NYC Steam Explosion Updates

Yesterday's steam pipe explosion in Midtown Manhattan at 41st and Lexington left quite a few people shaken as some of the images evoked scenes from 9/11. One person was killed, two people, including the driver of the tow truck that is seen sitting in the crater left by the explosion, are in critical condition with serious burns, and about two dozen others were injured.

The critical jobs at this point are to clean up the scene and reopen the street to traffic. Those jobs will be slowed because tests of ground samples around the vicinity of the explosion showed asbestos.

Eight air samples in the area around the explosion found no sign of asbestos, but six of 10 samples of debris and dust came back positive, the emergency-management agency said Thursday. Residents in the area were to keep windows closed, and anyone exposed to the falling debris was instructed to wash carefully and isolate the clothing they were wearing in plastic bags.

City engineers warned that up to six feet surrounding the giant hole might be in danger of further collapse, and officials said workers would not be allowed into office buildings in a zone that covered several blocks. The Buildings Department determined late Wednesday that nearby buildings were structurally sound but some had suffered water damage and broken windows.

Air samples have not found asbestos in the air, although the City is still warning people that if they live in nearby buildings and did not leave, they should set their air conditioners to recirculate so as to avoid drawing in outside air. If people have left the cordoned off area, they will not be allowed to return until the all clear is given.

Gothamist, in the course of its wall to wall coverage, wonders whether the situation could have been avoidable. Besides routine maintenance and upgrading existing infrastructure? Well, one reader notes that there was quite a bit of utility work in the vicinity.

The NYT has a map of the vicinity and basic layout of a typical steam pipe utility setup.

Once again, a serious incident involving energy infrastructure shows the creaky nature of our infrastructure and the thin line between reliable service and a major incident. Expect Con Ed to be called on the carpet once again for its service, response, and maintenance of the system. Con Ed says that they checked the vicinity earlier in the day as part of their regular maintenance following a heavy rain but found no problems:

Con Edison head Kevin Burke said the site had been inspected hours before the blast as part of a routine response to heavy rain that flooded parts of the city. He said crews had found nothing as they searched for steam rising from manhole covers or cracks in the street - indications that pipes could be in jeopardy. The steam systems are normally inspected every six weeks.

I'll also refer people to what happened in 1989, when another steam pipe explosion in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan that killed three people and wounded 24. Then, the authorities said that the situation was all clear, only to reverse themsevles days later as samples showed elevated levels of asbestos. It was then predicted it would take at least four weeks to clean up the mess. Lawsuits flew about furiously after that incident, and Con Ed later admitted to engaging in a coverup of the seriousness of the asbestos contamination. Con Ed was subjected to federal monitoring to ensure compliance with federal environmental regulations following that incident.

It will take time to sort out the cause of the explosion and engage in the cleanup, so we'll see how things develop.

UPDATE:
Via Con Ed:

The New York City Department of Health (DOH) has a fact sheet that provides additional information about asbestos. Visit the DOH Web site for more information by clicking on the following link: http://home2.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/ei/eiasbest.shtml.

Approximately 400 specially trained Con Edison employees and certified contractors, in conjunction with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), worked through the night: performing tests on muddy debris and monitoring the air. Together with the DEP, the company has developed a comprehensive plan to remove muddy debris from buildings, streets and vehicles.

Crews also cleaned muddy debris from Third Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets. The company is working to restore service to electric feeder cables and is running temporary cables. In addition, crews excavated and inspected the gas system for possible damage. Fire trucks that responded to the event were decontaminated.

Con Ed is also asking energy consumers in the area to reduce demand.

The New York City Office of Emergency Management has also issued a statement on the situation, which details the steps being taken, the frozen zones, and traffic related issues. However, it doesn't give a timeframe for when they expect people to be able to move freely into the frozen area or when repairs will be completed.

UPDATE:
Where some see just steam and smoke, others see something far more sinister - a Bush conspiracy. Nutters.

UPDATE:
Was human error to blame? Well, CBS News has been talking with someone who is familiar with the NYC steam distribution system and he thinks that human error might have played a role, especially since there are also indications that there was repair work in the vicinity just a month ago. Midtown businesses in the vicinity will certainly be affected for the short term - several days at least. I think Monday is a possibility, though it depends on how extensive the asbestos contamination is.

Of course we're going to see reports about the creaky infrastructure and there are going to be questions asked about how the various systems are maintained and whether we're spending enough - short answer is absolutely not overall. The long answer is that it depends on which part of the infrastructure and where in the country we're talking about.

And for those who are calling for the utility to fix things, are those same people going to complain when the utility calls for rate hikes to cover the additional costs of doing that work, or complain about the inconvenience and hassles due to traffic jams because utility work has torn up streets, reduced parking, or limited access to businesses? Count on it.

The sad truth is that this system, along with other energy distribution systems around the country, mass transit, highways, and the air traffic system all need serious investment to assure a safe, efficient, and reliable system. No one wants to tackle these issues, and in many instances, the utility infrastructure is privately owned and operated.

Breaking: Steam Explosion in Midtown Manhattan

There was an explosion and what now appears to be a major steam pipe burst that is causing an ongoing release of steam and smoke. It occurred at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, and the immediate vicinity has been evacuated. A water main may have also been severed with geysers of water spewing into the air along with mud.

I'm going to go out on a limb and note that prior steam explosions of this nature have resulted in asbestos contamination, and it is possible that we might encounter a similar situation.

There are unconfirmed reports of injuries, and there are two wrecked vehicles right where the street has buckled and the steam is pouring out. Additional fire and emergency units have been pouring into the area.

UPDATE:
WCBS880 has a live news feed.

Gothamist is also keeping tabs on the situation.

As for the possibility of an asbestos release due to a steam explosion, a similar incident occurred in 1989. That incident killed three people, wounded 24, and caused widespread damage and contamination from asbestos. Thus far, today's incident does not appear to have caused serious casualties. I hope that proves to be the case.

UPDATE:
4, 5, and 6 trains are bypassing Grand Central Station and traffic disruptions through the area are significant.

Many buildings in Manhattan are served by steam pipes to provide heating and cooling, so that explains why there are even steam pipes. If you've ever walked through the City as a tourist and wondered why there are pipes channeling steam into the sky, that's the reason. It is quite possible that a leak in the pipe, combined with heavy rains, could have caused a flash explosion - the liquid water instantly vaporizing and expanding at a tremendous rate causing an explosion.

