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Should New York City reconsider rebuilding the Twin Towers instead of the planned Freedom Tower?

MSNBC's David Shuster: It's a special series we are starting on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. on MSNBC. We are going to take a closer look at Ground Zero, the place in lower Manhattan where the Twin Towers crashed to the ground.

Seven years after the terrorist attacks, virtually no progress has been made in rebuilding the site and putting up the Freedom Tower. Bureaucratic bungling, the design flaws, the lack of planning, the engineering mistakes are contributing to the ongoing delays.

An intriguing option involves a very smart and sophisticated set of designs to rebuild the Twin Towers. Would it reclaim something that I think has been lost since 9/11, the idea that we don't let terrorists dictate our way of life or the look of our cities and towns?

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Results with 58 short comments
Total of 2,346 votes - click on the "Display Comments" bar below to sort comments

91.9%
Yes, it's a bolder message to send terrorists if NYC rebuilds the towers
2,156 votes
8.1%
No, plans are already underway for the Freedom Tower
190 votes
Display Comments:
Yes, it's a bolder message to send terrorists if NYC rebuilds the towers

i'm 14 yrs old and live in canada and i think that they should rebuild them to show them that we are strong and so i can see them again.

{"commentId":5975385,"threadId":"482053","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"bucktooth-1"}
  • 1 vote
 - 7:56 pm EDT on Mon Mar 16, 2009
Yes, it's a bolder message to send terrorists if NYC rebuilds the towers

or.... how about twin Freedom towers and get rid of all the other buildings cluttering up the project. New twist on an old theme.

{"commentId":6201983,"threadId":"482053","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"dlopenzina"}
  • 1 vote
 - 8:12 am EDT on Sat Mar 28, 2009
Yes, it's a bolder message to send terrorists if NYC rebuilds the towers

Those two magnificent towers meant the world to me. Having them gone, has left such a deep hole in my heart. Rebuild them - & set me free !

{"commentId":6212172,"threadId":"482053","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"macfinger"}
  • 1 vote
 - 4:11 am EDT on Sun Mar 29, 2009
Yes, it's a bolder message to send terrorists if NYC rebuilds the towers

It would definitely stick it to the monsters who thought that attack would break America.

{"commentId":6338446,"threadId":"482053","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"proud2b4family"}
     - 11:42 am EDT on Mon Apr 6, 2009
    Yes, it's a bolder message to send terrorists if NYC rebuilds the towers

    The People clearly want new Twin Towers. The People clearly do not want "The Freedom Coward." The Towers plan is better in every respect.

    {"commentId":7590508,"threadId":"482053","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"crussell75"}
       - 6:40 pm EDT on Thu Jun 11, 2009
      Yes, it's a bolder message to send terrorists if NYC rebuilds the towers

      I think doing anything less would show the terrorists that they have changed us, and defeated usm and they have not. Rebuild the towers!

      {"commentId":9575421,"threadId":"482053","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"greatjay"}
         - 2:38 pm EDT on Fri Sep 18, 2009
        Yes, it's a bolder message to send terrorists if NYC rebuilds the towers

        Anything else would be nothing but a monument to terrorism. All future terrorists will point to the Freedom Tower as their greatest succes

        {"commentId":9708582,"threadId":"482053","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"kcluva"}
           - kcluva
           - 1:52 pm EDT on Fri Sep 25, 2009
          Yes, it's a bolder message to send terrorists if NYC rebuilds the towers

          twin towers where symbols of strength freedom tower is a symbol of weakness. twin towers need to be rebuilt to show our strength to overcom

          {"commentId":10151255,"threadId":"482053","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"david-breard"}
             - 5:43 pm EDT on Sun Oct 18, 2009
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            Newsvine Discussion with 210 comments - Click here to jump to the comment form.

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            {"commentId":5012380,"authorDomain":"llrrbb"}

            Rebuilding the Twers would be so much more of a slap in the face than putting up what is virtually a tall statue.

            {"commentId":5012380,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"llrrbb"}
            • 2 votes
            Reply#1 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:47 PM EST
            {"commentId":5067678,"authorDomain":"tyler"}

            I think that the Twin Towers shouldn't be rebuilt - I think it would remind people of tragedy more than resilience - but I also think the Freedom Tower is weak.

            I didn't vote, but if I could vote for a different building design - or P. Diddy's truly American suggestion [1:59, video should jump] I would've.

