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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/413357p-349516c.html

The Fire Department's top doctor is being dragged into court to help the case of an NYPD cop whose widow says he died of illnesses tied to his work at Ground Zero, the Daily News has learned.

The order to appear in Manhattan Supreme Court could put Dr. Kerry Kelly, the FDNY's chief medical officer, in the unusual position of testifying in an NYPD case.

Kelly is being called because she appeared before Congress in February and declared that 20 city firefighters had contracted sarcoidosis - a mysterious autoimmune disease - as a likely result of their participation in the World Trade Center cleanup.

On Dec. 30, 2004, NYPD Officer James Godbee, a 19-year veteran of the force, died of a heart attack caused by sarcoidosis after he spent more than 850 hours assisting in the Ground Zero recovery effort.

But when his wife, Michelle Godbee, 47, went before the police pension board last November, she was denied line-of-duty death benefits.

"[Sarcoidosis] is of unknown etiology" and not known to be related to employment in the Police Department, the board ruled.

Godbee's widow, who is taking care of their two young kids alone, was devastated by the news.

"He was fine before 9/11," she said. "He was fit. He took care of his body. But after this, he just went downhill."

Because the Fire Department has acknowledged that sarcoidosis is linked to the noxious fumes that were swirling around Ground Zero, Michelle Godbee's attorney is pushing to gain access to the FDNY's medical records to bolster her legal challenge against the NYPD.

"They've got more information on this than anybody in the city," lawyer John Patrick Rudden said.

A court date is set for May 18 to determine whether the Fire Department must open its medical records to Godbee's widow.

After James Godbee spent 84 harrowing days at the 9/11 disaster site, his health deteriorated rapidly, his wife said.

His joints became stiff and his breathing began to labor. The 5-foot-8, 200-pound officer started coughing up blood. After several months, his respiratory problems became so bad he had to sleep sitting up.

James Godbee received medical attention throughout his three-year ordeal, and at times his health improved. But in late December the devoted cop suffered a fatal heart attack in his Stuyvesant Town home moments after he gave his 8-year old daughter, Imani, a long hug goodnight.

A city medical examiner ruled that the heart attack was caused by sarcoidosis, a disease marked by inflammation of the lungs and other organs and believed to be caused by environmental factors.

Michelle Godbee is furious at the way her husband's case has been treated.

"We depend on the NYPD to take care of people," she said, "but they don't take care of their own."

Nearly four years ago, innocent civilians were murdered ruthlessly by terrorists crashing planes into the Twin Towers. People from all over, including Long Island, came to assist in the rescue and subsequent recovery mission at Ground Zero.

Firefighters and other personnel who were there witnessed gruesome things one would normally see in a war zone. Fingers, detached from bodies, sprawled in the toxic soot and human ashes, for long stretches. This was the macabre reality of that day; many people had to dig up the bodies, and often mere remains, of their firefighter brothers (and sisters).

There was no other option- the fallen were like family, and so a dignified burial was what was commanded. This honorable impetus drove the many sleep-deprived, aching and emotionally drained comrades to devote months to the recovery effort. Unfortunately, there was a price that they’d soon learn they’d be paying. A persisting cough, accompanied by extreme, albeit justified emotional turmoil, leading to depression in many cases. Medication is only helpful to a point- it can not erase the gruesome memories. Repeated nightmares, and persistent flashbacks, led to post traumatic stress disorder being a common occurrence among not only the rescue brethren, but also others who were there.

Mental health professionals have seen a tremendous rise in demand for their services since 9/11. Firefighters and police officers belong to a stoic culture within society; admitting weaknesses, particularly emotional trauma, is significant. The need for inhalers and respirators, from those who previously were famously sturdy, in vibrant health, only adds to the trauma. Other segments of society, such as students and professionals who were working in the vicinity at the time experience similar deteriorated health- asthma is quite common in the Ground Zero area.

