International Freedom Center

The Snohetta building, whose fate was uncertain after the International Freedom Center got shooed away last fall, just got $80 million closer to reality. That's the amount Governor Pataki is earmarking for the building in his executive budget, according to a source. And, because the building has shrunk considerably, that will be enough for its construction. It will house part of the museum dedicated to the 1993 and 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and serve as a visitors center. As a result, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation will not have to devote any of its own money to the structure, which some family members didn't like anyway. More details expected later today. -Matthew Schuerman  read more »

The immediate threat of a bomb attack on the city’s subway system is apparently over, and may  read more »

The immediate threat of a bomb attack on the city’s subway system is apparently over, and may have  read more »

Tom Bernstein, the co-founder of the International Freedom Center, was revising his notes for the pu  read more »

Members of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board were so exercised by the Governor usurping their authority over the International Freedom Center that some of them spoke in public for the first time in months at this morning's meeting.

“I just find the decision by the Governor to be just indefensible,” said Edward Lewis, a Bloomberg appointee and co-founder of Essence Magazine.  read more »

“I regard this as a violation of the principles we have tried to follow,” said Tom Johnson, another Bloomberg appointee and retired CEO of GreenPoint Bank.

Even Governor Pataki’s appointees chimed in. Chairman John Whitehead started off the harangue, questioning whether people the LMDC has to work with would view the board as having the authority to make decisions on its own. Roland Betts, the business partner of Freedom Center Chairman Tom Bernstein, came next: “The ad hominem attacks on Tom Bernstein were so inappropriate and so unfair. I have been Tom’s partner for 25 years and there is nobody who is more patriotic.” Madelyn Wils also took a shot at the Sept. 11th families who fought the Freedom Center: “I found myself being dragged through the mud on the Take Back the Memorial website for calling for a secular vision on the site. How criminal!” (We think she means this reference.) -Matthew Schuerman

Tom Bernstein and Peter Kunhardt, co-founders of the embryonic International Freedom Center at Groun  read more »

The International Freedom Center put its defense (pdf) online this morning: larger board of directors, more details about the exhibits and lots of letters of support from other museums around the country. Michael McKeon, Governor Pataki’s former aide , is now the public relations rep for the center. Will he do better than he did for the Jets?  read more »

Despite all the bubble-talk, diving into real estate might not be the best move for would-be brokers,according to Slate. While New York Magazine warned a few weeks ago about broker glut, The Times reported this weekend about the phenomenon on Long Island where you can get certified in only a week (and without too strenuous requirements). "I don't understand what the teacher says," Ms. Franco said of the English-speaking real estate course instructor. "Nothing, nothing, nothing." Good news: she passed.

Today, The Times David Dunlap reports on the Ground Zero memorial that, like the forgotten middle child, has been neglected with heated debates over the Drawing Center and International Freedom Center.

Billionaire Ron Perelman might have a massive new neighbor, a 60-foot-wide mansion, combined from two buildings, according to Page Six. The price: $40 million.

With sleek Apple stores popping up all over, Microsoft wants to get in on the retail game. According to The Post, the are eyeing space on Times Square.  read more »

-Michael Calderone

With everyone's attention diverted to plans for stadiums and symbolic spires, Charles Bagli reports that there's been plenty of development happening over on the East Side of Manhattan.

The Daily News provides both an article and an editorial about "museums of conscience" putting in their two cents concerning the proposed International Freedom Center. Not surprisingly, firefighters, families, and editorial writers are miffed.

The New York Times "City" section aims to please all the Francophile High Line enthusiasts. As a result of this article, we imagine that Chelsea's elevated garden will henceforth be known as the "Freedom Line."

Billionaire Ronald Perelman's daughter has big renovation plans for her recent townhouse purchase on the much-desired Macdougal-Sullivan Garden, which she now shares with the likes of Anna Wintour. Also, actress Linda Lavin says farewell to Central Park West.

In 2000, Yale economist Robert J. Shiller predicted the stock market crash with his book, Irrational Exuberance. By mining housing data from 16th-century Amsterdam (see above), Mr. Shiller attempts to prove both that there is real-estate bubble, and it will surely burst sometime soon.

The New York Times offers a cautionary tale that everyone can relate to: When looking for that perfect $2,600 rental, beware of the bully broker.  read more »

Finally, in Manhattan's very competitive luxury condo market, no building is complete without its own "moon garden consultant." -Michael Calderone

If Daniel Libeskind’s word is gold at Ground Zero, then the controversial International Freedom Ce  read more »

If Daniel Libeskind’s word is gold at Ground Zero, then the controversial International Freedo  read more »

Plans and passions are clashing at Ground Zero.    read more »

Plans and passions are clashing at Ground Zero.A rancorous debate about what constitutes an appropri  read more »

Long before the city's cultural organizations were thinking about what they might do at Ground Zero,  read more »