Schumer on WTC tower: It's time to get moving

BY FRANK LOMBARDI and DAVID SALTONSTALL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

Stop complaining and build it!

That was Sen. Chuck Schumer's stern advice yesterday on Ground Zero's Freedom Tower, the Second Ave. subway and other city projects stalled by a new "culture of criticism."

"Right now we seem to be losing our way, letting inertia and bureaucratic obstacles slow our progress," Schumer (D-N.Y.) told a Crain's breakfast forum.

He said that New York had failed to get a major public project off the ground since the 1960s, when the World Trade Center was started.

"It's not true," said Charles Gargano, the state's economic development czar. "It's just not understood the type of activity that's going on at this time."

Schumer's critique comes as plans for the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower have hit a snag over security issues, with the NYPD worried that the building's proximity to West and Vesey Sts. could make it vulnerable to truck bombs.

But Gargano argued that lots of design work on major downtown projects - including a new transportation hub and the WTC memorial - is progressing.

And Bloomberg insisted safety has to come first at the Freedom Tower.

"If we have to make a decision - delay and do it right, or rush and do it wrong - I can tell you where I am on that," the mayor said at a press conference with Gargano.

The pair also dismissed rumors that the state or city was looking to remove Freedom Tower developer Larry Silverstein from the site.