What Do You Get When You Cross A Memorial Site With An Office Development And A Public Plaza?

I believe the technical term is “fuckshow.” So much for all the rah-rah Jane Jacobsy bluster from those seeking to undo the urban planning eddy of the original World Trade Center site — that dream is years away (if ever?):

It’s the beginning of a gradual process that will eventually weave an off-limits space back into the fabric of the city. But it may be years before the eight-acre memorial is truly reconnected to New York, as part of a plaza where people can come and go freely or stop to enjoy lunch on a bench.

The goal is “an open memorial and true amenity for people who live in work and down here,” said Joe Daniels, the president and CEO of the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum. “I think it’s OK that right now, as it opens, it is more of a controlled destination.”

Only those with one of 7,000 daily tickets can enter the memorial, and reservations are filled through mid-October. Access to the entire plaza currently ends at 8 p.m., though closing time will move up with arrival of winter’s shorter daylight hours.

The ticket system is temporary, but Daniels said he expected it to last for about three years, long after the adjacent One World Trade Center tower is scheduled to be completed.

Location Scout: September 11 Memorial.