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n 2012, developer Larry Silverstein was in the final stages of completing Four World Trade Center, despite safety concerns over its all-glass facade and initial doubts from the Bloomberg administration about filling the building with tenants. However, he faced another challenge: The Port Authority, which had been a thorn in his side throughout the construction process. In an excerpt from his book "The Rising: The Twenty-Year Battle to Rebuild the World Trade Center" (Penguin Random House), Silverstein recounts how a seemingly conciliatory phone call from the PA turned into something like a scene from a mob movie.

    Silverstein received a call from Pat Foye, the newly appointed Port Authority chairman, proposing a joint topping-out ceremony for their buildings. Silverstein was initially puzzled as his Tower Four would be completed before Tower One, and they had started construction two years after the agency. Despite Foye's concerns about the Port's reputation, Silverstein agreed to participate in a joint ceremony.

    However, two months later, Foye called again, stating that there was a change of plans, and they would go first. Silverstein was blindsided and stunned, as they had agreed to do the ceremony together. He found Foye's response cryptic and ominous. When Foye stated that there were people who didn't want Silverstein to go ahead, Silverstein refused to back down, stating that they were prepared to honor their agreement.

    Silverstein's topping-out ceremony for Four World Trade took place on June 25, 2012. Despite Foye's warning that the Port would stop him, Silverstein went ahead with the ceremony. He later found out that Foye never attended the ceremony, nor did anyone from the Port Authority. Silverstein continued to be perplexed about who specifically wanted the joint topping-out ceremony and who had authorized the tough-guy threats.

    Silverstein later spoke to David Samson, who had been appointed chairman of the Port's board by New Jersey's Governor Christie. Samson had no idea about the situation and stated that if such an order had come from anyone in New Jersey, he would have heard about it. The identity of who issued the order for Tower One to top out first on its own and who tried to intimidate Silverstein remains a mystery.