Rally to push rebuilding at World Trade Center

LOWER MANHATTAN Those in attendance were echoing the sentiments of many people in and around New York. Here it is more than eight years after the terror attacks, and there is still no ironclad deal on the redevelopment at ground zero. And with a deadline looming, the message of the union workers is clear: Seal the deal, we can get to work.

There is currently construction at ground zero on a transit hub, on a 9/11 memorial and on 1 World Trade Center.

But the work is nowhere near what it should be, thanks to an ongoing finance battle between site developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority, which controls the property.

Both sides face a Friday deadline, set by an arbitration panel, to cement a deal. Construction workers, meantime, say they are anxious to get to work and they hope Tuesday's rally will lead to an agreement.

"We're looking for jobs," union worker Sal Savarese said. "We need jobs now. We want the red tape stopped. We need the economy to get going. Construction workers fuel the economy."

"I think the whole terror trial that brought attention downtown again was a great thing," union worker Andy Sullivan said. "Because now it exposes how pathetic we are. And all this bureaucracy and red tape, it's just awful."

Many of the union workers are holding signs that read, "Delay Means Defeat." Right alongside them are business owners, residents, members of community board 1 in Lower Manhattan and politicians as well.