WTC security and emergency response newspaper article

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Mayoral Candidates Discuss^ Plans fior a Transformed City ByADAMNAGOURNEY ahou. l.„ toTSTiia, It continued From Page A20

issues in the city? They are the is­ Among the Democrats, Fernando Ferrer, sues that made me run for mayor in Struggling to adjust to what has become the Bronx borough president, said New the first damn place.” an entirely different agenda for New York’s York should replace the office space that The candidates all said the trade next mayor, the six major mayoral candi­ was lost by dispersing construction across center should be reconstructed in dates offered a troubled view of New York’s the city, eliminating the centralization of some form, along with some sort of future yesterday, as they began discussing commerce and communications that Mr. memorial. Mr. Hevesi said he would ways the city could rebuild, guard against Ferrer warned might invite another devas­ support a replacement that was larg­ an exodus by business, and ensure the safe­ tating attack. Alan G. Hevesi, the city comp­ er in total size, but not height, than ty of its citizens from future terrorist at­ troller and another Democrat, said New the destroyed complex, to demon­ tacks. York should give tax forgiveness of as much strate that New York City “could not In a series of interviews with The New as 10 years to companies whose offices were York Times, the four major Democrats and destroyed, as a way of encouraging compa­ be beaten.” two Republicans discussed in some detail nies not to flee New York. Mr. Bloomberg said, “You have to their proposals to respond to the crisis that Mark Green, the public advocate, caUed put something up on that site for they agreed had completely rewritten the for the creation of a consortium of state, emotional and patriotic reasons,” demands and mission of the job they are city, labor and. business leaders with the though he said large-scale public seeking. authority to lay out reconstruction plans, construction should be done instead Their responses — the first discussion the along with how to use bonds, business tax near the Javits Center. candidates have had, publicly and at length, breaks and federal subsidies to finance IL Mr. Hevesi said the city should on how they would lead New York City out of Peter F. Vallone, the City Council speaker, move quickly to putting together a this crisis — signaled the extent to which the said New Yorkers had to adjust to a strin­ plan to discourage businesses from attack has shifted the issues that are likely gent new era of tightened security. “The fleeing. “If we are smart and we to frame the primary, originally scheduled priorities in every case are going to be quickly develop and create a re­ on the day of the World Trade Center attack security now: it’s a new war,” he said. development program for downtown, and now reset for Tuesday. Among the Republicans, Michael R. and a very serious business-friendly Talk about opening up the plaza in front of j Bloomberg said the city should embark on a program — to encourage businesses City Hall, which had been blocked by Ru- ) huge housing construction project, to make to stay here and to come here with dolph W. Giuliani, the outgoing Republican ; it attractive to corporations that might oth­ massive tax breaks and energy mayor, as an antiterrorism measure, has ; erwise be tempted to leave. “You can make breaks and subsidies, we can turn been replaced with a strong advocacy for J tee case that we need housing more than we this around,” he said. toughened security, from the use of surveil- - __n^ office ^ace,’’ he s^ .______ _ Mr. Badillo said the city should lance cameras with digital facial recogni- ■ His opponehL~Hefman Badiuo,"saitriiiaJ build on the model of its response to tion technology to random checkpoints for hewould ask every member of Mayor Giuh- the fiscal crisis of the 197O’s, enlist- vehicles on the street and lor people carry­ ani’s cabinet to stay on in office to ensure i ing “businesses of all kinds, bankers, ing luggage. much continuity as possible in the change insurance companies, and labor.” What had been mild disagreements about administrations. •; Mr. Bloomberg, though, asserted the degree that New York might suffer in a To varying degrees, the candidates sa^d that the attack had dimmed the national recession has now been replaced by that the attack had forced teem to recons^ hopes of the project’s being built a consensus that the city is heading into er tee promises they made to New Yorkers anytime soon. “I don’t want to be the potentially perilous economic times, faced before the primary. In tee most obvious one to say it’s not going to happen, with a loss of jobs, tax revenue and tourism. example, most of tee candidates had pi^ but it’s clearly going to be harder What had been the predominant Sbbject of posed using revenue tee city derived from now than it was before,” he said. discussion before last Tu^ay —. how to the World Trade Center !or housing^ whSe The candidates, with varying de­ rebuild the city’s school system — has been Mr. Green- said he would use it to help p^’ grees of enthusiasm, said-they ex­ replaced with a discussion about how to for a Second Avenue subway line. pected — and supported — increased rebuildLowerManhattan itself. “aearly, our first priority is to maintain security measures in the city. Mr. The candidates agreed to the Interviews safety and security, and tee second is to Green, for example, said that he was at a time when all six have halted cam- rebuild our infrastructure,” Mr.-Greens^. prepared for random checks of peo­ paigning, in response to the crisis that began “I don’t doubt teat local goals I had .wgl ple in public places like Grand Cen­ unfolding when, the first of two hijacked have to yield in time to these first two go^, tral TerminaL jetliners crashed into one of the trade to meet these first two urgent demands. Mr. Vallone said the most impor­ center towers three hours after tee polls Mr. VaUone argued teat the tant consideration was that “people opened nn tee morning of Sept 11. Since federal aid - “This is a federal r^nsi» have to feel comfortable,” Mr. Fer­ then, the candidates have not agreed to any ity; this was an attack on tee Umted rer, though, said he was worried that group forums where they might be drawn States,” he said,— would give tee ne^ there would be too much of an in­ into discussions or quarrels. But teey have mayor a chance to rebuild New York. “We fringement on civil liberties. “We agreed to ^ve six back-to-back nine-minute have a tremendous opportumty here, to don’t do this by tossing our values speeches on tee subject to be broadcast on whatever has to be done wite this -cityj Be out the window,” he said. “Look —• if WNBC-TV this Sunday. said. we abandon our values, the people All the candidates said they would draw Mr. Feirer said that while the attack h^ behind these attacks will have won.” on tee expertise of business and civic lead­ led him to change some priorities, it ers as teey worked through a reconstruction at the expense of Ws. teetee to 4^ plan for New York.. Nonetheless, all the neglected New Yorkers. “This has become candidates said they had been thinking in­ ah urgent priority,” he said. “But while creasingly about the challenges teat would we’re addres^ teese urs^i^,^ face teem as mayor as tee extent tee we going to ignore the oteer importa^ destruction became clear — and each of- Continued on Psg^iMS \ 'I

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