Michael Bloomberg has proven adept at a lot of things as mayor, but getting his legacy projects approved has not been one of them.

Sometimes that has been for the best. Sometimes not. Though his administration has unquestionably been a revolution in the performance of city government, his grand vision has produced remarkably few, if any, grand results. Shepherding the city from its darkest moment to some of the best times in its history, keeping the crime rate low and the economic development rate high, and instilling a renewed faith in New York within the five boroughs and beyond—this by no means small record of accomplishment is what has defined Bloomberg’s term in office. But unless the new Yankees and Mets stadiums count, there are no real signature projects that the mayor can lay claim to as his administration enters its final phase.

With the collapse of the Tishman Speyer deal for the far West Side and the natural skepticism about whether the replacement Related-Goldman Sachs deal will actually materialize, the mayor may want to look elsewhere to ensure he finally gets the stamp on the city skyline that he so clearly wants. But he will not have to look far: the natural answer is staring him right in the face, almost literally. The man who came into office when Ground Zero was still in ashes should commit himself to the site being more than a cement pit before he leaves.

The mayor's hands are tied more than they should be, due to the regrettable amount of power he turned over to the state in his quest for the West Side Stadium. He may not be able to technically exert more control over the site, but he can become a more forceful advocate for its development. He has at his command one of the world's best bully pulpits to use in service of the world's best-known—and probably slowest-moving—construction site. And after the West Side Stadium and congestion pricing failures, he may have learned the lessons of the kind of behind-the-scenes diplomacy that would also be needed.

Even through something as basic as a weekly press conference pointing out what is getting done and what more needs to get done.

And that could just be the beginning. This is a man who helped spark more interest in environmental responsibility around the world than nearly anyone else. That is the same sort of focus he should now turn to the 16 acres just blocks from City Hall.

Done right, a new World Trade Center site would create new offices, expand the city's green space, be a cultural center, and provide an enormous boost to the collective Big Apple psyche. Ground Zero could and should be a nexus for many of Bloomberg's larger goals, and at the same time provide him with the kind of major brick-and-mortar accomplishment that has eluded him elsewhere in the city.

Clearly, if there is going to be actual progress at Ground Zero, New Yorkers need an advocate. Michael Bloomberg can and should be that advocate.