As the former Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty St. has continued its steady downward progress this summer, the project – now under the constant supervision of the Department of Buildings – has continued to rack up violations.
On July 3, a partial stop-work order was issued for dangerous demolition. According to the D.O.B.’s online records, that order was lifted on July 6 after an engineer’s report. On July 11 a violation was issued for “failure to maintain” when the demolition caused a large hole in the 31st floor of the building.
On Aug. 1, the D.O.B. issued a stop-work order when it found that “burning operations” – the use of torches to cut through steel – were sending sparks down onto lower floors where combustible materials were being stored.
That stop-work order was rescinded the same day, but the next day, the D.O.B. found that 130 Liberty’s permits to safely store combustible materials had expired. Those permits must be issued by the Fire Dept. On Aug. 3 a stop-work order was issued for all operations involving torches. According to D.O.B. spokesperson Kate Lindquist, the stop-work order was lifted on Aug. 6 after the project renewed its expired permits.
The Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, which manages the deconstruction project, declined to comment on the stop-work orders and referred press inquiries to the D.O.B.
Though none of the recent snags were as serious as the incident in which a 15-foot pipe plummeted from the building into a firehouse last spring, they have spawned worried emails and phone calls between local residents and environmental advocates. Several residents of nearby buildings like 125 Cedar St. have said they will not feel completely safe until the Deutsche Bank tower is gone for good.
The 41-story office tower, which was heavily damaged and contaminated on 9/11, will no longer meet its Dec. 31 deadline for deconstruction. According to several officials, it is now expected to be down sometime in early 2008.
— Skye H. McFarlane
