Mayor Bloomberg came out strong against World Trade Center developers Friday, blasting the Port Authority for the lack of any real progress at the site.
"It's time to stop this craziness of everything and we've just got to move forward here," he said on his weekly radio show. He also urged the Port Authority, who owns the property, to forge ahead with development now, since material and labor costs are low.
"If we don't, you're going to see me out there beating the drums every day," Bloomberg said. "I'm not going to leave this world with that hole in the ground 10 years from now."
Work has already taken place at Ground Zero, with two skyscrapers, a memorial, and a transit hub under construction -- but the building of other planned towers has been stalled due to financial battles between the Port Authority and site developer Larry Silverstein.
Silverstein recently revealed a new financing plan that puts more of his own money into the project and also nixes the construction of Tower 2, the 79-story skyscraper that would have been taller than the Empire State Building.
Bloomberg, though, put much of the blame on the Port Authority, saying they should build now or "just get out of the way."
"They cannot leave a hole in the ground down where this tragedy took place and slow development for all of southern Manhattan," Bloomberg said.
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In a statement, Port Authority spokesman Stephen Sigmund said, "we agree with the mayor that the site should move forward... but a public bailout is not the answer." He said the agency would continue to work for "a rational plan."
