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NY1 News (New York)
Most of the federal money given to city agencies and Liberty Bonds after the September 11th attacks was put to good use, but billions have gone unspent, according to a report released by the city's Independent Budget Office.
The report finds the city, Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Port Authority spent over $11 billion on redevelopment and about $7 billion in Liberty Bonds issued for commercial and residential development.
Lower Manhattan businesses never spent almost $3 billion in tax breaks aimed at spurring hiring and investment.
Also, another $700 million in Liberty Bonds must be used by the Port Authority to develop retail commercial projects at the World Trade Center by December 2012.
The figures are based on an assessment of $20 billion promised to the city after the attacks.
"We think that in that case, not all that money got used, and probably not even very much of that money got used," said George Sweeting of the NYC Independent Budget Office. "There's perhaps some remaining possibility to redirect that money to other purposes, but as we get further and further away from those commitments that were made back in 2001, 2002, it may be harder to do that."
Beyond the $20 billion given to the city, the government provided aid to businesses and survivors, and will continue to help with programs such as the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.