Squadron on Wtc: Plan Must Increase Access While Ensuring Security

In Testimony, Squadron Lays Out Ideas for Improved Access, Including Off-Site Vehicle Screening and MTA Bus Service Through Site

NEW YORK -- This week, State Senator Daniel Squadron submitted testimony on the draft World Trade Center Campus Security Plan, arguing that it is possible to increase access to and passage through the site while ensuring security. 

"The design and rebuilding of the site after September 11th, 2001, promised a reconnection to the grid. With a booming residential and commercial population in Battery Park City, Greenwich South, Tribeca, and the Financial District, it is as important as ever that the site is woven into the fabric of Lower Manhattan," said Squadron.

In particular, Squadron encouraged the NYPD and MTA to direct appropriate MTA bus routes through the site in order to relieve congestion on West, Trinity, and Church Streets and Broadway and improve access to the site (especially for the elderly and those with limited mobility). 

Squadron also urged the NYPD to create as much safe access as possible for area residents, as well as workers and visitors. "To ensure access for residents of Cedar and Liberty Streets between Greenwich and Church Streets, NYPD should integrate a screening system to allow easy vehicular access for residential buildings outside the heart of the site. Pedestrian access to the site should also be unhindered," wrote Squadron.

By implementing these ideas, as well as working with City agencies, Silverstein Properties and building tenants to better manage taxis and livery cabs, and coordinating off-site construction vehicle screening with the Port Authority, the NYPD can begin to address the community's concerns. 

"Security is integral to the success of the new World Trade Center site and Lower Manhattan, and imperative in its own right. Access to and through the site is also critical for all those who come to Lower Manhattan to live, work, and visit. The suggestions I have included here, as well as comments submitted by the community, will help increase passage through the site while ensuring safety is never compromised," concluded Squadron.

The full testimony is available below.

###