Real-estate kingpin Larry Silverstein tearfully vowed yesterday to rebuild the World Trade Center and its glorious Twin Towers – even though he only leases the destroyed property.
Silverstein repeated his promise throughout the day at two different functions, including an emergency meeting of the New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce.
“We fully expect, hope and pray to rebuild Number 7 and the World Trade Center and, if we have cooperation, we can get this accomplished,” an emotional Silverstein told the city’s financial elite.
He said if the city does not rebuild, “we’d be giving an incredible victory to those who want to destroy our way of life.”
Silverstein Properties leased 7 World Trade Center on Dec. 31, 1980, and completed it seven years later.
In July, Silverstein Properties and the Port Authority agreed on a 99-year lease deal that included the Twin Towers and the two nine-story office buildings at 4 and 5 World Trade Center.
Meanwhile, at the Real Estate Board of New York meeting, Chairman Burton Resnick advised brokers to provide emergency leases of up to a year at “cost.”
About 25 million square feet of office space was damaged or destroyed.