            {"commentId":5067678,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"tyler"}
            • 3 votes
            #1.1 - Thu Jan 29, 2009 4:40 PM EST
            Reply
            {"commentId":5012392,"authorDomain":"joepboyle"}

            I understand the symbolism in rebuilding the Twin Towers, but there's just one problem: those buildings were awful! There was an acre of office space on every story, but only 10% of the people working there got any natural light. The super-block broke up the street grid, making Lower Manhattan less pedestrian friendly. The plaza was a wind-swept concrete wasteland. The World Trade Center was a giant, ugly personification of everything that was wrong with urban renewal and the godawful architecture that accompanied it. They should reconnect the streets they ripped out the 70s, and build something class that matches the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building.

            {"commentId":5012392,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"joepboyle"}
            • 4 votes
            Reply#2 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:48 PM EST
            {"commentId":5013022,"authorDomain":"klabiche"}

            Joe,

            NO one in NYC gets natural light except the executives...

            I have worked in The Empire State Building. There was NO LIGHT anywhere in there.

            {"commentId":5013022,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"klabiche"}
            • 2 votes
            #2.1 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:17 PM EST
            {"commentId":5014062,"authorDomain":"DrStrangeweird"}

            I agree that the super block was a mistake, but the new Twin Towers plan has taken that into account and will restore alot of the streets.

            {"commentId":5014062,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"DrStrangeweird"}
            • 1 vote
            #2.2 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:19 PM EST
            {"commentId":10151430,"authorDomain":"david-breard"}

            you people are just weak.the twin towers where not ugly or awful they where perfect and where magnificent buildings that cant be replaced they can only be rebuilt with 115 stories. and its new york its not pedestrian friendly anywhere its a city. its like taking earth and cramping everything on the surface of the moon its going to be small nothing will change that. thats why its a vertical city thats why the twin towers where built it created a lot of office space and didn't use to much of the diminishing land of Manhattan island


            {"commentId":10151430,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"david-breard"}
              #2.3 - Sun Oct 18, 2009 5:59 PM EDT
              Reply
              {"commentId":5012399,"authorDomain":"bziegs"}

              What happened to the days when this country was actually able to accomplish things of great scale? We can't even put up a new building, how can we have faith that we can overcome the great issues facing our economy? What a joke.

              {"commentId":5012399,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"bziegs"}
              • 2 votes
              Reply#3 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:48 PM EST
              {"commentId":5012402,"authorDomain":"nito"}

              Yes!

              What better way to make the statement that We Can Rebuild, rather than endless 'debating' with No Action?

              It's Shameful to think that it will be a total of eleven or twelve years since 9/11 that we've been looking at the same hole in the ground.

              {"commentId":5012402,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"nito"}
              • 4 votes
              Reply#4 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:48 PM EST
              {"commentId":5408400,"authorDomain":"cgillyard"}

              Yup, absoulutely right , time to cut out the debates on what to do with the land and time to rebuild, otherwise we'll still keep looking what was and what will be become something great.

              {"commentId":5408400,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"cgillyard"}
                #4.1 - Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:45 PM EST
                Reply
                {"commentId":5012418,"authorDomain":"Daneel"}

                Nicole Gelinas is HOT! I love the disheveled nerdy look!

                And oh yeah, rebuild the Twin Towers already.

                {"commentId":5012418,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"Daneel"}
                • 2 votes
                Reply#5 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:49 PM EST
                {"commentId":5040684,"authorDomain":"vanhalen-09"}

                Im with you on that she reminds me of the quiet librarian type thats really a dirty.....nevermind fantasies going aloud..ahem..

                rebuild!

                {"commentId":5040684,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"vanhalen-09"}
                  #5.1 - Wed Jan 28, 2009 12:19 PM EST
                  Reply
                  {"commentId":5012435,"authorDomain":"jackff4"}

                  I personally never liked the Freedom Tower project and always wanted the Twin Towers to be rebuilt ever since I heard of the FT project. 1, I think the Freedom Tower just doesn't fill the memory, plus building it means that the terrorists succeeded in destroying the towers. If we rebuild them, it sends the message that they may strike us, but they can't defeat us. Also if you're going to build a memorial, why build only one tower? Wouldn't you want to build 2 to symbolize the old towers? I say rebuild the Twin Towers.

                  {"commentId":5012435,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"jackff4"}
                  • 6 votes
                  Reply#6 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:49 PM EST
                  {"commentId":5012449,"authorDomain":"whmurray"}

                  One can build a skyscraper in any other city in the world in less than seven years. We have a leadership problem. It is tragic.

                  {"commentId":5012449,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"whmurray"}
                  • 1 vote
                  Reply#7 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:50 PM EST
                  {"commentId":5012451,"authorDomain":"msa5453"}

                  Yes-Yes -YES! The twin towers should be re-buildt. There would be no doubt that freedom and a symbol of our industrial might is strong and alive. These new buildings will be a commerative to those who gave their livies on that awful day in September 2001. 'We will NEVER forget you.'

                  {"commentId":5012451,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"msa5453"}
                  • 2 votes
                  Reply#8 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:50 PM EST
                  {"commentId":5012461,"authorDomain":"fathomz"}

                  I said it at the time and I'll say it once again. Put it right in the eyes of the people responsible for bringing them down. Put them right back up again, just as they were.

                  {"commentId":5012461,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"fathomz"}
                  • 2 votes
                  Reply#9 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:51 PM EST
                  {"commentId":5012475,"authorDomain":"mark-ahasic"}

                  The WTC was conceived as an economicdevelopment project to support NYC jobs in construction and support the Property market downtown. It was underwritten by the government and the original tenants where often government agencies. Today, this rationale works perfectly! Revise the original plans and update the engineering, and rebuild what was and should be an iconic symbol of NYC, the tenacity of its people, and a clear statement of American resolve.

                  {"commentId":5012475,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"mark-ahasic"}
                  • 3 votes
                  Reply#10 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:51 PM EST
                  {"commentId":5012479,"authorDomain":"bjoneswpb"}

                  I don't like to say it, but the Twin Towers were UGLY! They were a disgrace to New York's skyline.

                  {"commentId":5012479,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"bjoneswpb"}
                    Reply#11 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:51 PM EST
                    {"commentId":5012729,"authorDomain":"klabiche"}

                    I'm sorry, I disagree. They were beautiful in so many ways. The view from Exchange Place in Jersey City was amazing, especially at night. No matter how down I was, when I saw that view, I realized how blessed I was to be alive. And when it was foggy and you could not see them from across the river, my heart was sad, like I had lost a dear friend.

                    If they are not rebuilt just as they were, those who had never seen the towers will never completely understand the magnitude of what happened.

                    {"commentId":5012729,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"klabiche"}
                    • 1 vote
                    #11.1 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:03 PM EST
                    {"commentId":5012879,"authorDomain":"pan313"}

                    I could see the towers from my apartment. I totally agree they were ugly.

                    Problem is, the design for Freedom Tower is taller and uglier.

                    {"commentId":5012879,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"pan313"}
                      #11.2 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:10 PM EST
                      {"commentId":5034564,"authorDomain":"pro-rebuilder"}

                      UGLY ???
                      There where beautifull Icons !!
                      The Skyline is just not the same anymore....
                      NYC's skyline almost looks like any other city now.
                      I recognise the city but a lot of other people don't.

                      I understood it was great to be on top of the world !
                      I would like to be there as well in the future on the Twin Towers II.

                      {"commentId":5034564,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"pro-rebuilder"}
                        #11.3 - Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:03 AM EST
                        Reply
                        {"commentId":5012488,"authorDomain":"thesimpsonss"}

                        Clearly there is limited interest in this project (Freedom Tower). Former Gov. George Pataki was a total failure in this regard. I remember hearing him on the Sunday talking circuit and it was apparent that he had no credibility. There was no plan, no force behind it and in fact the forces were gathered against it but the George Pataki would have none of it. He's the main reason for this failure in my opinion! I'm sure he'd blame others but if you go back and review the record it comes right to the forefront every time!

                        {"commentId":5012488,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"thesimpsonss"}
                        • 1 vote
                        Reply#12 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:52 PM EST
                        {"commentId":5012489,"authorDomain":"QGODDESS"}

                        I never engage in what people wear or look like on TV because I am more concerned with substance than style. However, I am wondering whythe producers of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue would allow Nicole Gelinas to go on the show with her hair looking like she just got out of bed. This show, 1600, I know doesn't have the budget of Access Hollywood,but at least the producers should care how their guests appear on air. I am not suggesting color, cut and shampoo; but making certain that her hair is in place. Ms. Gelinas is a very intelligent woman and her appearance should reflect the same.

                        {"commentId":5012489,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"QGODDESS"}
                          Reply#13 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:52 PM EST
                          {"commentId":5012504,"authorDomain":"totalrecall"}

                          Ask the people who will work there!! Haven't you built a house and after living there said "If I could do it over again I would change this."? Now, they have the opportunity to make the desirable changes!

