On the last day of the year, the Times‘ reporter on the World Trade Center beat, David Dunlap, shared a byline with Herbert Muschamp to report that the Jury has narrowed their choices to two or three final designs for the Memorial.
The reported choices:
“Passages of Light,” by Gisela Baurmann, Sawad Brooks and Jonas Coersmeier, aka the “Memorial Cloud,” and “Garden of Lights,” by Pierre David, Sean Corriel and Jessica Kmetovic, aka the apple orchard/prairie.
Michael Arad’s barren “Remembering Absence” is also favored by some jurors, it seems. If Muschamp’s suddenly getting involved in what has been essentially Dunlap’s story, it must be because he’s been talking to one or more of the jurors. For the first time, we hear about “politicking and debates among jurors, who are conscious that prominent figures like former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani have called for a timeout but are also resolved not to be influenced by political pressures.”
While they’re right on principle–technically, what everyone is doing is second-guessing the jury–they shouldn’t feel obliged to stand on principle when they’ve so obviously made a weak decision.