UPDATE:
Con Ed has a page dedicated to the steam services it provides. From their FAQ:

The Con Edison Steam Operations is ready to offer you rates competitive with those of alternative sources of energy. Contact us to ask about a negotiated agreement to keep your energy costs down.

We also have an air-conditioning program available for large steam customers. The company already supplies 700,000 tons of steam air conditioning (A/C) load. We offer a reduction of $2.00 per thousand pounds from our summer rate for usage in excess of the first 50,000 pounds of steam for residential customers and the first 250,000 pounds of steam for commercial customers. The city and your business receive an added benefit because our existing steam air conditioning customers reduce the summer electric peak load by approximately 400 megawatts.

Reliable
Con Edison's Steam Operations is committed to providing highly reliable steam service. With an installed capacity of about 13 million pounds per hour, Con Edison maintains the steam production capability to meet forecasted heating and cooling peak loads, plus reserve to cover equipment outages. Our capacity comprises three steam-electric stations, four steam-only stations, and capacity supplied under a long-term contract with the Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Partners.

UPDATE:
Trains in Grand Central itself are running, but getting to Grand Central is going to be tough. Authorities are letting people into Grand Central through the North End Access (Madison and 47th) but other entrances are closed.

UPDATE:
The NYT is covering the incident here.

UPDATE:
Photos of the incident as they're coming in via Flickr.

UPDATE:
Con Ed can't cut the steam off all at once, because that could risk additional explosions elsewhere in the system. So, they've got to slowly cut off the affected area. It will take some time before the incident is under control.

UPDATE:
Curbed is also running updates.

UPDATE:
ABC News is reporting only six injuries in the incident. Considering the circumstances, we're real lucky.

UPDATE:
Other reports are now indicating about 12 injured, but none life threatening. Air quality is now being stressed as a concern - emergency personnel are telling people to stay away from the vicinity. NY Nana at LGF reports that asbestos is a concern, which is just as I had initially suspected.

UPDATE:
The steam has slackened off considerably, and you can now see through the affected area. Many people in the area, including Con Ed and other emergency personnel are not wearing respirators or other breathing apparatus, so if there is a concern about air quality, it's still up in the air literally.

Bill Ritter on ABC is continuing to talk about the structural integrity of nearby buildings. I suspect that the Transportation Department will need to completely rebuild the affected area and utilities will be disrupted.

A vehicle appears to be in the crater, which itself is at least 2-3 lanes wide and just as long.

That video is via Gothamist.

ABC is telling people that if you were in the vicinity of the explosion, you should throw out your clothes and shower.

UPDATE:
People who live in the immediate vicinity of the explosion will probably be out of their homes for the near future - both out of the immediate concern of structural damage to those buildings, and because of possible contamination by asbestos.

Also, I checked in with Legalbgl who noted that from his vantage on the East Side that it instantly reminded him of 9/11, and Ground Zero after the attacks. He's not the only person to make that kind of remark - as many of the news reports are commenting on the increased scrutiny over the air quality that comes as a direct result of what happened on 9/11 and the resulting cleanup and recovery operations.

UPDATE:
More video footage here. Con Ed is on the scene, and it also looks like they're starting to evaluate the situation. Con Ed hasn't found any problems with the electrical system right now, and testing is underway for asbestos - that will take a few hours for a definitive answer. Crews are taking no chances and the Con Ed spokesperson is saying that their workers are wearing protective gear as a precaution and people should not be in the area until the test results come back.

No word as yet as to the source of the explosion. They'll be checking nearby equipment for collateral damage as well. There is no electrical outage at this time.

UPDATE:
Bloomberg presser underway at 8:21 EDT. He says that at 5:57 that an explosion was reported at 41st and Lex. No reason to believe anything other than it was an infrastructure failure - no terrorism or criminality. A 24-inch steam pipe, installed in 1924, failed. Most likely cause of failure - cold water getting into the pipe.

The presser has been interrupted by sirens in the background.

UPDATE:
Presser back underway, as he repeats prior information, 1 person died of cardiac arrest at Bellvue Hospital, and about 20 people injured. Verizon has lost some phone service. No word on when street closures will be lifted.

The City will assume that there was an asbestos release. The cleanup will depend on what the tests find. There will be a frozen zone centered on the incident location, which will be adjusted as necessary. Tests will continue and the City does not know what is actually in the air.

UPDATE:
Ed Driscoll also weighs in with coverage and notes the creaky infrastructure in the City.

UPDATE:
NBC News is reporting that if you were in the vicinity of the explosion, you should wash yourself thoroughly and place your clothes in a plastic bag for later testing if the City's tests reveal that asbestos was emitted in the course of the incident.

UPDATE:
Dan Riehl makes an interesting observation. There are more people taking photos and video of the incident than actual journalists covering the situation. Some of those folks have already uploaded their photos as noted by the Flickr link above.

UPDATE:
The NYT notes that those buried steam pipes are a hidden hazard. We get that reminder every decade or so when one of these pipes explodes into our consciousness. Some utilities buried underground in some parts of Manhattan are not even mapped, and since 9/11 there has been an effort to map out where utilities are in Manhattan because of the need to install new systems - fiber optic links for telcom and upgraded services. Knowing where things are buried is crucial to avoid nasty surprises.

Business Week has more.

United Nations Changing Addresses

The United Nations building along the East River in Turtle Bay is going to be undergoing significant rehabilitation and renovations to major systems. A significant number of workers will be moving to a nearby office tower, to help facilitation renovations:

The United Nations is moving at least 700 employees and 180,000 square feet of office space to 305 East 36th Street, according to a report in Real Estate Weekly.

A spokesman for the UN confirmed to Real Estate Weekly that the move will begin next year, as the famed UN Building undergoes an extensive renovation. The renovation of the building should last through 2015.

The UN employees will move into a 79-year-old building known as the Albano Building, which is just off Second Avenue and only blocks from its regular home. The UN's new home is a drab Class B building that needs an upgrade. The UN will foot the entire bill for all renovations.

The spokesman said it hasn't been determined which offices will move and which will stay during the six-year renovation. A source told Real Estate Weekly the rents for its new home will be under $50 per square foot, an inexpensive option during a time when Manhattan office rents are at all-time highs.

The price tag is not entirely clear, but the US pays a signficant portion of the UN budget, though the costs may be close to the budgeted amount because the UN is not taking Class A space.