                          {"commentId":5012504,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"totalrecall"}
                          • 1 vote
                          Reply#14 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:52 PM EST
                          {"commentId":5012890,"authorDomain":"klabiche"}

                          The decision should be left to the Port Authority and Larry Silverstein. They are the ones who have a financial stake. It should have never been up to anyone else to begin with.

                          {"commentId":5012890,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"klabiche"}
                            #14.1 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:10 PM EST
                            {"commentId":5014078,"authorDomain":"nycmagee"}

                            It's true that if Pataki & Co hadn't interfered, and the "it would be too bad to erase the erasure" school of city planning, crawling with egos lusting after the WTC, the Port Authority and Silverstein would have rebuilt the Towers. But to say it's all up to them misses a huge point: They were built with public funds and over 30 years of happy memories made them the property of the people. The people leased them to Silverstein, and they were his to operate and derive income from, but they belonged to us. Then after 9/11 the American taxpayers brought Lower Manhattan back to life and NY with it. So the effort to keep the will of the majority of New Yorkers and Americans out of the equation is illegitimate. People want their Towers back.

                            {"commentId":5014078,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"nycmagee"}
                              #14.2 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:20 PM EST
                              {"commentId":5030407,"authorDomain":"rtroy56"}

                              Just don't count on PA to get it done. When they built them originally they didin't build them to (fire safety) code. And remember, this is the same authority that still has not started to work on the project it was created to build - the NJ to Brooklyn rail tunnel.

                              {"commentId":5030407,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"rtroy56"}
                                #14.3 - Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:46 PM EST
                                Reply
                                {"commentId":5012513,"authorDomain":"joepboyle"}

                                I understand the symbolism of rebuilding the towers as before, but there's just one problem: those buildings were terrible! There was about an acre of office space on every floor, but only 10% of the people working there got any natural light. They broke up the street grid to create a superblock, making the district less pedestrian-friendly. The plaze was a wind-swept concrete wasteland. The WTC was the personification of everything that was wrong with Urban Renewal and the lousy architecture of that era. They should reconnect the streets they ripped out, and build something classy, along the lines of the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building.

                                {"commentId":5012513,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"joepboyle"}
                                  Reply#15 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:53 PM EST
                                  {"commentId":5012521,"authorDomain":"mngordo"}

                                  From 9/12/01 I thought and said that the best single thing to do was to rebuild the Twin Towers. They weren't loved when they opened in 1970 but they eventually came to be appreciated by New Yorkers and all Americans. Rebuilding them would show our enemies that knocking America down will only result in our coming back bigger and better than ever. The sad thing is that with focus and purpose on the part of our leaders, they could have been "up there" already. We may have a financial crisis today but until Jan. 20th, 2009 we had (and to some extent still have) a bigger crisis in leadership. That's what happens when the people elect morons to lead. Maybe we need to pay more attention to government and less on who won American Idlol or who lost more weight or who won the Super Bowl or who is the best dance team. We took our eyes off the real ball everything fell apart.

                                  {"commentId":5012521,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"mngordo"}
                                  • 3 votes
                                  Reply#16 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:53 PM EST
                                  {"commentId":5012560,"authorDomain":"dodd441"}

                                  as a post person of nyc , there is nothing like the sky line , at the time the show joe friday used to say there are 9 million stories in nyc, (fifities).

                                  {"commentId":5012560,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"dodd441"}
                                  • 1 vote
                                  Reply#17 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:55 PM EST
                                  {"commentId":5012594,"authorDomain":"randall-2"}

                                  Put'em back up! Let's do it better this time, though. We know how they failed during the last attack. This time we can design them for that contingency. That's truly the American way to do it!

                                  {"commentId":5012594,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"randall-2"}
                                  • 3 votes
                                  Reply#18 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:57 PM EST
                                  {"commentId":5012698,"authorDomain":"arthursward"}

                                  Rebuilding anything less would leave a hole in the national psyche.

                                  {"commentId":5012698,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"arthursward"}
                                  • 4 votes
                                  Reply#19 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:01 PM EST
                                  {"commentId":5012733,"authorDomain":"goatini"}

                                  the "Freedom Tower" is butt ugly and would always be seen as a symbol of sadness and loss. rebuild the Twin Towers, one story higher than before!

                                  {"commentId":5012733,"threadId":"482063","contentId":"2356649","authorDomain":"goatini"}
                                  • 6 votes
                                  Reply#20 - Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:03 PM EST
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