Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged to speed up redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. (David Shankbone)By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed his frustration with the pace of the World Trade Center redevelopment Friday, saying he would not "leave this world with that hole in the ground."
Bloomberg told WOR listeners Friday morning "it's time to stop this craziness" and make progress rebuilding Ground Zero, a process bogged down by nearly a decade of legal and political battles.
"If we don't, you're going to see me out there beating the drums every day,'' the mayor said during his weekly radio show appearance. "I'm not going to leave this world with that hole in the ground 10 years from now.''
"They cannot leave a hole in the ground down where this tragedy took place and slow development for all of southern Manhattan,'' he added.
Highly-publicized spats between the Port Authority and developer Larry Silverstein have stalled the restoration of the World Trade Center site.
Construction of a new PATH train station, a memorial site and the Freedom tower has begun, but none of the projects are complete.
enid | February 21, 2010