The irony is that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the leadership of Christie Todd Whitman, declared all was well; the air of Ground Zero was safe, despite reports saying otherwise. Consequently, many of those who heeded her breathed in the unhealthy air for long periods of time, and became ill as a result. Unsurprisingly, they soon filed suit against her and the CDC, because of the deleterious effects of following her advice. Not long after, she resigned, due to all the ensuing controversy. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has a World Trade Center Health Registry which observes the quality of health of the thousands of survivors, in terms of physical and mental well-being. According to their study, " [survivors] are more than three times as likely to have respiratory problems, forty percent as likely to [experience] severe psychological problems, and five times more likely to suffer a stroke."

The recent news that an autopsy of a young, thirty four year old police officer showed that his death was connected to his presence at Ground Zero has renewed awareness of this. He wasn’t the first, and, sadly, won’t be the last, to have such an end. According to the CDC’s study connected with the World Trade Center Health Registry, it will be another decade probably until researchers can be certain of any carcinogenic connection to Ground Zero.

The men and women who are now suffering from potentially crippling mental and physical anguish emanating from 9/11, six years after it happened. Who knows how long this will continue? Employers of survivors and their family, friends, and loved ones, have to accept the reason behind their changed functioning, but it’s not easy.

These survivors endured something no civilian should ever endure. The government should have been honest with them from the start, immediately after 9/11. Commerce and the economy are important, but health dangers supersede their importance.

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Local Woman’s ‘Trade Center Cough’ in National Spotlight, by Randy Erickson, LaCrosse (Wisconsin) Tribune, April 24, 2006

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2006/04/24/news/01cough.txt

TOWN OF HOLLAND, Wis. — National TV recently came calling at Judy Wolff’s home. It wasn’t good news.

On April 13, ABC’s "Nightline" sent a film crew from Minneapolis to get footage of Wolff for its report, "The Curse of Ground Zero." The report was spurred by the death of a rescue worker from respiratory problems caused by his work at "Ground Zero" in the wake of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The death of 34-year-old New York police detective James Zadroga was significant because it was the first time a death was attributed directly to breathing the toxin-laden air while working in the rubble of the World Trade Center.

Although the graphic on the "Nightline" report identified Wolff as a "First Responder," she actually was a Red Cross volunteer when she went to New York City from Oct. 24 to Nov. 15, 2001, to help victims in the weeks after the attacks. Although she wasn’t sifting through rubble at Ground Zero, she was close enough to breathe in enough contaminants to cause a case of what’s become known as "Trade Center cough."

Other sources in the "Nightline" report bemoaned the lack of federal support for treatment of people who suffered health effects from the aftermath of Sept. 11, but at least the ones who live in New York are getting some medical and financial help.

Compared to them, Wolff is in a much more difficult position.

She can get her treatment expenses paid for if she goes to New York for treatment. She has gone a number of times, thanks to Angel Flight, a program that provides free flights on private airplanes, with several pilots pitching in to take a person with health problems part of the way to the destination.

Wolff has skipped her past couple appointments in New York because she couldn’t afford to pay for lodging there. It takes some work to get the Angel Flight relays lined up, so she has to stay four or five nights if she goes to New York and that’s just not possible financially, she said.

Wolff has been unable to work because of her health problems, but she has been unable to collect workers compensation. New York won’t pay because she doesn’t live there, she said, and Wisconsin won’t pay because her problems stem from work in New York.

Wolff figures "Nightline" picked her because she was recommended by U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who represents the congressional district that includes Ground Zero. Wolff has had frequent contact with Maloney, and figures she referred "Nightline" to Wolff to get a non-New Yorker perspective.

Zadroga’s death is a tragedy for his family, but Wolff said the awareness it is generating about "The Curse of Ground Zero" is a positive thing.

"In a way, I’m glad that it’s finally coming out that people are dying," she said. "It’s a step forward at least. We’re a lot farther ahead than we were."

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Questions and concern about the potential severity of 9/11-related health effects escalated last week, when the Ocean County, NJ, medical examiner released the autopsy report of NYPD Detective James Zadroga. The medical examiner concluded that Zadroga’s January death from respiratory failure was the direct result of his exposure to dust and vapor during the 470 hours the detective worked at World Trade Center site in the months after 9/11.

