Friday, July 18, 2008

The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 41

Mayor Bloomberg finally announced new regulations on deconstruction and demolition of buildings in the City that improve fire safety, directly relating to the deadly fire at the Deutsche Bank building that killed two firefighters last summer.

That building was slated to be deconstructed by the end of last year, but now no one knows for sure when that crucial work will be completed. The way things are headed, that building will still stand in the way of rebuilding on the rest of the site in 2009.

While some people might think that Merrill Lynch pulling out of a deal to rent or own space at 2 WTC might be a problem for Silverstein Properties, it actually frees up Silverstein to build, since Lynch was in no position financially to commit to space. Even Mayor Bloomberg doesn't see a problem with Lynch pulling out of talks on WTC space.

The Port Authority, as usual, is still dragging its feet, and lawsuits appear on the horizon as well.

Meanwhile, Billy Crystal has been named as a director to the 9/11 Memorial Foundation to assist with fundraising. The Board is still $150 million short of its goal of $500 million.

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