Urban Turbines Blow Mayor Away

Mayor Bloomberg recently proposed installing large wind turbines atop New York’s tallest buildings and bridges. Donald Trump likes the idea … but not on his buildings! He said, “My buildings are known for their great architecture, so I’d have to give it some serious thought.” The mayor’s windy ideas are far reaching however, going way beyond the boroughs. He also wants “wind farms” built miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. He believes these farms can supply twice as much wind as land-based wind farms and supply 10% of the city’s energy in ten years. A wind farm is already being built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and there’s a proposal for a larger one on the Fresh Kills, Staten Island landfill. Wind turbine opponents point to problems with funding issues (public vs. private investment), noise pollution, safety issues (think toppling cranes), environmental impact and even the likelihood that the blades will kill birds. Most importantly perhaps, Siemens AG, one of the biggest makers of wind turbines says huge windmills in cities are not realistic. A company representative said that turbines attached to bridges and buildings would put too much stress on the existing structures which weren’t built to accommodate them. Undeterred, Bloomberg believes in using many approaches to solve our energy and pollution problems. The mayor realizes his breezy ideas are unlikely to fly. His intent is simply to get people talking … and thinking. He said the city will welcome “anybody that has brilliant ideas.” Who’s tripping down the streets of the city? Everyone knows it’s Windy.

OTB To Consider Video-Lottery Terminals And More

David Cornstein is the new chairman of New York City’s OTB Corp. He envisions construction of an entertainment center to include movie theatres, retail stores and possibly hotels … not to mention VLT’s throughout. He thinks it could eventually employ 5,000 employees and attract even more tourists to the city. Is this guy running state-controlled bookie joints or envisioning himself as a combination Donald Trump/Steve Winn in the casino/hotel business? Horses too fast out of the chute usually don’t finish in the money. Perhaps Cornstein should commence by offering the daily bettor more at existing facilities rather than calling for blueprints for yet another.

Why Ground Zero Is Still Near Zero

In short, lack of leadership from top to bottom. In detail, consider these facts: The design competition was too long (over 17 months) in selecting a winner. – The winning design was not satisfactory from an architectural and security standpoint (replaced 28 months after being selected). – Memorial design plans have been highly disputed and overpriced despite forced cost-cutting. – The developer and the mayor’s feuding led to building delays until power was shifted from the developer to the Port Authority. – The proposed transit hub suffers from design flaws and higher than projected costs to complete. Engineers are working to save money, delaying the rest of the project as a result. – Insurance carriers delayed payments until May of 2007. – Though the WTC-site cleanup for remains was ended in May, 2002, additional remains were found later on. This justifiably slowed the rebuilding process so other remains might be located. In the long run, the buildings that finally replace the World Trade Center will be over-budget and overdue. This we can’t blame on Osama Bin Laden. That blame is ours. As New Yorkers, we’ve seen mismanagement of large building projects, time and again. Few stand up to complain. So we’ll wait, who knows how long. We’ll overpay, by hundreds of billions of dollars. But we won’t rise up as one to hold the guilty accountable. Maybe like the former troubled Wollman Rink project, we needed the “can do” attitude of a Donald Trump to manage this effort. Maybe we still do.