It was the first official report linking a fatality to exposure to the area’s thick dust and smoke. Previously, there had been at least 40 unofficial reports making the link between deaths of WTC rescue and recovery workers and their exposures near Ground Zero.

"The death of Detective Zadroga saddens us, but it’s cause does not surprise us," said NYCOSH executive director Joel Shufro. "Immediately after the towers collapsed," Shufro continued, "it was clear that the air was full of highly toxic substances and remained hazardous until the cleanup of the site was over. My organization recognized the hazard at the time, and we did all we could to warn and to educate people. If anyone continues to doubt the air was unsafe to breathe, why are there at least six thousand workers and residents with respiratory symptoms that began after 9/11 and continue to require medical care?"

New York City Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene Thomas Frieden disputed the medical examiner’s finding, however, saying he would be "surprised" if the cause of Zadroga's death can be traced directly to the smoldering World Trade Center wreckage. "An autopsy can determine whether there was damage to the lungs and it can determine whether that damage might have been related to foreign bodies," Frieden said, "But whether that was related to [the World Trade Center], I don't think that would be easy to say definitively."

Frieden’s stance was widely criticized by public health advocates, who pointed out that Frieden’s position might be motivated by concern over New York City’s potential financial liability if 9/11-related death and disability are proven to be caused by exposure to the air.

Despite Frieden’s scepticism, there is considerable evidence of the hazardousness of the post-9/11 air. At least 8000 civilians who were heavily exposed to the toxic dust are now receiving treatment for respiratory conditions that developed after 9/11. A recent report from the federal Centers for Disease Control shows that people who were caught in the dust cloud created by the towers’ collapse had a risk of stroke during the first three years after the collapse that was six times greater than normal.

Other evidence of the hazard includes reports in scientific journals of a doubling of respiratory symptoms among people living near the WTC, and the finding that people who were heavily exposed to the dust and vapors have areas in their lungs where the air is stagnant, similar to, but very significantly worse, than heavy smokers.

In addition to the civilians now being treated for respiratory symptoms, some 7000 firefighters and 400 police detectives are also under treatment for 9/11-related illness.

Another area of dispute concerning the aftermath of 9/11 is the safe demolition of the 40-story building at 130 Liberty Street, across the street from the WTC site. The building was heavily damaged on 9/11, and it is too contaminated to reopened.

The WTC Community-Labor Coalition, representing workers, their unions and residents in the area around the building, is concerned that the hazardous materials inside the building will be released into the environment during demolition and contaminate the area.

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the state agency that bought 130 Liberty to demolish it, has made a series of major missteps in the effort to begin the demolition. First, it hired Gilbane Building Company, which had no experience demolishing contaminated structures. When Gilbane produced a demolition plan for EPA for approval, the Community-Labor Coalition published a point-by-point critique of the plan, and said it was unworkable. Weeks later, the EPA had a similar response, saying the plan was so incomplete and ill-conceived it could not be corrected; Gilbane would have to start again from scratch.

Shortly thereafter, LMDC dismissed Gilbane and hired TRC Environmental, a company with substantial relevant experience. Even so, TRC’s first demolition plan received very sharp criticism from the Community-Labor Coalition and had to be revised several times over six months before getting EPA approved.

LMDC hired Safeway demolition, which has a below-normal safety record and well-known connections with members of organized crime. Once again, the Community-Labor Coalition and its member organizations protested. After months of delay, LMDC agreed to remove Safeway and turn the job over to another demolition company, John Galt.

Within weeks, LMDC and John Galt were embroiled in a dispute with EPA over the demolition plan, when EPA learned that Galt was planning to ignore major aspects of the plan that EPA had approved in September. LMDC and the contractor insisted that they would follow the plan, but when LMDC gave Galt’s action plan to EPA, the agency discovered that Galt planned to use numerous techniques and equipment items that were not part of the approved plan.

Contrary to the approved plan, Galt was planning to use a concrete crusher, a chute to deliver debris to the ground, and unapproved plans for water sampling and waste management. According to EPA, it was "new information to the regulators, contrary to LMDC’s assertion."

