The meter-tall cube-shaped venue will host theater, dance, music, film and chamber opera in three performance spaces capable of multiple configurations seating 99 to 1, people.

Original 7 WTC Site. Credit: Roberto Rabanne Sept. After its completion, two iconic sculptures are located on the park's elevated platform. Deutsche Bank Building Site. Credit: Scott Murphy A floor office building and elevated plaza owned by U. Since the virus first swept through the city in March , taking the lives of nearly 34, New Yorkers and confining millions of commuters to their homes, the area has not returned to its pre-pandemic normal.

This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here. Edit Story. Daily Cover. Four of the six towers planned on the former Ground Zero site are now open and nearly fully leased, including the centerpiece One World Trade Center. Lower Manhattan has come a long way from its darkest day—but will it continue to thrive when the threat is microbes, not militants?