From commentary by Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association:

The European Union and Japan, Korea and China are all now planning at the mega-region scale, moving aggressively to build high speed rail networks and other large scale infrastructure systems that will enhance their global competitive position. As a nation and as a region, we should take heed of the aggressive economic development, infrastructure, education and quality-of- life investments being made in the Pearl River Delta and China as a whole. Our ability to compete globally will hinge on our willingness to make similar investments here.

Full commentary here at the Center for an Urban Future (PDF).

The statement of principles (PDF) reads: “A limited amount of advertising as long as it is tastefully designed and managed, as it is in Grand Central.”

The Friends’ Web site actually shows a variety of advertising, including the banners in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Asked whether the banners should be allowed, Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association, said, “The principle is that we are standing in front of a landmark here and the landmark has to be respected. Can there be some temporary signage for special events? Perhaps that’s going to be acceptable.”

Peg Breen, the president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, which has taken a harder line on preserving the exterior but has nonetheless signed onto the design principles announced today, said, “The Garden is going to have opportunities, as I understand it, with kiosks at the corners, mid-block and Ninth Avenue corners. Everyone is going to know where Madison Square Garden is. We want people to know there is a Post Office and great train station inside.”

Is everyone clear on this?

“I think people close to the situation understand that the Freedom Tower is the least marketable commercial space down there to the extent there is any demand for commercial space at all.... It certainly should be rethought. There are really questions about its marketability. Certainly the phasing should be rethought. [Towers] Two through Four ought to be built first. The Freedom Tower should be built not until the market is established for office space....

-Matthew Schuerman UPDATE: Jeremy Soffin, vice president of public affairs at R.P.A., called to take issue with the above characterization of Robert Yaro as “no fan of office space downtown in the first place.” We readily agree that Yaro has advocated mixed uses, rather than an exclusively residential or retail district. We had been referring to his recent endorsement of Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal, which would cut the planned 10 million square feet of offices by 14 percent to make way for apartments and a hotel.