Chapter 1: Project Description A. INTRODUCTION The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), a subsidiary of the New York State Urban Development Corporation, doing business as the Empire State Development Corporation (a political subdivision and public benefit corporation of the State of New York), as lead agency, in cooperation with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (the Port Authority), released the Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement (FGEIS) for the World Trade Center Memorial and Redevelopment Plan (Approved Plan) in April 2004. In June 2004, LMDC published the Record of Decision and Lead Agency Findings Statement (ROD) for the Approved Plan and adopted the General Project Plan (GPP) for LMDC s World Trade Center Memorial and Cultural Program. Implementation of the Approved Plan began with a formal groundbreaking for Freedom Tower on July 4, 2004. As implementation proceeded, LMDC, working in cooperation with HUD, the Port Authority, the City of New York (the City), and Silverstein Properties, Inc. and its affiliates as the Port Authority s Net Lessees (collectively, Silverstein), has continued to develop the Approved Plan. Because the Approved Plan was generic, preliminary design and engineering led to certain adjustments and refinements (Proposed Refinements) based on aesthetics, commercial viability, cost, and technical, security, and practical considerations. Many of these refinements are described in the proposed GPP amendments preliminarily adopted by LMDC on December 16, 2004 (Proposed GPP Amendments). LMDC released the Proposed GPP Amendments for public review on December 27, 2004, and held a public hearing on the Proposed GPP Amendments on January 26, 2005, at St. John s University in Lower Manhattan to receive public comments. The public comment period remained open until March 10, 2005. This document is an environmental assessment prepared to identify and describe the Proposed Refinements to the Approved Plan, including the Proposed GPP Amendments, and analyze their potential environmental impacts, compared with the impacts identified in the FGEIS and ROD. Where appropriate, background conditions are also updated to include relevant developments since the FGEIS and ROD were released. B. PROJECT LOCATION Located in Lower Manhattan, the Project Site includes both the World Trade Center (WTC) Site and the Southern Site. The WTC Site is bounded by Route 9A and Vesey, Church, and Liberty Streets. The Southern Site is immediately to the south of the WTC Site and comprises two adjacent city blocks, one bounded by Liberty, Washington, Albany, and Greenwich Streets, and the other bounded by Liberty Street, Route 9A, and Cedar and Washington Streets. The Southern Site includes those properties commonly known as 130 Liberty Street, 140 Liberty Street, and 155 Cedar Street. Also included in the Southern Site are subsurface portions of Liberty Street from the eastern side of Route 9A to the western side of Greenwich Street; Washington Street 1-1
World Trade Center Memorial and Redevelopment Plan from the northern side of Cedar Street to the southern side of Liberty Street; and subsurface portions of Cedar Street from the eastern side of Route 9A to the eastern side of Washington Street. C. PROPOSED REFINEMENTS TO THE APPROVED PLAN Refinements to the physical forms and operational aspects of the Approved Plan, including the Proposed GPP Amendments, are described below (see Figures 1-1 and 1-2). VEHICULAR ENTRANCES AND CIRCULATION A principal contemplated change to the Approved Plan is the relocation of the entrance ramp for the underground vehicular network from the north side of Liberty Street adjacent to the Memorial to the south side of Liberty Street. Not only does this refinement represent a major improvement to the ambience of the Memorial, the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) has confirmed that having two-way traffic on Liberty Street (which this would allow) would improve east west vehicular circulation in Lower Manhattan. Vehicles would travel eastbound on Liberty Street from Route 9A and turn right to enter the ramp. Vehicles traveling westbound on Liberty Street would also be able to make left turns to enter the ramp. Exiting vehicles would turn right out of the ramp onto eastbound Liberty Street or exit to northbound Route 9A if a bypass alternative is selected for that project. Left turns out of the ramp would not be permitted due to the limited queuing space between the ramp and Route 9A. When the underground network is completed, all vehicles (except 300 cars bound for parking below-grade on the northwest quadrant) would use this ramp to