The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 47

Mayor Bloomberg doesn't know if the mid-2009 deadline to bring down the Deutsche Bank building can be met. That's quite telling. No one knows.

Why is that? You would think that there's a process for taking down the building - one that involved decontamination, followed by deconstruction. Why the holdup? Larry Silverstein took down 99 Church Street (the former building occupied by Moodys Investments) in a fraction of the time. Preparations are well underway there for the construction of what will be the tallest condo in the City.

It's simply inexcusable that no politicians are getting their teeth into the matter to get deconstruction moving on the building. There is a singular lack of leadership on the matter, whether it is from Gov. Paterson or Mayor Bloomberg. It truly is stunning that this building continues to stand as a hulking ruin blocking the path to development at the entire site.

Of course, all that stands in stark contrast to the construction next door of the Goldman Sachs building just to the northwest of Ground Zero. That 47 story tower is being clad in its exterior glass panels, and will be open for business next year. The company is taking a low key approach to the construction and prominence of its association with the building.