Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver issued a joint statement late yesterday that they were "disappointed that we have yet to reach agreement to address the latest impasse at the World Trade Center site."

The "impasse" results from the resistance of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to provide financing for the completion of three towers at Ground Zero for Larry Silverstein, the developer.

In May, officials of the authority and state and city officials said they would try to resolve the dispute by June 11. They were unable to do so and Mayor Bloomberg asked for a few more days of negotiations.

His and Mr. Silver's statement yesterday said that they "fundamentally believe that there are opportunities to find mutually agreeable and responsible terms that align the Port Authority's interests with the City's and the nation's, and that allow continued progress at Ground Zero."

"While we have not yet been able to reach consensus with the Port, the cause is too important to give up - and we will continue to work with all the parties to fulfill our collective obligation to rebuild the site," they continued.

An article in yesterday's on-line edition of The New York Observer by Elliot Brown said that "The mayor and his top aides have sided with Mr. Silverstein on his main demand, that the public sector put up money to help build two of his towers, and they have thus far pointed at the Port Authority to put up the bulk of the $3 billion or so needed."

"But," it continued, "the two governors, David Paterson and Jon Corzine - who would likely have to agree in tandem to such an act - have been unwilling to do so to this point, given that it would mean scaling back transportation projects. In recent days, the multiparty summits have come to an end and city officials, led by Deputy Mayor Bob Lieber, have been shuttling back and forth between the various governmental parties in an attempt to craft a solution and whittle away at the substantial gap, according to multiple officials involved and familiar with discussions. And for the Bloomberg administration, it seems the governors are the best hope for the bulk of any new money. Even if Mr. Silverstein wanted to put substantial new equity into the project beyond his insurance proceeds - and he doesn't - the tenacious landlord has far less capacity to raise money than the government, which is why he's been looking for this bailout in the first place. In the latest multiparty talks last week, he offered $75 million in new money, according to people involved, though he would take more than that in development fees from the project."

"The Port Authority," according to the article, "has been unabashedly intransigent on the point of money, as its executive director, Chris Ward, and chairman, Tony Coscia, have insisted they already put up plenty in an earlier offer, which involved financing Mr. Silverstein's Tower 4. The jump to finance a tenantless second tower the size of the Empire State Building, the agency has said, would necessitate unacceptable transportation-related cuts."