This renovation project has ballooned in costs from when it was first proposed. The building needs upgrades to heating, air conditioning, electrical, and telecommunications systems, along with asbestos removal. The renovations and work will include:

The renovation of the UN headquarters will begin with the construction of a new conference building, a roughly 100,000 s/f temporary structure to be built on the campus’s green lawn to the west of the Secretariat Building. That structure will provide facilities for the General Assembly while the governing body’s normal meeting space is renovated. The work is scheduled to begin next year, with construction on the Secretariat Building to start soon after. Rumors have circulated in the Manhattan construction industry that a deal is close with the construction company Skanska to carry out the work.

The UN solicited bids from construction firms months ago but according to Schmidt only received three responses, an indication of not only how few companies there are that can tackle a project of such scope and complexity but also of how thinly stretched both the city’s construction industry and the supply of materials and equipment has become amid the current building boom in Manhattan.

The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 233

We owe the workers at Ground Zero more than being simply the new liquidators. Instead, we get CYA and spreading the blame around by former EPA head Christie Todd Whitman, who was grilled over her agency's handling of events following 9/11, particularly her statements about air quality in the days and weeks following the collapse of the towers.

There are many workers who worked on the pile and in and around Ground Zero who are suffering a variety of respiratory ailments, and many are attributing those ailments to the time spent in and around Ground Zero.

Whitman, of course, denies that the EPA misled the public, and then turns around and claims that others were responsible for sending mixed messages - Rudy Giuliani being one. She claims that Rudy didn't do a good enough job of requiring firefighters and others working at the site to wear protective garb.

Whitman blames former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his staff for not adequately protecting police officers, firefighters and other workers at Ground Zero.

Whitman claims that the city should have made the workers wear respirators. She says her agency called the mayor's staff daily and was frustrated when the workers didn't wear them.

But Giuliani, who is now running for president, disputes Whitman's claim. A deputy mayor of his is calling Whitman's remarks "revisionist at best."

Those working at the pile didn't have access to the respirators in the early going because of the numbers involved, but as work progressed on the site, some workers took to not wearing them because they were hot and uncomfortable. At some point, there is personal responsibility for those at the site, but the government also owes the workers a duty of care that has not been followed.

Whitman also says that she was making distinctions between those working on the Pile and those who lived and worked nearby - as proximity being a key factor in exposure.

The problem is that the EPA did mislead the public about the air quality in Lower Manhattan in the days and months following the attacks. Anyone who walked through the area could not help but note the sickly metallic odor emenating from Ground Zero as the fires continued to burn deep inside the pile and the smoke continued to rise from the ashes for weeks afterwards. The ash and pulverized materials from the collapsing towers covered everything, and scientists are still trying to analyze the materials to determine long term risks and hazards.

The EPA also misled about the small number of samples that showed unsafe levels of asbestos in the air. It turns out that the large number of samples were taken from apartments that had already been decontaminated:

The Government Accountability Office report says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed to disclose that 80 percent of air samples taken to test the safety of 4,000 lower Manhattan apartments were taken after the residences had been professionally decontaminated, The New York Times reported Thursday.

So, based on those numbers, thousands of others living in the area opted not to clean their residences, believing that they were not at risk. Lovely.

The Battle for Ground Zero, Part 211

While human remains have been found over the past few months in the course of clearing out underground utility vaults and then the area of the access road into the Pit, no one appeared to expect large pieces of structural steel from the collapsed Twin Towers.

Yet that's exactly what was found.

The surprising discovery of World Trade Center steel in the past week raises more questions about what was left at ground zero in the cleanup after the 2001 attacks and how the service road was created in the first place.

The steel, found during a dig for human remains that has yielded nearly 300 bones in the past three months, includes two heavy beams that were stacked horizontally in the landfill, as if moved and placed there, a person with direct knowledge of the discovery told The Associated Press. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss the findings and insisted on anonymity.

The discovery was confirmed by officials for the city and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owned the trade center.

The columns were about 18 feet long and perhaps 60 tons each. Officials believe the steel columns, located a week ago just 2 to 3 feet below the surface of the road, were deliberately set there at some point during the cleanup, perhaps to stabilize heavy machinery in use at the time.

Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler, who is overseeing the search for remains, declined to speculate on how the steel might have ended up where it did.

Digging was halted in the immediate area surrounding the steel columns until the Port Authority removes the steel. The columns will be put into storage at a hangar at Kennedy International Airport, agency spokesman Steve Coleman said Wednesday. The hangar stores all sorts of artifacts from the trade center, including what was believed to be the last column removed from the site in May 2002.

Did no one notice that some pieces of the towers ended up in the fill used to support the access road? The NYC DDC has much explaining to do and this further brings into question the handling of remains and debris removed from the site.

Cesar Borja, whose son became the very public face of those seeking more aid for Ground Zero workers afflicted by ailments connected with service at Ground Zero, was laid to rest in Queens yesterday.

Borja, who was awaiting a lung transplant, died Tuesday just hours before his son Ceasar attended President Bush's State of the Union address as a guest of Clinton. Ceasar, 21, hopes to meet with Bush to discuss the ongoing health problems of workers who spent time in the World Trade Center rubble after the terrorist attack.

The elder Borja's body was brought into St. Josaphat's Church in the Bayside area by a police honor guard on a brisk winter morning. The officers carried his flag-draped casket into the church as police bagpipers played and one family member collapsed in tears.

"It's so sad, but we are proud for him," said family friend Alicia Orca before the hour-long service began.

Cesar Borja, 52, worked double-shifts three times a week at ground zero, according to his son. The 20-year veteran developed the "World Trade Center cough" shortly after retiring in 2003, and his condition deteriorated until his death from pulmonary fibrosis, the son said.

Tom Carlstrom, a retired EMS worker who also worked at ground zero, was among those who attended.

"It's kind of frustrating," he said outside the funeral. "The government and the city are just not acknowledging what the truth is about what we breathed in down there."

Borja did meet with President Bush, who committed $25 million to health care programs for those suffering from ailments related to service at Ground Zero, and also signed an excuse note for Borja's sister explaining why she was missing class.

UPDATE:
OSHA has hit two of the contractors working the Ground Zero site for infractions relating to exposure to toxic dust in the course of the decontamination and deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank building. The fines are minimal, but point to larger problems in assessing health, safety, and risk factors relating to Ground Zero work:

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration quietly has hit two companies with violations for leaving workers exposed while the ruined former Deutsche Bank building on the edge of the site was being cleaned.

