Tower's July 4 groundbreaking.

Gov. George E. Pataki announced major new milestones in the aggressive timeline for revitalization of Lower Manhattan.

The Governor announced that the plans for the rebirth of the World Trade Center site will move from "paper to steel" on July 4, 2004--when ground will be broken on the Freedom Tower.

Speaking at an Association for a Better New York luncheon at the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park City, the Governor also announced that plans for the Fulton Street Transit Center will be unveiled later this month and that the Con Ed substation in Seven World Trade Center will begin service by the end of the month.

"On July 4, as we celebrate the birth of our democracy, we also celebrate the rebirth of our City," Governor Pataki said. "On July 4, as we commemorate the founding of our nation, we lay the foundation for our resurgence. On July 4, as fireworks burst in the sky--ephemeral reminders of our liberty--we will begin to reclaim our skyline with a permanent symbol of our freedom. On July 4, 2004 we will break ground on the Freedom Tower--I hope you will join me that day--as together, with unstoppable resolve, we rise to reaffirm our freedom."

The official groundbreaking on the 1,776 ft. Freedom Tower office building will be July 4, 2004--months ahead of schedule. As the Freedom Tower is built, deconstruction will begin on 130 Liberty Street, the Deutsche Bank building. The dismantling of the building will begin in the fall and is expected to be completed by 2005--removing a blight on the downtown skyscape.

The Governor also announced today that a full schematic design executed by Michael Arad and Peter Walker with associate architect Max Bond will be complete by the end of 2004. Construction drawings will be finished by 2005 and construction on the memorial will begin in 2006.

The Governor called upon the LMDC to offer funding and assistance to family groups for the creation of a space near the World Trade Center site to serve as a welcoming center where family members, survivors, residents and visitors can preserve their memories through audio recordings, writings, and archives.

"For family members, the memorial process itself has been a sometimes cathartic and sometimes painful experience," the Governor said. "It has been filled with honest differences of opinion and powerful streams of emotion. Even while Arad's memorial is in development, we will offer family members a place to remember their loved ones in peace--and a place to come together in unity."

Pataki also announced that Major League Baseball, the Baseball Players Association, and the Baseball Tomorrow Fund are jointly contributing the first $1 million donation to the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation Center.

On May 26, at the American Institute of Architects Meeting, the design for the Fulton Transit Center will be unveiled. The new hub will link 12 subway lines serving Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens. When the permanent PATH terminal and the Fulton Transit Center are completed, Lower Manhattan will become one of the most accessible business districts in the world.