Memorial anchors Lower Manhattan development

September 8, 2011 (NEW YORK)

ABC 7 investigative reporter Chuck Goudie has a look inside the rebuilding efforts in Manhattan and the 9/11 memorial.

The rebuilding effort has been under way for a couple of years, not only commercial enterprises, but also the World Trade Center 9/11 memorial.

The memorial at the site of Ground Zero is a sight to behold. It is being built largely by private donations and will be the centerpiece of the a business and commercial mega-center, while at the same time offering a fitting remembrance of the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives on Sept. 11.

ABC7 spoke with the man who has been overseeing the memorial, NY/NJ Port Authority deputy executive director Bill Baroni, a former senator appointed by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"Sunday morning, when the family members walk on the plaza for the first time, they will be surrounded by the two reflecting pools in the exact location where the two Twin Towers stood," said Baroni. "Each of the reflecting pools 30 feet deep, 600,000 gallons each, surrounded on all four sides by bronze parapets with the names of the victims of 9/11. Also, 250 white swamp oak trees and one pear tree, the survivor tree that was on the original plaza with Twin Towers that survived the collapse of those towers, and we brought it back here last October."

Mayor Bloomberg has repeated on a number of occasions that the area around Ground Zero has become a residential center since 9/11. There are twice as many people living in the area since September 2001.

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