Mayor Bloomberg takes his no-nonsense approach on what to do with the World Trade Center site to the Opinion page of the Wall Street Journal. In editorial titled, “There Should Be No More Excuses At Ground Zero,” he outlines how the city has helped speed up development – and how some other things need to be done in order for progress to continue.

The big thing Bloomberg suggests is that Governor Paterson should break up the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and give its “development responsibilities to the city,” which would “eliminate one redundant layer of bureaucracy.” That way the city and state’s Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center could also take over the Deutsche Bank building demolition as well.

The following is a statement by Governor Paterson a few moments ago in regards to article:

“I read Mayor Bloomberg’s opinion piece in this morning’s Wall Street Journal and I applaud the Mayor for his leadership on this issue. Mayor Bloomberg has been and continues to be a champion for and my full partner in rebuilding Ground Zero. The Mayor’s op-ed this morning was an important contribution to our ongoing dialogue, reminding us that serious issues need to be addressed to complete the rebuilding our nation deserves. The Mayor and I share a sense of disappointment and frustration at the unacceptable pace of the Ground Zero rebuilding, which has never had a realistic timeline or budget – an absolute necessity for undertaking construction of this scale. That is why I have I have asked Chris Ward, Executive Director of the Port Authority, to do a comprehensive review of the process and issues necessary to bring certainty and progress to Ground Zero, including the abatement and deconstruction of 130 Liberty Street. I look forward to receiving that report later this month and sharing it with Mayor Bloomberg as we work together to drive construction of the Memorial toward completion by the tenth anniversary of September 11th, and bring the rest of the projects at the World Trade Center site to successful completion.”

(Yehuda Drudgestein – YWN)