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Chapter 7: Shadows

A. CONCLUSIONS OF THE FGEIS The FGEIS found that the incremental shadows of the Approved Plan will have no significant adverse impacts on most of the open spaces in the area. The incremental shadows will not be large enough or last long enough to create a significant adverse impact to the vegetation or the users of the open spaces within the shadow sweep of the Approved Plan. However, the Approved Plan will cast additional shadows onto the already heavily shadowed open spaces directly east of the WTC Site and Southern Site for 1½ to 3½ hours a day in the late spring through summer, completely shadowing these open spaces. In December, the already heavily shadowed Washington Market Park will receive large incremental shadows from Tower 2 and Freedom Tower, removing all sun from the park in the midday. Based on the criteria in the CEQR Technical Manual, this will constitute a significant adverse impact.

Compared with the Pre-September 11 Scenario conditions, the Approved Plan will cast more shadows to the east of the WTC Site than to the west because of the shift in development from the west side of the WTC Site to the east. In the Current Conditions Scenario, shadow increments created by the Approved Plan will be larger than those in the Pre-September 11 Scenario because the WTC Site is currently largely undeveloped, with only the WTC PATH station entrance canopy standing above grade. In addition, there will be a new off-site open space in the Current Conditions Scenario, the plaza on the north side of Vesey Street in front of 7 WTC. This plaza, which will occupy a portion of the 7 WTC site that was occupied by the building before September 11, will be northeast of the Performing Arts Complex and northwest of Tower 2. It will receive incremental shadows throughout the day in each analysis period. However, sunlight will reach it from March through September in the early to mid-morning hours.

B. PROPOSED REFINEMENTS POTENTIALLY AFFECTING SHADOWS

The analysis in this chapter is based on the building plan developed in October 2003 by LMDC and the Port Authority, the Memory Foundation concept created by Studio Daniel Libeskind, the revised design of Freedom Tower released in December 2003, and the Proposed Refinements, identified below, that could potentially alter shadows cast by the Approved Plan.

The proposed shapes or bulk forms of Towers 2, 3, 4, and 5 have been slightly modified to maintain the downward spiral form of the relative tower heights while providing commercially viable floor plates. The footprint of Tower 2 would increase slightly to make viable Class A commercial office floor plates. The footprint would increase to the south, and consequently the building would decrease in height to 1,150 feet, compared with a height of 1,201 feet analyzed in the FGEIS. The height of Tower 3 would also decrease, from 1,080 feet to 1,050 feet. However, Tower 4 would be taller—increasing 47 feet to 1,000 feet.

World Trade Center Memorial and Redevelopment Plan Environmental Assessment for Proposed Refinements

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To better accommodate its functions and allow more flexibility in its design, the Performing Arts Complex could increase to a height of 320 feet and be cantilevered on all sides. Similarly, to better accommodate its functions, the Cultural/Museum Complex could be up to 150 feet tall. September 11 Place would be largely beneath the complex’s canopy. The space between Freedom Tower and the Performing Arts Complex would be widened to 60 feet and designed as publicly accessible open space. Freedom Tower would not change from the design released in December 2003 and analyzed in the FGEIS.

C. PROBABLE IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED REFINEMENTS Compared with the shadow increments of the Approved Plan analyzed in the FGEIS, the increase in height of the Cultural/Museum Complex, the Performing Arts Complex, and Tower 4 would increase the shadow increment on the Memorial plaza, 7 WTC plaza, and the graveyard at St. Paul’s Chapel. Largely beneath the canopy of the Cultural/Museum Complex, September 11 Place would be mostly in shadow. The new open space between Freedom Tower and the Performing Arts Complex would be in shadow from Freedom Tower, the Performing Arts Complex, and the Cultural/Museum Complex. Shadows throughout the year on these open spaces are depicted on Figures 7-1 to 7-10. The incremental shadow shown represents a comparison to the somewhat shorter shadows cast by the Approved Plan as depicted in the FGEIS.

The Museum/Cultural Complex would cast additional shadow on the Memorial plaza in the morning and until early afternoon on each analysis day (see Figures 7-1, 7-4, and 7-7). The shadow would be longer earlier in the morning and get shorter in the midday.

A shadow increment from the Performing Arts Complex would fall on 7 WTC plaza from around noon until early afternoon (see Figures 7-5 and 7-8) except on the December analysis day, when the shadows would be too long for the increment to fall on the plaza. The decrease in the height of Tower 2 would not affect shadows on the plaza since even the reduced length shadow would still extend well north of the plaza.

The Proposed Refinements would not greatly alter the shadows falling on the graveyard of St. Paul’s Chapel, as compared with the shadows analyzed in the FGEIS. With the Proposed Refinements, the incremental shadow would continue to extend beyond the graveyard most of the time. The only time the decrease in Tower 3 and increase in Tower 4 would be apparent would be in the early afternoon as the shadows just begin to enter the graveyard.

Because the open space between Freedom Tower and the Performing Arts Complex would be developed as public open space with the Proposed Refinements, shadows on this open space are considered as well. Generally, in the morning, the Performing Arts Complex and Tower 2 would cast shadows on the open space (see Figures 7-4 and 7-7). Later in the morning, when shadows would fall more to the north, both the Cultural/Museum Complex and the Performing Arts Complex would cast shadows on this open space (see Figures 7-1 and 7-9). In the afternoon when the sun moves to the west, Freedom Tower would cast shadow on this open space (see Figures 7-2, 7-3, 7-5, 7-6, 7-8, and 7-10). However, from March to September this open space would receive a lot of sunlight between noon and 1 PM. This would be the time of year when workers would most likely choose to go outside at lunch.

Chapter 7: Shadows

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The shadow increments from the Approved Plan with the Proposed Refinements would not differ greatly from those of the Approved Plan alone. The Proposed Refinements would not decrease or increase the building heights enough to have a significant effect on the shadow increment or the impact the shadows have on the open spaces surrounding them. Neither the cantilevers of the Performing Arts Complex nor the increased footprint of Tower 2 would significantly increase shadows. For these reasons, the Proposed Refinements would not significantly change the conclusions of the FGEIS regarding shadows.