Before the dispute with EPA was resolved, members of the coalition discovered that John Galt had a poor safety record and many connections exist between John Galt, Safeway, and organized crime. After the Daily News published a long article documenting John Galt’s lack of relevant experience and connections with organized crime, the Community-Labor Coalition, NYCOSH and 9/11 Environmental Action all said that the company did not meet the standard that should apply in such a potentially hazardous demolition. On April 18, Community Board 1, which represents the residents of Lower Manhattan and has an advisory role in World Trade Center issues, unanimously adopted a resolution calling on LMDC to find a new demolition contractor with "appropriate qualifications and experience."

"It is true that demolishing such a large, contaminated building in the middle of a densely populated area presents many practical challenges," said Dave Newman, Director of NYCOSH’s World Trade Center Project. "But rather than meet the challenges, LMDC acts as if they don’t exist, hiring firms without experience, altering plans without official approval, and showing contempt for the community of residents and workers who will be at risk if something goes wrong."

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Outcry builds over bank-cleanup firm, by Oren Yaniv, NY Daily News, April 19, 2006      

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/410130p-347029c.html

Outraged residents of lower Manhattan joined local leaders in demanding yesterday that the agency in charge of rebuilding Ground Zero cut ties with the company chosen to demolish the highly toxic Deutsche Bank building.

Speakers at a Community Board 1 meeting charged that the John Galt Co., the firm hired by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. to preform the job, received its asbestos abatement license as recently as last month and is not up to the job.

The community board also unanimously approved an emergency resolution calling on the LMDC "to quickly revise all demolition plans" and employ a more competent company.

The complaints came after the Daily News reported on Sunday that two top executives involved in the demolition project have links to the mob.

Those revelations followed the injury of two workers at the site and an Environmental Protection Agency warning that current plans for the site are unacceptable.

"It's almost unbelievable," Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said of hiring John Galt Co. "They should suspend this company immediately."

Stephen Chasin, owner of Safeway, the firm recruited by John Galt to oversee the demolition, has said that there is no asbestos dust in the shrouded tower at 130 Liberty St.

"It's all hysteria," he has told The News.

The project was scheduled to begin this month but has been put off until at least June.

All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P.

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Building takedown held for environmental inquiry, by Luis Perez, NY Newsday, April 19, 2006

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/am-wtc0419,0,574828.story?track=rss

A commercial building a block from Ground Zero that was blanketed by dust after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 and was slated to be dismantled will be scrutinized for deadly toxins, officials said Tuesday.

The two-story building at 189 Broadway has been empty since December, when its new landlord, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, evicted a handful of commercial tenants to make way for a sprawling $785-million transit hub at Fulton Street and Broadway.

Those plans were shelved after neighborhood activists noticed what appeared to be preliminary construction work several weeks ago and worried that trade center dust might be seeping into the air.

"The truth is that 189 Broadway would be coming down right now if it weren't for vigilant residents," Rep. Jerrold Nadler said. "While the MTA is right to freeze demolition, we shouldn't have to rely on a neighborhood watch system."

Nadler (D-Manhattan-Brooklyn) criticized the federal Environmental Protection Agency for less than stringent oversight of razings near Ground Zero. He said the transit agency told him a new plan for taking down the building would be announced next month.

The development comes a week after a New Jersey coroner said the Jan. 6 death of James Zadroga, an NYPD detective who spent hundreds of hours working in the trade center rubble, was "directly related" to dust and debris there.

Work began recently to take down the badly damaged DeutscheBank building at 130 Liberty St. The EPA, which initiated a cleanup plan for lower Manhattan last year, is among a host of agencies mandated to supervise the work.

Several residents told Newsday they saw workers putting plastic tarpaulins on the 189 Broadway building and bringing in heavy machinery.

MTA spokesman Tim O'Brien said Tuesday that no work had begun to dismantle 189 Broadway. O'Brien said the agency "does not have a schedule" for taking down the building because it is "still talking with all of the experts."