The potential fines are minimal - but the act was yet another sign that the federal bureaucracy is acknowledging that even now, Ground Zero is a minefield of poisons.

Demolition contractor John Galt Inc. was cited on Jan. 23 and security company Tyler-Conner Inc. was cited Jan. 17 after OSHA inspectors discovered workers weren’t properly wearing "fit-tested" respiratory masks while removal of asbestos inside the tower was underway.

The citations, all termed "serious," allege violations were discovered both inside the tower and in a loading area where workers were handling bags of dust-laden debris.

Inspectors said guards could be exposed to dust containing asbestos, lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, PCBs and other toxins if a collapse occurred during demolition. But they were never told how to protect themselves, the agency alleges.

Officials at John Galt, which faces a $1,600 fine, and Tyler-Conner, which was fined $1,050, did not return calls seeking comment. Both companies can contest the fines.

The Battle for Ground Zero, Part 208

Planning for Towers 2, 3, and 4 continue with the architects working in a collaborative effort to get the projects moving. At the same time, more details are emerging about the "survivor's staircase" and what the Port Authority, the architects, and Silverstein are looking to do.

As some Ground Zero workers are holding a vigil outside a New York hospital in support of one of their comrades in arms, Cesar Borja, who is suffering from pulmonary fibrosis, other grim work continues - the search for additional remains in areas that have not been searched along the access road and underground utility vaults in the area surrounding Ground Zero.

Calls continue for the military's disaster mortuary team to lead the search for remains, and others call the ongoing cleanup plan a sham. I think both views are entitled to their positions, though I disagree with both.

Meanwhile, the EPA is going to be retesting the air around Ground Zero.

Federal authorities began collecting names Tuesday from lower Manhattan residents who want their offices and apartments tested or retested for toxic 9/11 dust.

The Environmental Protection Agency will register commercial and residential spaces in lower Manhattan until March 30. After the registration period closes, the actual testing will begin.

The $7 million effort, billed as the final air testing program from the 2001 attacks, has been criticized by some New York lawmakers for not going far enough to ensure public health.

The EPA will specifically test the air and dust in buildings near the World Trade Center site for four contaminants linked to the towers’ debris: asbestos, lead, man-made fibers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chemicals formed during fires.

UN Renovation Costs Skyrockets

The cost to renovate the iconic UN building in New York City is now expected to cost $1.9 billion.

The U.N. General Assembly yesterday approved a top-to-bottom renovation of its landmark Manhattan headquarters building that is expected to cost $1.9 billion and take seven years.

The main U.N. building, a 39-story aluminum, glass and marble tower that houses the U.N. secretariat, is considered an outstanding example of modern architecture.

But after 54 years, its roof leaks, it is riddled with asbestos and it lacks fire detectors, a sprinkler system or other emergency safety devices.

Renovation was first envisioned in 2002, with the cost seen at that time to be about $1 billion.

But the price tag has since soared, due to construction delays, security improvements, and failure to convince the state Legislature to approve a new office building to provide temporary space for staff during the work.

The project is to be financed by increases in the dues paid by all U.N. member nations on a sliding scale. That will put the poorest nations' share at a little under $2 million each. The United States, which picks up the tab for 22 percent of the regular U.N. budget, will pay more than $400 million.

That's an increase over earlier estimates, which as of last year were $1.2 billion, and is so far out of whack that the UN could simply knock down the entire building and start from scratch.

Consider that 7WTC was built for less than that. In fact, it cost less than half. $700 million was spent to build the gleaming skyscraper in Lower Manhattan, and we're supposed to believe that the renovations at the UN building in Midtown are going to cost double?

Something is rotten in Turtle Bay. And it's the UN that is a veritable cesspool of corruption, kickbacks, and cost projections that are out of whack for what needs to be done with the building.

The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 179

Steve Cuozzo points out something that should have been obvious. The only reason that these new remains were discovered was because of rebuilding at Ground Zero required excavation and clearing of the section where remains are now being discovered.

Victims' families have every right to be appalled that their loved ones' remains somehow went undiscovered for five years. But to try holding up reconstruction in favor of an ill-defined search by under- equipped city agencies is ignorant and illogical.

There's good reason to ask how the Fire Department missed the remains under the manholes years ago.

But if the PA tunnel job had started sooner, the mistake would have been caught - a fact that should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with recent local history.

We have two major construction projects to thank for uncovering precious remains that otherwise would have remained secrets of the Manhattan schist.

In the 1990s, contractors for a new federal courthouse found a forgotten, 18th-century African-American burial ground near City Hall. Last year, MTA work crews stumbled on a Revolutionary-era stone wall while digging a new subway tunnel under Battery Park.

Fears have been raised that there might be more human remains in two ruined nearby buildings - 130 Cedar St. and CUNY's Fiterman Hall.

Of course, if all parties involved had not twiddled their thumbs for five years, but rather made honest attempts to take the eyesores down, there would not still be any question about it.

There are also renewed questions over the pace of the initial cleanup.

There are still ongoing serious questions about the health condition of thousands affected directly by the collapsed towers and the cleanup. Some of the questions will be litigated in court following the decision last week to allow those cases to proceed.

The question that arises in all these cases is straightforward: Can a link between the dust and disease be proved with scientific certainty? The answer is anything but simple.

“Certainty is a word we always dance around,” said Joseph Graziano, associate dean for research at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. For him, searching for the cause of disease is like developing film. “At first you see a faint image of what the real picture is,” Dr. Graziano said, “and then, over time, you see it with much more clarity. In these relatively early times, the image is still faint.”

It can take decades to approach any degree of certainty. For instance, only after years of observation did doctors agree that there was a strong link between asbestos and diseases like asbestosis and mesothelioma.

In legal cases, “a reasonable degree of medical certainty” is considered the gold standard in making a causal connection. Last week, a federal judge cleared the way for thousands of workers’ lawsuits to go to trial. When the cases are heard, any proof that does not meet that legal standard is likely to be challenged.

But outside the courtroom, scientists say, even a less rigorous link could be sufficient to warrant expanding the range of illnesses covered by treatment programs, and to serve as the basis for issuing cautions to people in high-risk groups. When the health effects are too new or the evidence is too vague for a strong link, lesser indicators like the concurrence of different studies have to be relied on.

