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  May 21, 2002
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The End of the Beginning
By Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg


Last week, Governor George Pataki joined me at City Hall to update New Yorkers on the recovery and rebuilding efforts in Lower Manhattan. We described plans for a ceremony at the World Trade Center site on May 30th that will mark the end of the clean-up at the site. It will pay tribute to the 2,823 people who lost their lives there on September 11th and will acknowledge the dedication of all those who have worked in the eight-month-long recovery effort. While the remains of many of those lost that day have not yet been found, recovery efforts using the most advanced forensic tools and conducted with the utmost compassion will continue.

At the same time, the Governor and I described the remarkable progress made in rebuilding and reviving Lower Manhattan. Streets, highways, tunnels, subway lines and stations have been reopened or rebuilt, and ferry service has been expanded. Businesses and residents also have returned to Lower Manhattan in encouraging numbers. Last Monday, the American Express Company and its 4,000 employees returned to their downtown offices. In Battery Park City and at the World Financial Center, 88% of residential space and 66% of commercial space is expected to be occupied within the next six months.

Just as importantly, vibrant street life is returning to Lower Manhattan. The hugely successful Tribeca Film Festival brought almost 150,000 people downtown this month. And the five-month-long River-to-River Festival beginning this week includes outdoor concerts and live entertainment that will reinforce Lower Manhattan's appeal to workers, shoppers and visitors.

A recent public opinion survey found that 85% of New Yorkers believe the tragedy at the World Trade Center inspired a strong new sense of community and partnership. That spirit will guide us as we continue to reconstruct the downtown area. The first of a series of open hearings on rebuilding the transportation system and redeveloping the World Trade Center site took place at Pace University this week. That planning process will go on for many months; the public will be kept involved and informed every step of the way. And in early July, a public process of creating a lasting memorial at the World Trade Center site will begin.

The ceremony on May 30th will be a solemn event. But as we work to rebuild our City and to memorialize those we lost on September 11th, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, the tribute will mark not the end, or the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.


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