The New York Police Department has signed off on a redesign of the Freedom Tower. In the plan, to be unveiled next month, the building at the site of the World Trade Center will still rise a symbolic 1,776 feet into the air.

Governor Pataki, in a speech yesterday to the Association for a Better New York, reaffirmed his commitment to rebuild Lower Manhattan despite some setbacks in recent weeks, including Goldman Sachs’ withdrawal from a plan to move its headquarters to Lower Manhattan, and the communications failures concerning security that led to the belated redesign of the Freedom Tower and a delay in the start of construction.

In a recent poll by Quinnipiac University, 52% of respondents said the proposed West Side stadium is distracting city officials from the downtown rebuilding process. On the question of redeveloping ground zero, 60% said Mayor Bloomberg should play a key decision-making role, up from 54% in September.

“For me, this is personal,” Mr. Pataki said. “From the morning the towers fell, I vowed that the rebuilding and revival of Lower Manhattan would be the highest priority of my administration. My commitment is ironclad. It has not changed, nor will it ever change.”

To this end, Mr. Pataki has appointed two close advisers, John Cahill and James Kallstrom, to oversee the rebuilding effort. Ground zero is on land owned by the state-run Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. While the two appointees will answer to the governor, Mr. Pataki said, Mr. Bloomberg will continue to play an vital role in the rebuilding.

“The mayor has been an important part,” Mr. Pataki said, adding, in reference to Mr. Cahill: “We will just have a can-do guy overseeing it all.”

Mr. Cahill, a former state environmental commissioner, will coordinate the daily efforts of the several government agencies that are involved in the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan, including the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Port Authority, and the Empire State Development Corporation. Mr. Cahill, who is moving into the LMDC offices today to begin his tenure, will retain the title of secretary to the governor.

Mr. Kallstrom will also remain secretary to the governor while overseeing security issues downtown. A longtime aide to Mr. Pataki, Mr. Kallstrom is the former head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York City office. He will work closely with the city’s police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, who Mr. Kallstrom said has been “my friend for 30 years.”

Rounding out the leadership team are the new president of the LMDC, Stefan Pryor, who has been second in command there to the outgoing president, Kevin Rampe, and the recently appointed head of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, Charles Maikish.

One of the first things the group will focus on is an attempt to lure Goldman Sachs back to Lower Manhattan, Mr. Pataki said.

“Goldman, downtown is your home, you belong here,” the governor said.

Goldman Sachs pulled back from plans to move to Lower Manhattan because of a proposed tunnel under West Street, which is now being made into a tree-lined promenade, and uncertainty over the Freedom Tower. It has been casting about for a large office space at other sites in Manhattan.

After giving his speech at the Cipriani Wall Street restaurant in the Financial District, Mr. Pataki went to the opening of a soccer field on Pier 40 off Houston Street, where he answered questions from reporters.

“Goldman is going to stay in New York, but we want them to come to Lower Manhattan,” he said. “It would be an enormous plus if they do.”

Other initiatives Mr. Pataki highlighted yesterday included a $1 billion request from the Port Authority to help finance the $6 billion Long Island-JFK rail link. The project has already received $560 million from the Port Authority, with another $400 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and a $2 billion tax credit conversion expected from Congress. The additional Port Authority money would bring $4 billion to the project’s financing.

“To have $4 billion of a $6 billion project before you even put a shovel in the ground is extraordinary,” Mr. Pataki told reporters.

Mr. Pataki also announced the allocation of $831 million from the LMDC’s remaining federal funds. That will include $220 million for the development of Manhattan’s waterfront, $70 million to build the TriBeCa section of the Hudson River Park, and $15 million for the rebuilding of Fiterman Hall, which was destroyed September 11, 2001. There will also be $190 million for off-site cultural institutions, additional playgrounds, and a new elementary school. Another $36 million will be allocated for surface transportation improvements, and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation will receive $300 million.

Watchdog groups seemed satisfied with the changes. The president of a think tank, the Regional Plan Association’s Robert Yaro, said: “By empowering John Cahill to lead the rebuilding efforts, the governor has shown that Lower Manhattan is a priority and that Stefan Pryor will have the resources to get things done at LMDC. By allocating $300 million to the memorial complex, he ensured that the most important rebuilding project will not be delayed. And by promising to spend rebuilding funds on the Hudson River Park and other off-site projects throughout Lower Manhattan, the governor made it clear that public amenities will help spur renewed vigor in the commercial market.