In article , Christopher
Green writes

Giant sequoia is hardy to somewhere below -20F, but its native climate
is much drier than New York is. With California native plants, wet
climate predisposes to all manner of diseases. Though it can live
thousands of years where it is native, I doubt a sequoia grove would
make the sort of perpetual memorial the WTC site deserves.

It grows quite happily in the British Isles, including sites which I
suspect are wetter than New York. Mitchell (Field Guide to the Trees of
Britain and Northern Europe) says it is frequent, but not thriving, in
towns, so perhaps there's something about the urban environment
(pollution?) that it doesn't care for.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley