Ground Zero Redux

I've been following the ongoing Ground Zero saga through my friends, the verbose Miss Representation and punchy Polis, both of whom are much more articulate than I in untangling the ins and outs of upper politics among the privileged, corporate and real estate(d). Both highly recommended. Thank goodness for their tenacity in following this story through its twists and turns or I would be an ignorant fool about the city I live in.

I do have to commend especially them for bringing my attention to an aspect of the project that I could really connect to. I found out first through Polis:

See, Miss R. actually went to the public meeting that I posted about recently, and took notes. That is in and of itself quite admirable. But then he actually wrote a very coherent and important take-down of the whole damn thing. Here's just a sampling:

(and from Miss R., quoted by Polis)
A new -- to me -- and rather disturbing detail was revealed: due to security concerns, the perimeter of the PATH station will be solid concrete up to ten feet (though this number was disputed by Mr. Plate). So the two projects that have cleared design development and security review [the other being the Freedom Tower, otherwise known as monumentum horibilis -- ed.] both will be complete opaque at street level. Which is perhaps good, since it was also noted that streetscape improvements are currently unfunded. ...

Sorry Miss R., I would have missed this if not for Polis (sometimes don't make it all the way down the page on your posts for no other reason than my short attention span in the morning.) No wonder large building projects have a low percentage of success in creating humane experiences - people don't find out about them until it's way too late. It took one intrepid blogger to sit through the insanely long meeting, take notes, digest the notes, write down his observations, and then another blogger to emphasize one aspect that would actually affect the people who are walking around and making use of the space, and who therefore might actually be made to care enough to speak up. The meta-meta required to uncover the truth is unbelievable.

Why do things built for people continue to overlook people?

To follow the story yourself,
Nothing to See Here Folks, Miss Representation
Yes, It's As Bad As You Think, Polis
Wake Up, New Yorkers, Polis
WTC Site: Good News For People Who Love Bad News, Polis
WTC Site: More Good News for People Who Love Bad News, Polis