The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 11

Deconstruction at the Deutsche Bank building may finally restart, but the work is well behind schedule as a result of the deadly fire this past August that killed two firefighters and ongoing problems in selecting a new contractor to handle the cleanup and demolition. The new cleanup plan suggests that instead of taking the building down as each lower floor gets cleared, the cleanup will first eliminate contaminants throughout the entire remaining structure and that would be followed by the deconstruction.

The two firefighters were killed because the standpipe in the basement was disconnected and no one had bothered to check to see that there was working fire suppressions systems in the building. The fire was exascerbated by the air control systems in place to decontaminate the building and could have played a role in disorienting the firefighters in a maze of highly flammable materials.

Work is also falling behind with the Port Authority construction of the bathtub that is a necessary precondition for Larry Silverstein to build 3 and 4 WTC.

Merill Lynch looks like it's about to resign to stay in a large chunk of the World Financial Center.

This looks like good news. The head of the insurance fund that was set up to help provide those affected by Ground Zero related ailments has stepped down.

Christine LaSala, president and CEO of the $1 billion World Trade Center Captive Insurance Co., submitted her resignation effective July 1 - or as soon as a replacement is found.

Sources told The Post yesterday that LaSala, 57 - who has also been condemned for spending exorbitant sums on lawyers and consultants - was pressured to leave by the Bloomberg administration, which governs the fund.

But the city Law Department issued a statement denying she was forced out, adding, "the city deeply regrets [her] departure."

She declined to comment beyond issuing a statement saying: "After nearly four years at the WTC Captive, I have concluded that this is an appropriate point to resume my retirement."

Her resignation comes a month after The Post reported that the fund for rescue and recovery workers spent more than $100 million, mainly on high-priced lawyers and consultants, as of Sept. 30. But it paid out just $320,000 to six workers with orthopedic injuries.

Maybe now those affected will get the financial assistance they're deserving instead of a bureaucractic and legal runaround.