9/11: “Urban Renewal with a Twist”
September 11, 2022
FROM Stewart Ogilvie:
The so-called “twin towers” were flagship structures in NY Port Authority’s new World Trade Center in which five other smaller ones were constructed. Building 7, which eventually achieved notoriety due to its “photographed” demolition late in the day on 9/11, was roughly half the height of the twin towers. The Port Authority’s 1964 cost estimate for the project was $350 million. By September 1965 it had risen to $525 million. By December 1966 it was $575 million. There was no stopping this highly touted project to construct the world’s tallest buildings despite serious financial reservations. Bid at $750 million, the final construction cost was $1.2 billion.
By the time it was complete, commercial office space was no longer in great demand. The buildings were topped off but some say that they were never fully occupied. To save money, interior construction, such as floors, would be constructed as leases were signed. To hide financial reality, occupancy percentages were calculated on constructed areas only, it is claimed.
The twin towers were a financial boondoggle. To make matters worse, there were design problems. Any good sailor knows of galvanic corrosion between aluminum and steel, especially in a marine environment. As winds blew across the Hudson, the aluminum exterior sheathing began to separate from the interior steel beams. The face of the WTC began to fall off. Tenants would not tolerate the tremendous noise of repair. The sensible financial move for the Port Authority was to demolish the buildings. Due to the asbestos insulation, according to one source, the EPA would not permit the buildings to be imploded conventionally. They would have to be taken down by 2007 beam by beam, floor by floor, at a projected cost of $20 billion.
What to do? Well, these guys are not stupid. Today there are millions of Americans who, although not inclined to believe you can see Europe from the shore of Staten Island, are totally inclined to believe whatever masquerades as news, official government pronouncements and narratives broadcast from their magic boxes, the ubiquitous television sets that have matriculated from homes into restaurants, bars, barber-shops, and public areas. Add controlled newspapers and Hollywood fantasy and their propaganda game is complete.
