The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), the agency in charge of World Trade Center site reconstruction, on Friday approved the new, scaled-back design for the September 11 memorial at Ground Zero, clearing the way for environmental and other reviews to proceed.

 

The changes unveiled last week to cut costs include a smaller memorial museum, as well as moving the gallery of victims' name to street level.

 

According to the LMDC, the public has responded positively to the changes.

 

"Removing the waterfalls is very unpopular, removing the galleries people are fine with," said LMDC President Stefan Pryor."(People) recognize that it can actually result in an improvement in the visitor experience, and in the accessibility of the names."

 

However, on its Friday meeting the agency did not touch on the most controversial part of the project, the listing of the names.

 

The proposal calls for a random list, but some family members want the names to be more uniformly arranged.

 

Meanwhile, the WTC Memorial Foundation is expected to restart fund-raising efforts early next month.

 

The foundation has so far raised US$130 million of the projected US$500-million budget. The government has committed to pay US$200 million.

 

Last week the cornerstone for the Freedom Tower was moved to Long Island after officials realized new design and construction plans required its location to be moved.

 

The cornerstone was placed at the Freedom Tower site during a July 4th ceremony in 2004. It was supposed to mark the start of construction on the massive skyscraper. The cornerstone could stay in Long Island for up to two years.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2006)