O'Brien confirmed that MTA officials had met with Nadler and residents. He said the building was cleaned for trade center dust twice before, once by its previous owner and once in conjunction with the EPA.

An EPA spokeswoman said the agency never cleaned 189 Broadway but noted that the city Department of Environmental Protection did clean its exterior.

EPA regional administrator Alan Steinberg said the agency received a complaint from a resident and he subsequently got a commitment from the MTA that the dismantling work "would be done right."

Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.

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Mob Link Eyed in Bank Demolition, by Greg B. Smith, NY Daily News, April 16, 2006

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/409209p-346370c.html

The top two execs overseeing the demolition of the Deutsche Bank building at Ground Zero recently ran a firm under investigation for reputed mob links and allegedly dangerous work conditions, the Daily News has learned.

Until February, the two businessmen running the complex razing of 130 Liberty St. were operating Safeway Environmental Corp. - a Bronx firm under scrutiny by city investigators.

One of Safeway's owners, Stephen Chasin, confirmed in an interview with The News that his partner is Harold Greenberg, a two-time felon identified by the FBI as a Gambino associate.

Safeway also has been cited by the city and feds for alleged safety violations during the demolition of an upper West Side supermarket that collapsed in July, injuring several passersby, including an infant in a stroller.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration hit Safeway with $15,000 in fines after finding five safety violations termed "serious," records show. Safeway is contesting the fines.

But two of its former honchos are now working for John Galt Co., the firm hired by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. to take down the Deutsche Bank building at Ground Zero. With no experience demolishing skyscrapers, Galt recruited Safeway President Mitch Alvo and Vice President Don Adler to oversee the massive project.

The LMDC has banned Chasin and Greenberg from being involved in the demolition - but the agency has not objected to Alvo and Adler being on site. The agency also is allowing the Galt firm to lease much of its equipment from Safeway, according to Chasin.

The 40-story bank tower is filled with toxic dust that was thrown into the air by the collapsing World Trade Center. Its neighbors long have been concerned that the dust will be released into the air again when workers begin to demolish the tower, where hundreds of bone fragments from 9/11 victims were found just last week.

The involvement of the controversial firm in the razing of the building has further upset area residents and comes as federal environmental officials told the LMDC that the demolition can't go on without its approval.

The Environmental Protection Agency has found what it calls unacceptable levels of asbestos, mercury and several other chemicals in the tower. The EPA was upset when they learned significant changes had been quietly made to the demolition plan.

But Chasin scoffed at claims that 130 Liberty is filled with toxic dust.

"It's all hysteria. It's not true," he said. "There's no asbestos in that building."

Two workers were injured recently in falls at the lower Manhattan site, one from Safeway and one from Galt. OSHA officials cited Safeway for the first accident and is still investigating the second fall.

"It's extremely troubling in light of recent events down there," said David Newman of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health, a nonprofit group monitoring the Ground Zero cleanup. "It's unacceptable. The demolition of a highly contaminated building in a highly populated area requires extra scrutiny, not a lowering of standards."

Newman said Galt had been a bridge construction firm with only 20 employees. To complete the bank demolition, it hired 80 more workers, including many ex-Safeway employees.

Meanwhile, the demolition subcontract has increased to $52 million, from $46 million, due to the need for extra insurance, officials said.

The city Department of Investigation is looking into Safeway's links to Greenberg, a reputed gangster who was convicted of bribery and wire fraud in a bid-rigging scheme, according to sources.

The investigation centers on $7.1 million in contracts Safeway recently completed for the Sanitation Department. Investigators want to know if Greenberg secretly benefitted from that work, sources said.

A DOI spokeswoman declined comment except to say the probe is ongoing. Safeway also has been barred from bidding on school construction jobs.

The LMDC has required Galt to sign "special conditions," limiting interaction with Safeway. Galt had to agree to make Adler and Alvo available to city investigators and get LMDC approval if Galt leases equipment from Safeway or its affiliates.

Chasin told The News that Greenberg, who sat nearby and answered some questions, is his business partner. Chasin also said he plans to lease to Galt special equipment he bought for the Deutsche Bank job.

