Culture Chronicle

At Ground Zero, a Step Forward on Performing Arts Center
The New York Times - June 21, 2010
By Robin Pogrebin

At its board meeting on Tuesday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is expected to approve an agreement under which it will be reimbursed by the city for the cost of building infrastructure below the planned performing arts center at ground zero. The construction of footings and foundations for the arts center has been estimated at $44 million. The authority, which owns the World Trade Center site, and the city have said that they are expecting that money to come from a $50 million fund controlled by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

"They have committed very publicly to funding the early action work that needs to happen," said Andrew Winters, the director of the Mayor's Office of Capital Project Development, in an interview on Monday, referring to the corporation. "We expect them to follow through with that."

The development corporation has been working toward an alternative plan: moving the arts center to the Deutsche Bank building site at 130 Liberty Street, which the corporation owns and where it believes the arts center can be built much faster and more cheaply. The city has argued for the importance of honoring the original master plan for ground zero, which calls for a performing arts center in the area bounded by Fulton, Greenwich, Vesey and Washington Streets -- the architect Frank Gehry was selected in 2004 to design the building for its anchor tenant, the Joyce Theater, which presents dance.

The Port Authority's plan to address the infrastructure issue "is a tangible sign that the Performing Arts Center is moving forward," said Linda Shelton, executive director of the Joyce, on Monday. "There were a lot of skeptics that this wouldn't happen, but this is a great step forward."* For the full article, click here*