“Boom! Boom! Just like that. The towers are gone now, reduced to bloody rubble, along with all hopes for Peace in Our Time, in the United States or any other country. Make no mistake about it: We are At War now? with somebody? and we will stay At War with that mysterious Enemy for the rest of our lives. It will be a Religious War, a sort of Christian Jihad, fueled by religious hatred and led by merciless fanatics on both sides. It will be guerilla warfare on a global scale, with no front lines and no identifiable enemy.”
Hunter S. Thompson
Very prescient words. And eighteen years later we’re still in Afghanistan and Iraq. Engaging in regime change in Venezuela and almost nearly at a new war with Iran. American empire! Or gun barrel democracy. Apple, Google, Amazon, etc. need more customers!
From Leonard at Compass NYC:
On this day I look to Lower Manhattan and I see an important moment to reflect on where we were in 2001 and where we are today, most importantly to celebrate the resilience of the human spirit and how human beings – when confronted with unspeakable tragedy and loss – have the capacity to overcome ……and SOAR!
Here are some highllights:
1. Created to be the tallest and most symbolic of the skyscrapers, the 3.5 million square foot One World Trade Center was designed to be 1,776 feet tall and is still the highest building the U.S.
2. The World Trade Center is MUCH larger than in 2001: 977 ft tall 4 World Trade Center opened in 2013 with tenants including Spotify, MediaMath and the City of New York. The 80-story 3 World Trade Center is the 5th-tallest skyscraper in New York City with GroupM the anchor tenant. The second tallest of the towers, 2 World Trade Center, will stand 1,340 feet tall and 2.8 million square feet in size and is scheduled to be completed in 2024. 7 World Trade Center was re-built with almost 1,7 million square feet, standing 743ft tall.
3. The 9/11 Memorials where the two towers used to stand now house two waterfalls, considered to be the largest man-made waterfalls in the U.S.
4. Across the Street Brookfield Place opened up as a mammoth luxury mall.
5. The area suffered an estimated $10B in property and infrastructure damage, but it’s made a comeback as a popular residential area, now home to more than 60,000 people with almost 4,600 families with children as of 2014, nearly triple the number of people who lived there before the attacks, and it continues growing. The median age of residents is in the low 30’s. There are over 31,897 units in 331 mixed-use and residential buildings. While most residents still live in rentals (58%), the condo market continues to grow.
6. Santiago Calatrava’s 465k sf WTC Oculus Mall and transit hub opened in 2016 with more than 100 stores and restaurants.
7. The $243 million Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center is expected to be completed in 2021, just in time to host the Tribeca Film Festival. The center is being created with a facade that will change throughout the day. It will have three levels and a rehearsal room and is said to be the most flexible, technologically advanced performance space in the world.
8. Once home to only financial entities, the area boasts a wide variety of industries. As of 2017, technology, advertising, media, and information companies accounted for 26.7% of the new leasing activity in Lower Manhattan. One estimate says finance represents a little over a third of all office space.
9. Just to the north, the Tribeca neighborhood that many said would be abandoned is thriving, with hundreds of new and exquisite homes having been built in the past 18 years. The star-studded neighborhood houses the likes of Giselle and Tom Brady, Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Hudson to name a few. The area has shattered pricing records (Compass just sold TWO penthouses at 56 Leonard Street for over $20 million).
10. Multiple Schools have opened in the area.
11. Another major transportation hub – the Fulton Transit Center – was built at a cost of $1.4 billion connecting multiple subway routes.
12. The One World Trade Center Observatory attracted 2.3 million visitors in its first year of operation.
13. Lower Manhattan now has over 35 hotels, with additions including the Beekman Hotel and Four Seasons Hotel (and residences that sold for a premium).
14. Nobu – a Tribeca landmark – moved to the area.
15. The area is a huge draw for Brooklyn residents since transportation options are many and fast.
16. Kayla Klinge lives here! (I added that one)
In all over $25 billion has been spent in the area. It is a monument to the exceptional spirit of New Yorkers and all Americans alike. New York is far from perfect and is experiencing new challenges from within and outside of its control: based on the above I feel CERTAIN we will resolve these issues and TRIUMPH!
“We will stay At War with that mysterious Enemy for the rest of our lives” I think it depend on our perspective. If we see it a diffrent way it can be mean “We have a dynamic life of event and life purpose” i think.