"No, they don't want me or [Greenberg] showing up on the job site and running it," Chasin said. "But one can lease or rent equipment, or for that matter, sell equipment. Where's the problem with that?"

All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P.

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New Concerns About Razing of Bank Tower at Ground Zero, by David W. Dunlap,  NY Times, April 14, 2006

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/14/nyregion/14deutsche.html 

Demolition plans for the former Deutsche Bank building opposite ground zero have raised fresh concerns among the regulatory agencies reviewing the project, the federal Environmental Protection Agency said this week.

The 41-story bank tower, at 130 Liberty Street, was badly damaged and contaminated on Sept. 11, 2001. The agency said it intended "to identify instances where safeguards must be strengthened for the prevention of releases into the environment of hazardous substances," adding that demolition could not begin until an acceptable plan was received.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which owns the building, said the review would not affect current asbestos abatement work. Demolition is scheduled to begin in June. The corporation said it would "expeditiously provide any further information, clarifications, enhancements or modifications to the plan that E.P.A. requests."

The environmental agency's World Trade Center coordinator, Pat Evangelista, said in an April 11 letter to the corporation that federal, state and city regulators were concerned about a proposal to build an exterior debris chute. The Daily News reported on the letter yesterday.

Mr. Evangelista also wrote that regulators had questions about the corporation's newly disclosed plan to use demolition debris as backfill and to employ concrete crushing equipment on the site.

In the first three days of this week, workers preparing the building for demolition discovered nearly 300 more tiny bone fragments mixed in with the gravel ballast on the rooftop, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the city's medical examiner.

Such discoveries have become increasingly common since preparation work began last fall. This month, officials announced that 74 fragments had been found as workers raked the gravel. And Ms. Borakove said more findings could be expected before the rooftop work was finished.

"Whatever doesn't look like gravel, they examine," Ms. Borakove said. Fragments that are presumed to be human remains — many as small as one-sixteenth of an inch — are documented, packed in pouches and turned over to the medical examiner's office. Through DNA analysis, some may eventually be linked to individual victims.

Unidentified human remains in the custody of the medical examiner are to be stored eventually in a special chamber just above bedrock level within the footprint of 1 World Trade Center, the north tower.
     
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

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Air safety fears delay bank bldg. demolition, by Greg B. Smith, NY Daily News, April 13, 2006

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/408443p-345770c.html

Demolition of the highly contaminated Deutsche Bank building near Ground Zero cannot go forward until an "acceptable" safety plan is in place - delaying the project at least until June, the Environmental Protection Agency warned yesterday.

In a letter to the state agency overseeing the tricky project, an EPA official said the agency has numerous concerns with the current plan to tear down the dust-filled tower at 130 Liberty St. floor by floor. 

Worried about a release of toxic dust, the EPA's Pat Evangelista warned that demolition will not begin until the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. "has provided ... an acceptable plan." 

Demolition was scheduled to start this month, but now it's off until June or later. Two weeks ago, the EPA demanded an explanation for "significant changes" made to the demolition plan submitted by the development corporation. 

There have been two worker injuries at the site, and local politicians and neighborhood groups have called the demolition plan "dangerously inadequate." 

In a letter released yesterday, the EPA took issue with the current proposal to use heavy concrete crushing equipment on the top floors of the 40-story tower - and send the debris down a chute to the street. 

The EPA denied the LMDC's claim that the chute, the concrete crusher and several other disputed methods were part of plans approved by the federal agency last fall. 

"The regulatory agencies are reviewing the information about this newly proposed chute, and we have concerns about it," wrote Evangelista. 

Yesterday, EPA spokeswoman Mary Mears said the federal agency and several state agencies are examining the latest plan for demolition and would respond soon. 

The demolition of 130 Liberty was estimated to cost $46 million but has risen to $52 million due to increased insurance costs, officials said.

All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P.

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E.P.A. Says No Again to Deutsche Demo Plan, by Rhonda Kaysen, Downtown Express, Volume 18 • Issue 48 | April 14 - 20, 2006

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_153/epasaysnoagainto.html

Demolition of the contaminated Deutsche Bank building that hovers like a draped coffin over Lower Manhattan might not begin on time, the Environmental Protection Agency warned on Tuesday.

