Military

DATE=3-6-02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=WTC PROGRESS REPORT

NUMBER=2-287237

BYLINE=ELAINE JOHANSON

DATELINE=NEW YORK

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: New York City is bouncing back from the September 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. As the city approaches the six-month anniversary of that event, officials briefed New Yorkers on the status of the recovery. V-O-A correspondent Elaine Johanson reports:

TEXT: New York City's economy still has a four-point-five billion dollar deficit to deal with in the aftermath of September 11th. More than one-hundred-thousand jobs were lost in the city, which means lower revenues for state and city treasuries.

New York may not be the same city it was before September 11th. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Governor George Pataki say business is starting to come back in lower Manhattan. Restaurants are reporting a dramatic turnaround. Some of the transportation destroyed in the attack has been restored.

The neighborhood, too, is beginning to move toward normalcy, despite fears about the poor, some say dangerous, air quality since September 11th. Almost all schools in the area have been re-opened.

Meanwhile, the clean-up of the World Trade Center site is progressing well ahead of schedule. More than 80-percent of the debris has already been removed, and at a much lower cost than earlier estimates.

Mayor Bloomberg says New York is under a great deal of pressure. But he says the city has no option but to recover fully:

///BLOOMBERG ACT///

We've got to come out of this stronger than ever. We cannot let the terrorists defeat everything that they hate, and everything that we cherish, our rights to lead to lead our lives and raise our families and practice our religion and say what we want to say.

///END ACT///

New York Governor Pataki says he has been inspired by the determination of New Yorkers to rebuild:

///PATAKI ACT///

September 11th has changed all of us. We'll never forget that day. We'll never forget the people we lost and we'll never forget the horror we've been through. But I think it has in some ways made our city, our state, our country stronger and better. And since September 11th, and continuing until right now, I've never seen the level of cooperation.

///END ACT///

The recovery effort at the World Trade Center site will continue until May, as workers persist in sifting through the rubble for the remains of the still missing victims. Nearly three-thousand people were killed in the terrorist attack.

Going forward, New York officials caution that rebuilding the area known as "Ground Zero" will take time. They say it has to be a thoughtful process that takes into account the feelings of those who lost loved ones, as well as the input of a large number of professionals who will actually be involved in putting up new structures. (signed)

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