BATTERY' WOE FOR TOWERS OF LIGHT

By MARIA ALVAREZ, DAVID SEIFMAN and WILLIAM NEUMAN

February 28, 2002 --

"..A "Tribute of Light" memorial to World Trade Center victims got Mayor Bloomberg's blessing yesterday - but was stalled because its sponsors waited until the last minute to get clearance to use land in Battery Park City.
"I can't expect to approve something . . . I don't know . . . will work," said Tim Carey, president of the Battery Park City Authority.

Carey said there were numerous unanswered questions about the illuminated tribute - including whether its 88 high-wattage xenon spotlights are too heavy to sit on the Hudson River landfill that makes up the proposed site.

"I have to have the hard facts first. We have to ensure the engineering is done properly so we do not cause something to . . . sink in the landfill," Carey said.

"If it's not feasible through the engineering I can't make it happen. There's a way to do business here."

The Municipal Art Society is the main sponsor of the project, which has been on the drawing board since the fall.

The group wants to set up the huge banks of 7,000-watt lights - beaming upward in the shape of the towers - on a Battery Park City lot at Vesey and West streets, which would be shared with a large tent used by Ground Zero recovery crews.

Carey said he finally received a formal proposal from the society Monday night, fired back a series of questions about engineering, legal issues and insurance the next day - and is still waiting for a reply.

The society has been very secretive about the project, and Battery Park City officials were said to be angry at the way the issue was handled.

Bloomberg told relatives of WTC victims at a morning meeting at Gracie Mansion yesterday that the memorial beams would be lit on March 11, the six-month mark of the terror attack.

They would stay illuminated for a month - burning until 11 p.m. each night.

But at a press conference later in the day - with Carey present - Bloomberg appeared to back off.

"I'm certainly in favor of it," said Bloomberg, adding, "I gather one or two other groups . . . have to sign on."

But he affirmed, "It would appear that [it] will be built."

Municipal Art Society spokesman Dan Klores said, "We're really encouraged by the mayor's statements today."

Monica Iken, whose husband, Michael, was killed Sept. 11, said the mayor agreed to change the name of the memorial from "Towers of Light" to "Tribute of Light."

With the new name, she said, the memorial will stand as a "tribute to honor and reflect the lost souls who died at the World Trade Center."

If the memorial does go up, the lights have to be shut several times a night if it interferes with helicopter traffic, the FAA said..."

September 11 victims, A memorial -
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/memorial/lists/by-name/index.html