The General Services Administration’s 300,000-square-foot lease deal for 1 World Trade Center, whose completion has already been dragged out for nearly a year, won’t be finalized by Independence Day as the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and the Durst Organization had hoped. And the New York Post reported it’s all because of a Florida representative.
Rep. John Mica, who also chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is stalling the deal and other federal leases as part of a battle he’s having with the GSA over the Federal Trade Commission’s lease in Washington, D.C. The deal only needs congressional approval as the Port Authority and Senate have already signed off on it.
Senator Chuck Schumer, who has been instrumental in pushing the lease along, said in a statement that he is now hoping to convince the congressman that “the special nature of this lease for New York and the country as a whole” warrants its completion. [Post, 1st item]