UPDATE:
Still more remains have been found at Ground Zero, and Take Back the Memorial is not happy about that. Ladi_pooh notes that 36 fragments were recovered today. I expect that dozens, if not hundreds more will be found in the vicinity of the area where the access road is situated - because that area was not searched before the road was built in order to clear the rest of the site.

Meanwhile, art from children of 9/11 victims will be donated to the 9/11 museum.

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center, spitzer, silverstein, mount sinai, respiratory ailment, wtc cough, bloomberg.

The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 169

The Port Authority is scheduled to vote on the conceptual agreements outlining the rebuilding at Ground Zero. Til now, the agreements were verbal commitments. The PA vote would put teeth into those commitments and push the rebuilding process forward.

However, things aren't all rosy. Pataki's disappointed in PA Chairman Coscia's refusal to situate Port Authority offices in the Freedom Tower. Figures.

The Post reports that the Port Authority is engaging in outreach with many of the companies that once called the WTC home, and some do not object to moving into the Freedom Tower.

"We're not certain how our staff would react, but we would definitely consider returning there," said Dave Hannaford, CFO of Mancini Duffy, an architectural and design firm that once had 25,000 square feet of space in the south tower and is now at Union Square.

"We were one of the original tenants of the World Trade Center," Hannaford said.

"It was an address recognized around the world - and it had prestige. I would hope that the Port Authority reaches out to the former tenants before they begin leasing the space."

PA spokesman Steve Coleman said that outreach has already begun.

Meanwhile, a coroner's guide has been released to help medical examiners look for symptoms and findings that can be attributed to time spent at Ground Zero, including asbestos, concrete dust, bone fragments, and other debris.

The federal government is in the process of drafting guidelines for dealing with the health crises faced by Ground Zero workers. The Daily News has more, including the fact that there was insufficient data:

The problem, the draft says, is there are not enough scientific studies - or autopsies of dead people - to make strong links.

"Data does not yet exist to quantify relationships between WTC exposures and diseases causing death," says the 23-page draft released yesterday.

The Daily News has exhaustively chronicled the plight of the ailing heroes of 9/11, and a recent study by the Mount Sinai Medical Center found that up to 70% of Ground Zero responders suffered health problems.

A spokesman for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health emphasized the document was released to get feedback, and could change.

Many of those who toiled at Ground Zero for months on end were in good health before their service at Ground Zero, but now are suffering from a range of ailments, particularly respiratory problems. James Zadroga's parents are not amused by the fact that one of the authors of this draft was New York City's top medical official, Dr. Stephen Friedman, who challenged that link made by the doctor who autopsied James after he died in New Jersey. (Earlier coverage here and here.)

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center, spitzer, silverstein, mount sinai, respiratory ailment, wtc cough, bloomberg.

The New Liquidators

Are we witnessing another uncomfortable repeat of history? It certainly seems that there are some striking parallels between the way the US government is handling the health of those workers who answered the call to clear Ground Zero and those who did the same at Chernobyl 20 years ago. April 28, 1986 marked the date that Chernobyl's nuclear power plant number 4 exploded, releasing clouds of radioactive materials into the atmosphere and causing extensive damage the area. The first firefighters arriving on the scene had no idea what they were up against, and they quickly succumbed to massive doses of radiation poisoning. The Soviet government quickly marshaled together a huge force of soldiers and conscripts to undertake the
massive task of extinguishing the fires and creating a containment facility for the devastated reactor building. It took more than a week to extinguish the fires.

Those people who sought to contain the fires and radiation came to be known as liquidators. Many had no idea what they were dealing with and soldiered on to complete the task of enclosing the destroyed nuclear reactor in a concrete sarcophagus that would hopefully contain the nuclear materials still present at the
site. The soldiers swarmed the nearby countryside trying to gather together nuclear materials so that they can be disposed of.

The concrete sarcophagus was built and the immediate danger of further radioactive releases from the destroyed reactor was contained. The liquidators went on with their lives although some unknown number came down with illnesses that could be linked back to their time cleaning up the Chernobyl site. No one quite knows the numbers who succumbed from Chernobyl because the Soviets desperately sought to hide the truth not only from the West, but from their own people. There are no accurate numbers of those killed or injured from Chernobyl - the numbers range from under 100 to the tens of thousands.

Meanwhile, a world away and nearly two decades later, on September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged more than a dozen other buildings in Lower Manhattan. Millions of square feet of office space was in ruins or contaminated by debris from the collapsed towers. A huge rescue and recovery effort was mounted by emergency personnel and construction workers. Fires burned at the site for months, with smoke, gases, and particulates pouring from the pile. All through this time, those workers worked around the clock to find remains so that loved ones could gain some semblance of closure and clear the site.

Those people worked on the Pile for months at end until the nearly 2 million tons of rubble, remains, and debris was cleared from the site.

Throughout that time, the workers were assured that the air was within safety limits and that as long as they used respirators and other safety equipment they would not suffer any ill effects.

We now know that the EPA should not have made definitive statements assuring workers that the air was safe to breathe. It was not. The air was contaminated with all sorts of materials, including volatile organic compounds, pulverized concrete, and
asbestos. Respirators and other safety masks were either eschewed or their utility limited in dealing with all the contaminants.

So it is worrisome that we now hear about cases of those working on the Pile suffering the ill-effects from their endeavors. Some have become permanently disabled due to respiratory ailments, and in one instance, a New Jersey medical examiner ruled that police officer James Zadroga died as a result of working at the Pile. Zadroga spent 470 hours working on the Pile.

Some have made excuses their illnesses noting the difficult job of tracing the source of a variety of ailments to exposure at Ground Zero. City, state and
federal law make it incredibly difficult for some to obtain needed health care or disability payments because the statute of limitations comes into play. The City Health Department is currently tracking 70,000 people to see whether they are suffering ill effects from exposure to Ground Zero contaminants. A study at Mount Sinai Medical Center has found that 70% of those working at Ground Zero have suffered some form of respiratory ailment as a result of working at Ground Zero. That could be anything from respiratory failure to nagging coughs or other issues. 61% of those who now suffer from these ailments were not sick prior to their service at Ground Zero.

Mount Sinai Medical Center doctors - who said the study provides conclusive proof that the WTC site caused illnesses - also found 61 percent of first responders and cleanup workers had no health problems before 9/11 and became ill after working downtown.

Another 9 percent had pre-existing health ailments - such as asthma - but became sicker from working at or near the collapsed trade centers.

