I would ask you to envision this island not as it is but as it could be, as part of the greatest harbor district in the world.

That has to be built out so that downtown can thrive. The worst thing that could happen to lower Manhattan would be for that hole in the ground to exist for another decade or two, and that's what Silverstein has contemplated even if all goes according to his plan.

We want to create a place that is distinctly New York and yet unlike anything New Yorkers have ever seen before. The response we are looking for should move beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary.

As soon as we can find an alternate location for the horses, we want to get them out of there as quick as possible.

This is an opportunity we will never have again.

We can do something truly exceptional ... something that demands a new standard of imagination and ambition.