A Realistic and Rational Schedule...Don't Count on It

Yesterday the Port Authority put out their newest plan for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center.

A few days late but when have schedules ever meant anything with the PA or the LMDC.

To no one’s surprise they have added at least two years to the last plan and it will cost an additional $1.5 billion.

Immediately following this release the LMDC chairman came out with the following statement


“I am gratified that working closely together, we have been able to synthesize the analysis and work of numerous agencies and stakeholders to come up with a realistic and rational schedule plan for the rebuilding of this extremely complex site. Under the leadership of the Governor, we have all taken significant steps to coordinate and bring clarity to the rebuilding process so that the public gets the progress it deserves accompanied by dates and a schedule that are accurate and achievable.”

We are sure glad that he is satisfied because we are not.

Anyone who has been associated with this project can tell you that any plan Realistic, Rational or Probabilistic (there word not ours) is not worth the paper that it is written on.

We are now on our third Governor overseeing this project and have had promises and “realistic” schedules from all three.

The problem is that there is no single entity governing this project.

The Port Authority doesn’t answer to the Governor for that matter they don’t answer to anyone


As for the LMDC I am not even going to go there because if anyone thinks that they have ever had a realistic or rational schedule they need only look at the Deutsche Bank Building

On top of that what are the odds that Mr. Schick will still be around when the next newest roadmap for rebuilding comes out.

So here we are seven years in with our newest plan.

And costs will continue to soar and schedules will continue to be missed.

But the saddest part is that they will throw something together for 9/11/11 and call it a memorial.

Because on the pecking order of what has priority the record shows that the families were never near the top.

For if they were this replan would have included building by NYC Building and Fire codes to assure the safety of future tenants and responders.

But that was never even considered.

So excuse me if I sound a little skeptical and don’t share the enthusiasm of Governor Paterson, Chris Ward and Avi Schick


As it appears I am the only realist among them.