One-third had "abnormal" lung capacity - more than double the national rate. And the number of workers who came down with pneumonia also increased significantly, the report said.

The men and women who worked on the Pile and completed this task deserve to be treated better than the liquidators who cleaned up Chernobyl. They should get honest and unvarnished information from all levels of the government about the air conditions at the site. There should be recognition that some of those at the site eschewed the use of the respirators and other safety equipment and that this may have contributed to the declining health conditions of some workers. And
most importantly, ensuring that they have access to medical care and treatment for Ground Zero related ailments should be the absolute minimum. This shouldn't be about cost. It should be about honoring those who did the hard work of clearing the site of
the worst terrorist attack on US soil and remembering that those attacks are still claiming victims.

The City has announced a plan to deal with the health crisis, and includes guidelines for identifying ailments relating to work at Ground Zero. That's an important step, as is further study to determine not only what is causing the ailments facing these people, but finding treatments and cures to these potentially fatal conditions.

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, pataki, LMDC, mount sinai, respiratory ailment, wtc cough, bloomberg.

The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 135

Sunk costs for a sunken memorial.

Bloomberg this week suggested dropping plans for the underground museum as well as a visitors center - and putting the exhibition space and visitor services in the lobby of the planned 1,776-foot Freedom Tower.

Bloomberg's proposal is on the table, John Whitehead, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and WTC Memorial Foundation's outgoing chairman, said yesterday.

Using the skyscraper is "one of the options that we will be considering now," Whitehead said.

To undo any underground elements would remove a source of great concern for some 9/11 family members, historic preservation groups and safety experts.

Many have argued that the underground design would harm the historic remnants of the twin towers - and could even trap visitors in the event of a terror attack or fire.

Meanwhile, federal and state environmental protection agencies are calling for a halt in the deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank building. That building has been the focus of controversy for quite some time now because of the ongoing discovery of human remains as the site was being prepared for deconstruction.

An inspector from the Environmental Protection Agency witnessed the removal yesterday of debris from the building that had not been properly cleaned, said Mary Mears, a spokeswoman for the agency.

"This was certainly not the first time," she said. "Now that it appears to be a pattern, we feel compelled to ask them to stop work until we can fix the problem in general."

Deconstruction of the 41-story former bank tower at 130 Liberty Street is not set to begin until next month. The current work involves abatement of asbestos and other hazardous substances.

Besides the federal agency, the state's Department of Labor and the city's Department of Environmental Protection are monitoring the project.

The NY Times reports that new studies show that people working at Ground Zero after the collapse of the towers may have higher rates of lung ailments. The use of various masks may have lessened the likelyhood of getting sick, but was no guarantee.

The 9/11 Death Toll Grows

Rescue and recovery workers who worked at Ground Zero on and after the collapse of the towers have come down with a variety of ailments that may be attributed to breathing in the debris in the air.

Some have died. Many other are ill and may have contracted illnesses due to their exposures to Ground Zero contaminants. These people are no less victims of the al Qaeda terrorists than those that died directly in the towers or planes on 9/11.

The city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which is tracking the health of 71,000 people exposed to Sept. 11 dust and debris, said this week that it is too soon to say whether any deaths or illnesses among its enrolled members are linked to trade center exposure.

But Robin Herbert, who directs a medical-monitoring program at Mount Sinai Medical Center for more than 14,000 Ground Zero workers, said "certainly it is not inconceivable" that a person could die of respiratory disease related to Sept. 11.

Karin DeShore said she doesn't need scientists to tell her what caused the death of her friend, Keller, 41. DeShore was a Fire Department captain who took Keller to the trade center on Sept. 11, and barely escaped the south tower's collapse.

"He came back coughing" two days later, she said. Faeth said that Keller, who worked as an EMT out of a battalion at a Queens hospital, told him that he coughed up debris so violently he could barely breathe on Sept. 11, and later developed emphysema.

Keller went home to Levittown on medical leave in March. He died on June 23 of heart disease complicated by bronchitis and emphysema, the Nassau County Medical Examiner's Office said.

The medical opinions may differ on when we will be able to determine whether someone died directly as a result of exposure to the air at Ground Zero, but the appearance of a growing number of cases is very troubling for all involved.

David Worby, an attorney representing more than 5,000 plaintiffs suing those who supervised the cleanup over their illnesses, said 21 of his clients have died of Sept. 11-related diseases since the middle of 2004. He said he was not authorized to release their names, but said he represented people who toiled at Ground Zero, at the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island where trade center debris was moved and at the city morgue.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," Worby said. "Many, many more people are going to die from the aftermath of the toxicity."

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., whose congressional district includes the trade center site, blames some of the illnesses on the failure to provide some workers with proper masks or respiratory protection. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found in 2004 that one in five workers wore respirators while they worked at the site to block out the dust laced with asbestos, glass fibers, pulverized cement and other debris.

Many of those working at the site found that the respirators were unwieldy and uncomfortable to wear and limited their ability to work at the site.

There are a number of lawsuits already in the pipeline suing the City, Port Authority, various state and federal agencies, and other entities for the failure to provide proper air monitoring and for a lack of proper protections. The NY Daily News has also covered this heartbreaking story.

UPDATE 1/17/2006:
The NY Post reports that two EMTs died under similar circumstances, although without the fanfare and news reporting associated with the death of a police officer last week due to illnesses associated with Ground Zero work.

The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 75

Explosive new allegations have surfaced over the weekend and now drape the front pages of the New York Daily News:

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee yesterday called for an investigation to determine whether billions in 9/11 recovery aid to New York were spent properly.

"I will ask Congress," said Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.). "I think it's important for New York and Washington to see what happened."

King was reacting to yesterday's first installment of a Daily News investigative series that has uncovered waste, fraud and mismanagement in the $21.4 billion federal aid package to help the city recover from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"In the months after Sept. 11, the intention was to get the job done and worry about the details later," said King. "Now we should look to see how well the job was done and see if money was given to those who didn't need it or weren't entitled to it."

King said an inquiry was needed to make sure any abuse is "not used as an excuse not to give New York money in the future."

And it gets worse as the Daily News reports that mobsters tried to angle their way into doing business related to WTC cleanup. The good news is that Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau had been tapping the phones of the involved parties:

In fact, organized crime and corrupt subcontractors turned the terrorist attack into a windfall, according to a four-month Daily News investigation of the federal government's $21.4 billion 9/11 disaster recovery program.