Pat Evangelista, World Trade Center coordinator for the E.P.A., sent a letter this week to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which owns the ill-fated building, warning that the demolition cannot begin until the corporation fully explains how it plans to take the tower down.

The 40-story structure at 130 Liberty St. was badly damaged on Sept. 11. Since then, it has stood as an ominous reminder of the slow pace of the redevelopment. Its demolition was first delayed by a protracted legal dispute between Deutsche Bank and its insurers. After the L.M.D.C. purchased the building from the bank in Sept. 2004, the corporation spent more than a year hammering out a cleanup and demolition plan that the E.P.A. would approve. Finally, just days before the fourth anniversary of 9/11, E.P.A. signed off on the demolition. Contaminated with a toxic cocktail of Trade Center dust—asbestos, lead and mercury, to name a few—the tower is just now being cleaned floor by floor in preparation for the demolition.

The demolition is scheduled to begin in June, but the E.P.A. voiced concerns about some of the techniques L.M.D.C. contractors plan to use to take the building down and requested additional details. L.M.D.C. sent a 23-page outline of its plans last week, insisting that nothing had changed since E.P.A. approved the plan in September.

The E.P.A. disagreed. And in an April 1l letter the agency insisted that many details had changed.

"E.P.A. and its regulatory partners have not been provided with sufficient details about these proposed engineering changes," Evangelista wrote, adding that the agency disagrees with the L.M.D.C. that the plans were authorized in September.

The E.P.A. has several concerns about the current plan, including the use of a concrete crusher at the site. "It is not clear to the regulators why L.M.D.C. did not provide information to the regulators about the use of concrete crushing equipment long before L.M.D.C.’s anticipated schedule," Evangelista wrote.

Other problems with the plan include the water sampling and waste management plan, using exterior chutes for disposing of debris and the use of a "floating roof," which the agency said "is new information to the regulators, contrary to L.M.D.C.’s assertion."

John Gallagher, the L.M.D.C.’s spokesperson, in an e-mail statement, said the corporation will continue to work with the E.P.A. to "expeditiously provide any further information, clarifications, enhancements or modifications to the plan that E.P.A. requests," adding that the E.P.A. has not finished reviewing L.M.D.C.’s plan.

Ronda@DowntownExpress.com
Downtown Express --
Downtown Express is published by
Community Media LLC.

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Citing Changes, E.P.A. Withholds O.K. on Deutsche Demo,by Ronda Kaysen, Downtown Express, Volume 18 • Issue 47 | April 7 - 13, 2006

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_152/citingchangesepa.html

The Environmental Protection Agency has asked to see more detailed plans about the demolition of the former Deutsche Bank building, potentially delaying the demolition of the 9/11-contaminated tower once again.

Located at 130 Liberty St., the building is contaminated with a host of World Trade Center toxins including mold, asbestos and lead.

Last September, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. finally won approval from the E.P.A. to clean the 40-story tower floor by floor and demolish it in sections. The corporation began erecting scaffolding last fall and plans to begin taking the tower down in June.

But the timetable might be delayed. Pat Evangelista, W.T.C. Coordinator for the E.P.A., sent the L.M.D.C. a letter last month saying L.M.D.C.’s current plan "had significant differences" to what was approved last September.

Local residents and labor leaders have long voiced concerns that if the building is not demolished painstakingly, the neighborhood could be re-contaminated or workers could risk health complications.

Some of the differences include the use of concrete crushing equipment, a chute to carry crushed concrete to ground level and a "floating roof" covering the site. "These and other changes will of course have an impact on the potential release of contaminants," wrote Evangelista.

The demolition cannot go forward without E.P.A. approval.

On Tuesday, the L.M.D.C. submitted additional information to the E.P.A., giving detailed answers to E.P.A. questions. "All of this supplemental information is consistent with the approved deconstruction plan," said L.M.D.C. spokesperson John Gallagher in an e-mail statement to Downtown Express.

