Leading public officials yesterday demanded that Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg pick up the snail-like pace of rebuilding Ground Zero.
“It has really got to move on. People have got to get out of the way. Decisions have to be made. Enough time has gone . . . and now it’s implementation time,” said state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Troy).
Sen. Charles Schumer said he is very concerned about delays in rebuilding the World Trade Center and lower Manhattan 3½ years after 9/11 – a problem highlighted in detail on The Post’s editorial pages yesterday.
Asked if he is upset over the slow pace, Schumer said he was, adding, “I’m trying to figure out how I can help correct that.
“I’m investigating it right now. I’m getting inside stories from people and I’ll be doing something on it,” Schumer vowed.
Post real estate columnist Steve Cuozzo wrote that rebuilding downtown has languished in part because Pataki and the Port Authority, which owns the site, have not acted with the sense of urgency needed to overcome obstacles.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) accused Pataki and Bloomberg of breaking their promises to rebuild lower Manhattan.
“Three and a half years ago we all talked patriotically about showing the terrorists that they will not stop New Yorkers, they will not stop Americans, and [now] they’re floundering around downtown,” Silver said this week.
Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff insisted the focus on projects on the West Side has had no impact on lower Manhattan, as some critics have charged.
“It is a very, very complicated site [downtown] with a complex plan, with complex infrastructure requirements and complex security arrangements and they have to be done right,” Doctoroff said.
Spokesmen for the Port Authority and Pataki defended the pace of the rebuilding effort at Ground Zero.
The slow progress in rebuilding downtown has come up at several City Council hearings and is an issue with Speaker Gifford Miller.
“Of course he’s concerned about the pace and he thinks the Port Authority and the governor are dragging their heels,” said Miller spokesman Steve Sigmund. Additional reporting by David Seifman, Ian Bishop, Jennifer Fermino and Kenneth Lovett