Down at Ground Zero, the Luchese family, the Colombos, the Gambinos and even the New Jersey-based DeCavalcantes all made out, according to court documents, government records and interviews.

They divvied up Ground Zero the way the mob carved up Las Vegas in the old days.

Unbeknown to Monchik and his business associates, all of the calls were being tracked by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau's office.

The DA had been looking into corruption in the asbestos removal industry and happened to run into the blizzard of phone calls in the hours following the terrorist attacks.

The federal funding for WTC rebuilding and assitance totaled more than $21.9 billion. Of the $458 million for the FEMA funded cleanup, at least $63.2 million went to companies accused of mob ties.

In other words, more than 1/7 of the money for the cleanup went to companies accused of mob ties. Some of the problems may be attributed to the speed in which the contracts were let - the need to remove debris from the site and cleanup the surrounding areas were so overwhelming that normal contracting procedures were not utilized except where practicable (which didn't happen).

With Congress looking to bail out Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, the fears of mobsters and corrupt officials throughout the region getting sticky fingers are a real and distinct possibility, especially given the shady history of Louisiana politicans.

UPDATE:
Also noting the NY Daily News report, and the ensuing commentary: The Subjective Scribe who thinks that the party in power should be held accountable (hint - the GOP), Michelle Malkin who lays the blame on Democrats in NY and NJ, The Reclusive Antiquarian, and BizzyBlog

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center.

The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 74

Goldman Sachs broke ground yesterday on the $2.4 billion headquarters that will be build adjacent to the WTC complex. Some say that this will jumpstart the Lower Manhattan market. I'm not so sure. Building at Ground Zero, coupled with demolishing Fiterman Hall and the Deutsche Bank building, will jumpstart the market.

Meanwhile, a panel of reviewers of the 9/11 museum materials are concerned over just how explicit the displays should be.

A panel of citizens who volunteered to review proposals for a 9/11 memorial museum was split over how explicit exhibits of the attack should be, a report yesterday showed.
Some agreed that the events of the day should not be "sanitized" or "sugar-coated," while others felt that immersing visitors in the attack "would only elicit anger."

Museum planners proposed an alternate route through the museum that would bypass the most graphic displays.

Some relatives of those who died in the attack want the events of 9/11 shown without any punches being pulled.

The museum would include significant mangled pieces of the Twin Towers, rescue vehicles and other artifacts.

Are you kidding me? The whole point of the museum should elicit anger. Anger at those who committed such heinous acts - the Islamic terrorists who hijacked four planes and crashed two of them into the World Trade Center, destroying it and nearly 3,000 people in the process. If you aren't angered by the violence done to our fellow citizens on 9/11, something is wrong. If the museum pulls its punches on this point, something is wrong.

Do you honestly think that if someone designed a Holocaust museum, but left out all the important but gory details, like that the Nazis systematically sought to eliminate all the Jews from their dominion, created huge death camps specifically for that purpose, kept detailed records of their actions, and obtained huge stockpiles of clothes, possessions, gold pulled from the teeth of the dead, hair from the dead, and huge piles of shoes that would be acceptable?

If going to a Holocaust Museum, whether it is Yad Vashem in Israel or the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, and you weren't angered by what the Nazis did, the museum curators did something wrong. Sure, the exhibits will make you sad, cry, and feel the pain of those who died, but the exhibits should make you angry that more wasn't done to stop the genocide sooner. It should anger you at the inhumanity of man.

It should make you angry at the Nazis who committed such acts, and those that obediently followed such inhumane decisions.

A museum recounting the 9/11 terrorist attacks must focus on the inhumanity of those who committed the attacks. The purposeful attack on a civilian population that was designed to kill 10 times as many people as it did. And that this attack was part of a larger worldwide campaign against the US and Western values.

Elsewhere, Sen. Clinton branded a plan to test for pollutants released by the collapse of the towers as inadequate.

The feds yesterday unveiled a new plan to test buildings near Ground Zero for dangerous dust from the Twin Towers collapse — but Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton branded it inadequate.

It calls for testing the area south of Canal Street and west of Pike and Allen streets for asbestos, lead and other contaminants — and to clean up areas where too much dust is found.

But Clinton said the Environmental Protection Agency plan fails to deal with "major problems" because it doesn't include testing for possible contamination in homes and workplaces north of Canal Street or in Brooklyn.

Clinton also protested the EPA's plan to disband an expert panel on Dec. 13, before it has a chance to identify "unmet public health needs and recommend any steps to further minimize the risks associated" with 9/11's aftermath.

One problem is trying to determine what contamination was caused by the collapse of the towers, and what was already preexisting. The testing was to rely on one kind of chemical marker, but there is a dispute over whether that is sufficient, or even accurate.

UPDATE:
In a related development to the ongoing issues at Ground Zero, the 9/11 Memorial in Shanksville, PA has been redesigned:

The new design for the memorial, to be built on the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, crash near Shanksville, features most of the details of the original, which was unveiled in September after a worldwide design competition.

But a round, bowl-shaped area would replace a ''Crescent of Embrace,'' a crescent-shaped cluster of maple trees.

In September, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., criticized the design in a letter to the National Park Service Director, saying many questioned the shape ''because of the crescent's prominent use as a symbol in Islam -- and the fact that the hijackers were radical Islamists.''

Paul Murdoch, president of Paul Murdoch Architects, which designed the memorial, had called the criticism of the crescent an ''unfortunate diversion,'' but said they were sensitive to the concerns.

In both old and new versions of the design, a tower with 40 wind chimes welcomes visitors to the site, where they can then walk to a large circular field ringed by 40 groves of red and sugar maple trees, symbolizing the 40 passengers and crew who died. There will also be pedestrian trails, a plaza from which to view the crash site, and a white marble wall with the victims' names inscribed.

UPDATE:
A link to the updated design can be found here.

UPDATE:
Also noticing the changes to the Flight 93 9/11 memorial: Michelle Malkin, LGF, Flopping Aces.

A couple folks complain that the whole crescent kerfuffle was much ado over nothing. They include Froth Slosh B'Gosh and A Stitch in Haste. While a crescent is a perfectly valid architectural form, the particular shape used in the previous version was a near perfect match for the Islamic crescent. It's orientation on the site also appeared to link back to the city of Mecca.

UPDATE:
Back at Ground Zero, Mayor Bloomberg seems determined on trying to undermine any progress made thus far on the master plan and rebuilding.

