July 14, 2004

Months of frustration over the development of Lower Manhattan seemed to boil over yesterday as World Trade Center Master Planner Daniel Libeskind sued WTC developer Larry A. Silverstein for money he claims is owed to him for his architectural services at Ground Zero. Libeskind’s lawyer, Edward Hayes, says that Silverstein had promised to pay his client but has since reneged because of differences over the Master Plan, which Silverstein sees as an economic impediment to his developments.

The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, includes: “While [Silverstein] has paid lip service to the master plan and used Libeskind’s expertise, professional resources and enormous public support to his economic advantage, he has publicly questioned the commercial viability of the Libeskind design and sought to change the design in ways that will maximize the amount of rentable office space.”

Libeskind is suing for $843, 750, an amount based, says Hayes, on a percentage of the Freedom Tower’s total cost, a procedure rooted in industry practice. Hayes says Silverstein has offered to pay only $200,000, but adds that no contract had been signed between Silverstein and Libeskind. “We made a mistake,” he says. “We should have worked out a deal beforehand..”

In a written statement Harold J. Rubenstein, Silverstein’s spokesman, responded, “Daniel Libeskind has already been paid many millions of dollars for his work by the LMDC and the Port Authority and is unable to provide any industry standard timesheets or other documentation that would justify an additional payment of more than $800,000.”

Sam Lubell