The E.P.A. now needs to review and approve the L.M.D.C. plan before it can begin. "We can’t let [the demolition] go forward unless we’re assured that taking the building apart isn’t going to adversely affect the abatement work," said E.P.A. spokesperson Mary Mears, adding that "it’s certainly not our intention" to delay the process.

The 130 Liberty St. demolition has long caught the attention of local residents and labor leaders concerned about re-contaminating the neighborhood. The latest flurry of letters between the two agencies has only heightened their anxiety. "What’s been going on all this time?" said Kimberly Flynn, co-coordinator of 9/11 Environmental Action, an advocacy group. "It’s very late in the day for us not to have a proper completed demolition plan for phase II. It’s extremely troubling."

Flynn and other environmental activists have frequently criticized E.P.A for making misleading statements about air quality Downtown in the days after 9/11, doubting the agency’s credibility. Yet Flynn steadfastly maintains that E.P.A. should oversee the demolition.

The Deutsche cleanup was delayed before. The original cleanup plan that the L.M.D.C. fielded in Feb. 2005 was rejected by E.P.A., sending the corporation back to the drawing board and delaying the demolition by six months.

But the L.M.D.C. is confident that this latest bout of paperwork will not stall the process again. "We anticipate no delays as a result of this request," Gallagher wrote.

Ronda@DowntownExpress.com
Downtown Express --
Downtown Express is published by
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New 9/11 Dustup: LMDC Blasted in Bank Bldg. Demolition Plan Switch, by Greg B. Smith, NY Daily News, April 5, 2006

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/406118p-343903c.html

Federal environmental officials and local residents are blasting the state agency in charge of Ground Zero for suddenly altering plans for the demolition of the highly contaminated Deutsche Bank building, the Daily News has learned.

The angry notice from the Environmental Protection Agency comes just days before contractors are supposed to begin cleansing the structure of a toxic brew of asbestos, lead, cadmium, dioxin and other poisons deposited after the 9/11 collapse of the twin towers.

The feds are upset that a subcontractor assigned to the tricky demolition job made "significant changes" to the debris removal plan that could affect "public safety, health and the environment."

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan), local residents and other elected officials also are upset at the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which oversees Ground Zero, for what they termed a "dangerously inadequate" demolition plan.

Said Kimberly Flynn of the 9/11 Environmental Action group: "Now the toxic tower is coming down - imminently - but we do not yet have an EPA-approved demolition plan in place."

The floor-by-floor demolition is scheduled to begin next month. Its $46 million cost has risen to $52 million due to increased insurance requirements, state officials said.

Before a single brick can be removed, however, the building's interior must be cleansed, a process expected to begin during the next two weeks.

In several letters over the past month, the EPA has been seeking explanations for "significant differences" from the original approved demolition plan.

In a March 20 letter, the EPA noted five unapproved additions by John Galt Co., the subcontractor responsible for the toxic cleanup and the demolition: a concrete crushing machine on the upper floors, construction of a chute through which crushed concrete would plummet to the ground, a five-story buffer zone between the toxic cleanup and the actual demolition, use of a floating "roof" as the work progresses and the use of debris as fill material at the site.

Pat Evangelista, the EPA official in charge of the Ground Zero cleanup, warned the LMDC that the added techniques "will of course have an impact on potential releases of contaminants." He said additional information and analysis was "essential to our ongoing responsibility to protect public health and the environment."

EPA spokeswoman Mary Meeks said yesterday that the agency had received an LMDC response and was reviewing it.

The LMDC contended the chute was in the original plan and would obviously require concrete crushing equipment. The use of debris as fill is "environmentally appropriate," and the "floating roof" was previously discussed, the LMDC added.

The demolition has been plagued with problems. The first firm hired was booted when its demolition plans weren't approved by the EPA and other officials.

Federal regulators cited one contractor after a worker fell off a scaffold last December and are now investigating a second accident two weeks ago when a worker fell 400 feet into a sub-basement.

Also within the last month, workers found bits of human bone inside the building believed to be from victims of the 9/11 attacks.

All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P.

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