It's not that there's anything wrong with building new housing downtown or, for that matter, with the construction of new market-rate housing anywhere else in the city. But as the tragedy of Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn shows, once the "affordable housing" pressure groups and their allies in the Bloomberg administration get done chewing up and spitting out a proposed residential development in this city, the result is that private developers are forced to create new subsidized units. These create all the same problems that the state has been trying, however slowly, to phase out in rent-regulation in New York, such as empty-nesters holding on to absurdly under-priced three-bedroom apartments, landlords with little incentive to improve their properties, tenants with little incentive to move into the free market for housing, even if they can afford it.

No wonder that Mr. Silverstein is so far sticking to office space.

UPDATE 12/1/2005:
Error Theory suggests that the Islamic theme from the earlier design hasn't gone away, and that the memorial honors the memories of the hijackers as well as the victims:

There are still 44 translucent blocks on the flight path to the crash site, matching the total number of dead, instead of just the forty translucent blocks that are dedicated to the forty murdered Americans. Lastly, the Tower of Voices part of the memorial is still an Islamic prayer-time sundial.

There were four hijackers on board Flight 93. They murdered those 40 passengers and crew and should not be honored in any way, shape, or form. The only mention of their existence should come as a result of detailing their actions to murder those on board, and the plan to murder those on the ground at their intended target.

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center.

The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 61

Workers preparing to deconstruct the Deutsche Bank Building did uncover human remains on the roof. The remains were found several weeks ago and the Medical Examiner's office made the confirmation today. Talk about a grim milestone. More than four years after the attacks, and they're still finding body parts and fragments.

Workers on the roof of the skyscraper, the former Deutsche Bank Building at 130 Liberty Street, came across the fragments last month as they were cleaning gravel in preparation for the building's demolition. The 10 small pieces of bone, ranging from half an inch to two inches, some perhaps from a rib cage, were turned over to the medical examiner's office.

"Our rigorous protocols automatically assume findings of this nature to be human remains and therefore require that they be treated with the utmost care, dignity and respect," said Stefan Pryor, president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which owns 130 Liberty Street.

Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner, Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, said yesterday that preliminary information about the discoveries, made on Sept. 22, 26 and 29, "is that the bones are human."

Protective scaffolding will be erected around the building beginning next week. The demolition of the building is all the more difficult because of contamination from the collapsing WTC towers. Asbestos, mold, and other contaminants made it prohibitively expensive to try and reopen the building.

There are still 1,152 victims whose remains have never been identified.

It does not end.

9/11 workers got some much-needed relief from Senator Hillary Clinton who save a $125 million fund for health care that could have been folded back into the federal budget. The money was appropriated by the federal government after 9/11 but has gone unspent thus far. The money is essentially a contingency fund in case workers who were at Ground Zero during the cleanup and recovery come down with ailments associated with the cleanup.

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center.

The Deutsche Bank Demolition, WTC Rally, and More

It's now after 2PM and the local radio station websites are silent about the progress of the protests. If someone has pictures or video of the protests, plug your links here. You'll probably beat the mainstream news by hours. Where are the quotes to go with stories for the evening news? Surely someone said something important about the proposed IFC. Surely some reporter could report on the crowd size - to say either it was large (and support the idea that the IFC is in trouble because of large opposition) or that it was sparsely attended (to support the idea that it was a fringe group attacking the IFC plans). Alas, there is no report whatsoever.

Oh, and get this - CBS seems to think that it's only one person who thinks that the IFC will have a political slant. The headline reads: One Woman Says Freedom Museum Will Have A Political Slant - as provided in a related link to a story on the rally against the IFC. Sorry, but that doesn't wash. The IFC will have a political slant. No matter which side of this debate that you find yourself on, it will have a slant. Pro-US, Anti-US, whatever. The CBS story makes it seem like Debra Burlingame is the one with the agenda, when it is the IFC's makeup and agenda that has serious issues.

While protestors rally against the IFC at Ground Zero, the slow pace of reconstruction is evident with the lack of progress at either the Fiterman Hall or Deutsche Bank buildings, both of which need to be demolished due to extensive damage and contamination. The Times focuses on the difficulties of the Deutsche Bank demolition due to the contamination, but aren't pushing for the demolition to be sped up.

Deutsche Bank declared the structure a total loss. Two of its insurers, the Allianz Global Risks U.S. Insurance Company and the AXA Corporate Solutions Insurance Company, maintained that it could be cleaned and salvaged. They battled in court.

Under a 2004 settlement, the development corporation acquired the property. Demolition has since been delayed as the scope of needed environmental safeguards and contaminant cleanup has grown. Consultants to the corporation have confirmed that the tower has excessive levels of asbestos, dioxin, lead, silica, quartz, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chromium and manganese.

The corporation is now seeking bids for exterior scaffolding, cleanup and demolition. It expects work to begin this summer. But along with what officials regard as a blight on the Lower Manhattan skyline, the view that Dr. van Inwegen enjoyed from his 35th-floor cubicle - sailboats and liners, tugs and ferries - will also disappear.

"It was great working by the water and thinking of the history of Manhattan: trade, commerce, shipping," he said. "You still got that feel looking out the windows at New York Harbor. That's all gone. A memory."

It will remain a memory unless and until the State - by which I mean Governor Pataki pushes the LMDC and Port Authority to kick things into high gear. These sites need to be cleared so that new buildings can go up. Fiterman Hall is part of CUNY, and that college needs the space desperately. Yet that building is virtually ignored for nearly four years. The Deutsche Bank looms over the morass that is the Ground Zero pit like the monolith from 2001.

Related links:
Kate Fratti seems to think that the IFC is a good idea to be included at the WTC complex, arguing that there is sufficient space for a memorial, footprints, and the IFC. I'd challenge that assessment based on the amount of space actually used for the memorial and footprints versus the amount of space set aside for the IFC. If, based on publicly available materials from the LMDC and news reports are correct, the memorial would be 40,000 sq feet, and each footprint is an acre each (43,560 sq. feet). That puts the total space for the memorial and footprints at 127,120 sq. ft. That's little over 1/3 the space allotted for the IFC.

Does the LMDC really think that the IFC deserves more space than the memorial and footprints? Is that the kind of prioritization the site needs? Is that fair to the families?

Why aren't these questions being asked by the media?

Also, a Google search of IFC and protest turned up no news stories that are more recent than 2 hours ago about the protest.

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC