"The attacks on the World Trade Center and the current economic recession, which is particularly powerful in New York City, have put a number of building plans on hold for the time being"

David Rockefeller’s words illustrate a moment of profound uncertainty for New York City in the early 2000s. He addresses two converging crises: the immediate shock caused by the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the wider backdrop of an economic slowdown. The image of the World Trade Center attacks conjures trauma, but Rockefeller’s focus quickly broadens to consider how these events reverberate through the city’s economy and urban development.

The reference to a particularly “powerful” recession in New York City emphasizes the city’s acute vulnerability. As a global financial hub, the city’s economic health is sensitive to both national downturns and local disturbances. The unique severity of the recession in New York heightens anxieties for residents, businesses, and, in Rockefeller’s context, the real estate and construction sectors. The notion that “a number of building plans” are “on hold for the time being” points to a paralysis not just in the physical expansion of the city, but also in its forward momentum and confidence. Construction and development are hallmarks of New York’s dynamism; their interruption signals a psychological as well as economic loss.

Rockefeller’s statement indirectly touches on the intricate links between public events, whether acts of violence or shifts in economic fortune, and the built environment. The city’s skyline, always evolving, is here frozen by forces beyond the control of planners and investors. Uncertainty, fear, and caution shape the future as much as optimism and capital once did. The phrase “for the time being” hints at Rockefeller’s expectation, or hope, that this suspension is temporary, but his acknowledgment of the hold underscores both pragmatism and the gravity of the situation.

Ultimately, he reflects a moment when the interplay of tragedy and economics reshaped not just budgets and timetables, but the very vision of progress for an iconic city. The fears and hesitations of the period are palpable, reframing growth as a privilege contingent upon restored security and renewed confidence.