A couple days ago, the federal government and the New York State government announced they would occupy a large chunk (1 million sq ft out of about 2.6 million) of the not-yet-constructed Freedom Tower, which will (someday?) be built on the site of the World Trade Center.
New York City officials cheered the announcement, hoping the confirmed tenants would give the Freedom Tower's languishing development and construction a shot in the arm.
But many of the actual employees who would have to work there are now saying no. The memories of Sept. 11, 2001, are still too painful, they say, to even consider working at Ground Zero:
"If my life depended on it, I couldn't go there." [...] "It would be beyond imaginable to put someone back there. If you had to go back there every day where you know their souls and spirits have to be, I don't know. I couldn't do it every single day."
Of course their feelings are understandable. And from a very pragmatic point of view, the Freedom Tower -- which rises 1,776 feet, stopping just short of having a huge neon bald eagle on top of it -- will be a very symbolic building and, thus, a likely terror target in the future.
On the other hand, though, look at the Pentagon. A hundred and twenty-five Pentagon workers were killed on 9/11, plus another 59 airplane passengers there. Yet nobody even stopped working there for a day.
Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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