enter and exit. Unauthorized automobiles that enter via the Liberty Street ramp would be directed to exit via a ramp onto Cedar Street. In connection with the revised location of the entrance ramp, the operation of Liberty Street would also be changed from one-way eastbound in the Approved Plan to two-way between Route 9A and Church Street and would have a minimum width of 41 feet between Greenwich and Church Streets. Sidewalks on the north and south sides of Liberty Street between Greenwich and Church Streets would have a total width of 35 feet. Because of the new Liberty Street ramp location on the south side of Liberty Street, the bus parking configuration below grade has been redesigned to accommodate the new ramp geometry and dimensions. As a result, the surplus bus parking has been eliminated, changing the total number of bus parking spaces from 100 to 80. The 80 spaces would be sufficient to accommodate anticipated demand for parking by tour buses visiting the Memorial and related uses. If Freedom Tower requires below-grade service access during construction and if, as expected, the building is completed in 2008 or 2009 before the underground access network is complete, trucks bound for Freedom Tower would use truck elevators temporarily located on the Tower 2 site with an entrance/exit on Vesey Street. These trucks would go through security screening, most likely underground via the Liberty Street ramp, before proceeding to the Tower 2 site. The Approved Plan would have reopened the block of Cedar Street between Washington and Greenwich Streets and allowed traffic to flow west across the Southern Site. However, with the Proposed Refinements, the grade change between Greenwich and Washington Streets resulting from the relocation of the ramp would be too great to allow the reopening of this block of Cedar 1-2
3.22.05 N Cultural Parcel Commercial Building PATH Terminal Memorial Site Park 0 200 SCALE 400 FEET World Trade Center Memorial and Redevelopment Plan Proposed Site Plan Figure 1-1
3.17.05 FREEDOM TOWER CULTURAL TOWER 2 WTC PERMANENT PATH TERMINAL CULTURAL PARCEL/ SEPTEMBER 11 PLACE WTC SITE TOWER 3 MEMORIAL TOWER 4 SAINT NICHOLAS CHURCH SOUTHERN SITE LIBERTY PARK N TOWER 5 Memorial Site Commercial Cultural Permanent WTC PATH Terminal 0 200 SCALE 400 FEET World Trade Center Memorial and Redevelopment Plan Approved Plan Figure 1-2
Chapter 1: Project Description Street. It is possible that a vehicular cul-de-sac aligned with Cedar Street may be created on the north side of Tower 5. The Approved Plan also contemplated entrance to and exit from 300 below-grade parking spaces via a curb cut on Vesey Street opposite Washington Street. In the Proposed Refinements, the access point for such parking spaces would be located east of the Washington Street intersection on the north façade of the Performing Arts Complex. WTC SITE QUADRANTS Proposed changes to the four quadrants of the WTC Site are as follows: SOUTHWEST QUADRANT Refinements to the design of the southwest quadrant and the Memorial have been developed in consideration of visitor management as well as design aesthetics. As described above, a principal change proposed is the removal of the vehicular access ramp from this quadrant where it was to have been located along the north side of Liberty Street adjacent to the Memorial. Removal of the ramp and its associated bus, truck, and automobile traffic would improve the ambience of the south edge of the Memorial plaza. It would also allow views of and physical access for pedestrians to the Memorial from Liberty Street. In addition, the size of the Memorial plaza open space would be increased by approximately 34,000 square feet. Contemplated refinements or revisions to the Memorial and Memorial Center designs include reducing the number of pedestrian ramps connecting to the below-grade area from four to two: one for entrance and one for exit, both located between the two footprint voids. The small entrance structure for the Memorial Center would be moved north of its previous location, opening up the southwest corner of the Memorial plaza to provide a space for commemorative gatherings. Below grade, access would be provided to the box beam column bases, and a portion of the slurry wall would be exposed as recommended by the Memorial Center Advisory Committee. The contemplation room would be located at bedrock in the center of the footprint of the North Tower. It would be open to the sky above. It would be surrounded by the family room, the room with the unidentified remains from the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and space for other necessary functions. NORTHWEST QUADRANT The at-grade separation of Freedom