John C. Whitehead of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation describes the city's conception of a vibrant downtown community.
Accepting the School’s award for distinguished leadership in government, John C. Whitehead, chairman of the board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, spoke about a new concept for Lower Manhattan: a neighborhood where the arts, the business community, civic life and a memorial are brought together within a vibrant downtown community. Guests at the 27th Annual Dinner, at which Whitehead accepted the award, included renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, winner of the design competition for the site.
“The governor and the two mayors put me in charge of redeveloping this slice of the city. I got into a cab to go back to my office, and I had never felt more lonesome or abandoned. They went out with smiles because they had shed something from their shoulders, and I suddenly realized I had inherited a job with no staff, no office and no money. But we’re now at a point where we’re making real progress. . . . We will have a wonderful museum [and] a performing arts center . . . , and civic buildings of a first-class nature will bring wonderful assets to this part of Manhattan. . . . The key of our redevelopment will be a beautiful memorial, [and] a tower will rise up 1,776 feet into the air. It will be a restoration of the skyline in a wonderful way.”
John C. Whitehead
Chairman of the Board
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation