By Ronda Kaysen
The city agreed on Wednesday to legalize diesel fuel that has been illegally stored inside a Tribeca building at 60 Hudson St. for several years.
Six of the building’s 25 floors currently store 3,605 gallons of fuel – more than twice the legal limit. Under the provisions, the building’s owner, GVA Williams, would be allowed to continue to store the excess fuel providing it meets certain safety requirements. In a letter addressed to Michael Simon, legal counsel for GVA Williams, the Department of Buildings outlined 24 conditions that GVA Williams must meet before the city will grant a variance.
“The requirements we’ve asked for – the additional walls, fire ratings and sprinklers – are above and beyond what the code requires,” said Jennifer Givner, a spokesperson for the Buildings Dept., referring to requirements for diesel fuel stored within legal limits. Under the code, 275 gallons of fuel is permitted on a floor.
The requirements relate only to the floors with excess fuel and include “enhanced fire safety measures,” automatic fire suppression systems and fire detectors in tank and generator rooms, enclosing the tank and generator rooms in floor-to-ceiling, fire-resistant walls. Sprinkler systems would be required along the corridors of the six floors that have excessive amounts of diesel. A certified fire safety director would also be on hand at all times and all rooms will have a master key in order to assist firefighters. GVA Williams must devise a plan to meet the conditions within 30 days.
Diesel does not easily ignite. However, once ablaze, the ensuing fire is cumbersome to extinguish.
The building’s owner – not the Buildings Dept. – will set a timeframe for when the safety measures will be implemented. “We certainly expect it to be done in an expeditious manner, however we don’t have a specific timeframe that’s laid out now,” said Givner.
GVA representatives did not return calls for comment Wednesday.
The Buildings Dept.’s decision comes less than three weeks before GVA Williams was due to appear in New York State Criminal Court to face a series of unresolved criminal violations issued by the Fire Dept. Although the Buildings Dept. insists the criminal proceedings and the Buildings Dept.’s efforts are “two different tracks,” the variance will, in effect, void the criminal violations.
“Why the rush?” said Linda Rosenthal, an aide to U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, noting that the city has been negotiating the fuel storage issue since 2002. “The timing’s suspicious.”
Nadler sent a letter to the Buildings Dept. on June 3 urging the department not to grant GVA Williams a variance. The department told Nadler they would respond to his concerns after they issued the conditions for the variance, said Rosenthal. Rosenthal’s office had not received word of the variance from the Buildings Dept. by press time, although the department insisted in a statement that it “considered comments” from Nadler, as well as other elected officials.
The variance, legalizing 6,400 gallons of fuel, addresses only a small fraction of the fuel stored in the Art Deco telecommunications building. Below ground lies another 80,000 gallons used to generate power for air conditioning systems that cool sensitive switching equipment and back-up generators in case of power outages for the building’s telecommunications tenants.
The building code does not have requirements for fuel stored below ground.
“Dept. of Buildings has never looked at the building in its totality,” said Tim Lannan, president of NOISE, a neighborhood organization. “We’re dealing with an antiquated building code. The Buildings Dept. continues to act as if the code is accurate.”
Critics of the building, including Lannan, have long maintained that the subterranean fuel is also a danger to the safety of the community. Although the building code allows for unlimited amounts of fuel to be stored below ground, in a post-Sept. 11th environment, the rules should be reconsidered, say critics. Seven World Trade Center burned uncontrollably and collapsed on 9/11 because the fuel it stored – half of what 60 Hudson St. stores – ignited.
The building code was established in 1968, however, “Even current codes allow for similar requirements,” said Givner, noting that the National Fire Protection Association and the International Building Code both have similar codes.
“This building is allowed to operate as a telecommunications property. It’s permitted under the current building code. We can’t kick them out,” said Givner. Although the variance will legalize the building’s existing conditions, the requirements the department has laid out are, by their nature, a variation from the code.
Lannan, however, has a different take on the department’s decision to legalize the property without taking the subterranean fuel into consideration. “As far as the Buildings Dept. is concerned, the interests of the business community outweigh public safety,” he said.
Ronda@DowntownExpress.com
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