Tower and the Performing Arts Complex, intended to enhance the prominence of the cultural institution and allow development of an additional public open space, would be increased from 30 feet to 60 feet. Freedom Tower would have its office entries on the north, south, and east facades. The design of the Performing Arts Complex may include cantilevers on all facades, subject to the City s agreement on the north, east, and south sides. NORTHEAST QUADRANT The Approved Plan included a hotel on this quadrant along with Tower 2. The Proposed Refinements specify that the location and design of any hotel will be determined at a later date. Since no change has yet been proposed, this environmental assessment assumes no change from the Approved Plan in terms of the hotel use. 1-3
World Trade Center Memorial and Redevelopment Plan To accommodate contemporary building cores and floor plates, the south face of Tower 2 would be adjusted approximately 12 feet south thereby modestly reducing the northern portion of Wedge of Light Plaza. However, its original design and importance as a public open space would be preserved. With the Proposed Refinements to the Approved Plan, office entries to Tower 2 are contemplated on the north, west, and south sides of the structure. Transit entries would be on Church Street near Vesey Street and on Greenwich Street between Fulton and Vesey Streets. As noted above, in 2008 or 2009 truck elevators serving Freedom Tower may be located temporarily on this site with access from Vesey Street. SOUTHEAST QUADRANT The shift in location of the WTC PATH Transit Hall has also resulted in a modest reduction to the southern portion of Wedge of Light Plaza. The Approved Plan did not assume that either Dey Street/Way or Cortlandt Street/Way would be re-created as vehicular traffic streets between Greenwich and Church Streets. The Proposed Refinements specify that their future status with respect to vehicular use is subject to further discussion among LMDC, the Port Authority, and the City. To accommodate pedestrian flow while also allowing appropriate distance between the cores and façades of Towers 3 and 4, Cortlandt Street/Way would be constructed with a minimum width of 47 feet and a road bed width of 24 feet. Vehicular traffic, if any, may be limited to black cars and the like. In the absence of a specific plan or change of plan for Dey Street/Way, this environmental assessment assumes no change from the Approved Plan. Office entries to Tower 3 are contemplated on its north and east facades, and office entries to Tower 4 are contemplated on its south and west facades. SOUTHERN SITE As previously described, the Proposed Refinements would move the vehicular access ramp to the south side of Liberty Street. The ramp entrance and exit would be on the western end of Liberty Park. To accommodate the ramp, portions of Liberty Park would be raised above grade by approximately 20 to 30 feet. The refinements would also expand the size of Liberty Park, but would continue to allow pedestrian access and, to serve Tower 5, possibly a vehicular cul-de-sac through a passageway aligned generally with Cedar Street. The widths of sidewalks surrounding Liberty Park would also be decreased to permit this expansion. With the anticipated redesign of Liberty Park, the location of St. Nicholas Church would be moved from the western to the eastern portion of the park. Further, its site would also be increased from about 5,200 square feet to up to approximately 6,000 square feet. Office entries to Tower 5 would be located on its north and east facades. The Proposed Refinements also specify that the southern bathtub would be extended to include the area below the road bed of Cedar Street between Washington Street and Route 9A. This is necessary to accommodate the turning radii of trucks below grade with the proposed ramp location. 1-4
Chapter 1: Project Description LMDC continues to develop a Deconstruction Plan intended to facilitate a timely and safe deconstruction of 130 Liberty Street, which was severely impacted by the events of September 11. In December 2004, LMDC released the draft Phase I Deconstruction Plan for public comment and formally submitted the plan to Federal, State, and City regulatory agencies for review. Since receiving comments from regulatory agencies in January 2005, LMDC began preparing a revised Phase I Deconstruction Plan for submission to and approval by the regulatory agencies prior to beginning work on 130 Liberty Street. The Deconstruction Plan will include site-specific protocols in compliance with all applicable legal requirements with respect to, among other things, asbestos abatement, hazardous material disposal and deconstruction and will also include provisions for monitoring contaminants associated with that building. TOWER DESIGN The Proposed Refinements could shift up to 300,000 square feet of office space from Tower 5 to the towers on the WTC Site. Tower 5 would have approximately 1.2 to 1.5 million square feet (rather than 1.5 to 2 million square feet), while the towers on the WTC Site would total approximately 8.5 to 8.8 million square feet (rather than 8.0 to 8.5 million square feet). The proposed shapes or bulk forms of Towers 2, 3, 4, and 5 have been slightly modified to maintain the downward spiral form of the relative tower heights while providing commercially viable floor plates. As in the Approved Plan, there would be no more than 10 million square feet of commercial office space on the Project Site. Streetwall heights would be in the range of 85 feet to 130 feet, and possibly up to 150 feet, with a setback of 10 feet at that height. These streetwall heights would be in keeping with the other streetwall heights in the area. PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION Sidewalks on the north and south sides of Liberty Street between Greenwich and Church Streets would be designed to a combined total width of 35 feet to accommodate pedestrian flow. Sidewalks on the north and south sides of Cortlandt Street/Way would be at least 11.5 feet each when Towers 3 and 4 are built to create sufficient distance between building cores and façades. Sidewalks along the east, south, and west sides of Tower 5 would be subject to future discussions among LMDC, the Port Authority, the City, and Silverstein. OPEN SPACE Liberty Park would be expanded by approximately 11,400 square feet. It would also be designed with increases in its elevation of approximately 20 to 30 feet to accommodate the vehicular access ramp. As the ground level generally slopes down to the west in Liberty Park, the changed elevation in the middle and the western end of the park would be somewhat less noticeable than it would be if Greenwich Street and Route 9A were at the same elevation. As described above, Proposed Refinements to the southwest quadrant would result in an increase of approximately 34,000 square feet of open space for the Memorial plaza. A new passive open space totaling approximately 12,000 square feet would be created in the area between Freedom Tower and the Performing Arts Complex. The Proposed Refinements would modestly reduce the overall size of the Wedge of Light by 7,200 square feet, but maintain and preserve the plaza s original design as an important open space. The reduction was necessary to accommodate the new Tower 2 footprint and an adjustment to the location of the permanent WTC PATH Transit Hall. PATH Plaza would be approximately 1,800 square feet 1-5
World Trade Center Memorial and Redevelopment Plan smaller. September 11 Place would be largely beneath the canopy of the Cultural/Museum Complex. D. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LOWER MANHATTAN CONSTRUCTION COMMAND CENTER As contemplated in the FGEIS, in November 2004, Governor George E. Pataki and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg signed joint Executive Orders creating the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center. The Command Center is charged with coordination and oversight of all of the construction projects in Lower Manhattan consistent with the rebuilding timeline while minimizing the impact of construction activity on residents, businesses, and workers in Lower Manhattan. The Command Center will bring together private developers, public agencies, utilities, businesses, and residents in one location. In February 2005, the Governor and the Mayor appointed an Executive Director to head the Command Center. In addition to its oversight and coordination responsibilities, the Command Center and its Executive Director provide a forum for expeditious and consistent decision-making on disputes among agencies. LMDC will continue to participate in the Lower Manhattan Construction Coordination Group and support the role of the Command Center. E. OTHER RELATED CHANGES NYSDOT is examining alternatives for rebuilding the permanent Route 9A roadway adjacent to the Project Site. If a bypass alternative is selected for Route 9A Reconstruction, the Liberty Street pedestrian bridge may be eliminated because through traffic would travel in a below-grade tunnel and only local traffic would be at-grade. If the at-grade alternative is selected, there will continue to be a pedestrian bridge because the number of traffic lanes would be similar to pre- September 11 conditions and both local and through traffic would be traveling at-grade. 1-6