The Downtown We Don't Want After months of planning behind closed doors, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation released six draft proposals yesterday for rebuilding the World Trade Center site. The spokesmen assured the public that the plans, which are all remarkably similar, were just a starting point for discussion.

That's a good thing, because these are dreary, leaden proposals that fall far short of what New York City and the world expect to see rise at ground zero.

The public will never be satisfied with any redevelopment that contains as much commercial space as the site did before Sept. 11.

For some time now the families of victims have asked that the footprints of the two towers be reserved for a memorial. But the proposals that resulted from that directive seemed the least imaginative of all. Having a spectacular memorial that touches the hearts of everyone who passes by is the critical goal...


It's all still so surreal. I've not been to NYC since the attacks, although I've got a wedding there in August.

I'm kinda dreading September 11 this year. Shouldn't we all have the day off?