New York Governor Eliot Spitzer personally entered negotiations and helped close a deal between the World Trade Center's leaseholder and seven insurers on a $2 billion settlement of all remaining claims arising from the Sept. 11, 2001 destruction of the twin towers by terrorists. The agreement between Silverstein Properties and the carriers was described by Gov. Spitzer and Insurance Superintendent Eric R. Dinallo as the largest settlement in regulatory history.

Their announcement–made in the New York Insurance Department's Neil D. Levin Hearing Room in Manhattan–was symbolic, the governor noted, because the room was named in honor of the former insurance superintendent who lost his life in the Sept. 11 attack. The room was packed with city, state, Port Authority officials and insurance executives.

The agreements made last week settle all outstanding court cases and related proceedings involving World Trade Center claims, officials said. This concludes nearly six years of legal conflict and removes the last major obstacle to development at the Ground Zero WTC site.