The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 222

The deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank building is finally getting underway, this despite the fact that still more remains have been discovered in areas that were previously searched.

Last week, a huge crane began removing steel beams and heavy equipment including heating units and elevator motors from the top of the building, said Bob Harvey, who oversees the project for the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center.

It should take several weeks to remove the top floor, making the building a smaller part of the skyline for the first time, Harvey said last week. After that, "it speeds up as you go down,'' he said.

Workers are moving through the building's upper floors to remove toxic dust and other materials, and the city medical examiner's office is continuing a search for human remains.

More than 760 bones have been found in the building since fall 2005. On Monday, construction workers found 19 bone fragments on the ledge of the 37th floor, which had first been cleared of remains several months ago.

Medical examiner's office spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said the workers had been charged with recovering any remains on the ledge. "The medical examiner's office is not equipped to search ledges for safety reasons,'' she said.

There's still no word on the disposition of Fiterman Hall, which sits to the north of Ground Zero and was heavily damaged and contaminated by the collapsing towers on 9/11.

Meanwhile, the Signature Theater Company will not be housed at the Frank Gehry designed performing arts center at Ground Zero. That leaves the Joyce Theater as the sole occupant.