Cornerstone of NYC Freedom Tower Removed

[DoYouEverWonder]

June 24, 2006, 10:23 PM EDT

NEW YORK -- Even the symbol of new beginnings at ground zero wasn't immune from the realities of redesign and renegotiation.

The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower, the soaring skyscraper that will replace the fallen twin towers at the World Trade Center, was quietly and temporarily removed from the site Friday, nearly two years after it was laid with much fanfare.

That July 4 ceremony was supposed to signal the start of construction. Instead, it initialized years of hand-wringing and argument over the building's design.

Authorities finally concluded that the cornerstone would need to be moved. Its location was made obsolete by the building's reconfiguration.

The 20-ton stone, laid near the temporary train station that now dominates the ground zero pit, was hauled away to Hauppauge, N.Y.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-attacks-cornerstone,0,783510.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines


Why does this feel like a bad omen?

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I believe this entire project has become so politicized that it may never

be built.

[high density]

2. The Freedom Tower blows.

http://www.triroc.com/wtc/

[alcibiades_mystery]

21. Rebuilding the Twin Towers blows

I mean, really blows.

I don't need it to be called the silly "Freedom" Tower, but I'd like to see a new building go up there. Fuck the nostalgia. Besides, when they were building the twin towers everyone thought it was a ridiculous eyesore.

[MADem]

24. They oughta fix the streets so there's a grid there again

And bring some sense of neighborhood back to the area. How about some affordable apartments for working people??? A few stores so folks could walk and buy groceries and whatnot?

Even with the twin towers, it was an inhospitable place. I liked the old skyline.

And I HATE that "Freedom Tower" bullshit name, and don't even get me started on some of those hideous designs!

[Placebo]

3. "Freedom" Tower sucks.

They should have just rebuilt the Twin Towers and called it a day.

[Hardrada]

8. Agreed. They can do it and better than before, in fact.

[quiet.american]

4. It will always be the WTC, World Trade Center to me.

The neo-cons know what they can do with their perverse "freedom."

[dweller]

5. Seen 'Inconvenient Truth' ?

The predictions of rising tide levels show the site underwater ... maybe they are listening.

how far inland is Hauppauge?

dp

[NYC]

6. That was landfill.

WTC was built on landfill, so I'm not surprised that a prediction would show it under water.

[Penance]

9. Long Guy Land

It's in Suffolk County, Long Island. Believe me, the WTC is NOT moving to Hauppauge! :rofl:

[dweller]

10. yeah, har!

the cornerstone is going there tho. go figure.

:eyes:

dp

[alcibiades_mystery]

19. It's not inland...it's on Lawn Guyland

Will be deeper under water than Mah-'at-uhn.

[Mind_your_head]

7. 20-ton stone? 20 X 2,000 = 40,000 lbs. How did they move this monster?

I'd love to see a pic.

They moved it 'all in one piece', right? *eh-hem*

[Endangered Specie]

11. that can be done...

would require some large equipment, but its more than doable.

[Mind_your_head]

13. Really? How could one move that much weight in essentially 'one piece'?

Sure that much weight can be moved in increments, but a 'cornerstone' would be presumed to be moved in one piece, yes?

I've done some 'googling' and well, I'm "skeptical".....

[Ravy]

14. Well, it didn't grow there. They moved it to that spot.

Now they moved it to another spot.

[Mind_your_head]

15. eh?

:freak:

[Ravy]

16. It came from a rock quarry some place. They cut it and

moved it to the WTC spot. 40,000 lbs is about half of what a semi-truck (18-wheeler) carries. I don't think it is that amazing that they moved it away from the spot that they obviously moved it to earlier.

[Mind_your_head]

17. I guess I am wrong here....I hope you will accept my apology

Legal weight for an eighteen wheeler

The legal weight for an eighteen wheeler is 80,000 lbs. <40 tons>.< 36287 kg Canadian> That is without any oversize or overweight permits. In comparison, the average automobile weighs over somewhere around 5,000 lbs.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truck_facts.shtml#Legal%20weight%20for%20an%20eighteen%20wheeler

Peace,
M_Y_H

[Tesha]

18. Trucks *ROUTINELY* roll by you on the highway weighing 44 tons. (NT)

[bananas]

12. Isn't there a bible quote about that?

Something about the cornerstone being removed.
Why does this feel like a bad omen?

[XemaSab]

22. Oooh, yeah

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=30&chapter=51&verse=25&end_verse=27&version=31&context=context

Jeremiah 51:25-27 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society



25 "I am against you, O destroying mountain,
you who destroy the whole earth,"
declares the LORD.
"I will stretch out my hand against you,
roll you off the cliffs,
and make you a burned-out mountain.

26 No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,
nor any stone for a foundation,
for you will be desolate forever,"
declares the LORD.

27 "Lift up a banner in the land!
Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
summon against her these kingdoms:
Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a commander against her;
send up horses like a swarm of locusts.

[MorningGlow]

20. How symbolic

The 5 1/2-foot-tall block of granite...inscribed with words calling it a "tribute to the enduring spirit of freedom"

(insert Lumbergh-Office Space voice here) "Yeahhh I need you to go ahead and just...toss that enduring spirit of freedom...m'kay? We'll get back to it later. Maybe. Thanks a lot."

[zann725]

23. Dismantling and removing the last of potential "evidence"...not to mention

memories too.

How quickly were the bulk of the debris sold off and disbursed worldwide to "hide" further examination?

[Politicub]

25. Talk about a metaphor for our time

Sheesh... the Bush era is nothing but empty flight suits, plastic turkeys and now a cornerstone that really wasn't -- all heralded with "much fanfare."

[RFKHumphreyObama]

26. I know this is a trivial issue but I don't like the name

*Co and the right wing have added too many unfortunate connotations to the word "freedom" after 9/11 and have exploited the word for the right wing agenda. If there needs to be something built there at all, I'd prefer it not to have such a politically charged name