TESTIMONY
by Patricia Noonan, Vice President,
Research & Policy
PARTNERSHIP FOR NEW YORK CITY

New York, New York
February 18, 2004

PDF 81K

Hearing on Ground Zero Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS)

Good Afternoon. I am pleased to testify today on behalf of the Partnership for New York City. Our President and CEO, Kathryn Wylde, was unable to attend, so I am representing her here today. The Partnership is an organization comprised of the chief executives of the city’s largest employers. It is committed to working in partnership with government, labor and the nonprofit sector to enhance the economy and maintain New York City’s position as the global center of commerce, culture and innovation.

Eight weeks after the terrorist attack, the Partnership issued its Economic Impact Analysis of 9/11. One of the study’s central findings was that the future of Downtown Manhattan will be determined by the clarity and the pace of the rebuilding effort.

Urban recovery efforts after several major earthquakes provided an invaluable lesson: those cities that quickly agreed on a recovery plan, even though it may have taken years to implement, maintained their economic strength. A plan helps to create new business and stimulate investor confidence.

Today’s hearing, two and a half years after that terrible day, is proof that New York City is on the right track. We have a plan and we are now in the process of implementing it.

The business community commends the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and its partners in the EIS. They have set forth a balanced approach to expedite construction while minimizing the impacts on businesses, residents and workers in Lower Manhattan.

A host of major Lower Manhattan businesses will soon be faced with renewing leases; they will be making location decisions within the decade. In order to remain in Lower Manhattan, they must be confident about its future.

If they decide not to stay in Lower Manhattan , there is no guarantee they will stay in the city at all. Once they begin evaluating alternative locations, it is possible that they will choose to locate elsewhere. Some place where rents are lower and labor costs less.

Neither Lower Manhattan nor the city at large can afford to let these firms relocate

The business community believes that it is important to expedite the rebuilding process of the commercial sites in order to maintain the commercial character of Lower Manhattan and keep this important business district, which is the third largest CBD in the country.

The same sense of urgency and focus that drove the clean up of the World Trade Center site— which took 9 months rather than one year and cost $750 million, not the projected $2.5 billion— must continue to drive the rebuilding process.

Obviously, we cannot afford the kind of three-decade timetable that eventually produced the new Times Square and a built-out Battery Park City and World Financial Center.

A twenty or thirty year process is not acceptable for the businesses, workers and residents of Lower Manhattan. Nor is it acceptable for the families of victims or millions of people worldwide who want to come pay their respects.

Therefore, we must make every effort to keep to Governor Pataki's aggressive timetable for redevelopment. Efforts to date to improve the quality of life for workers and residents have helped make a difference.

And some of the proposals in the DGEIS will help minimize disruption during the critical construction period.

The business community applauds LMDC’s efforts to move forward on the rebuilding because it recognizes the significance of this project to the economic health of Lower Manhattan, the city and the nation.

The Partnership for New York City supports LMDC’s findings in the DGEIS.

The Partnership for New York City (www.pfnyc.org) is a network of business leaders dedicated to enhancing the economy of the five boroughs of New York City and maintaining the city’s position as the global center of commerce, culture and innovation.