Put It Above Ground

Work at 130 Liberty is proceeding well.

  

Abatement Work

The contractors are currently abating the top five floors of the building.  That work will take a few more weeks, and then the workers will move on to the next five floors.

In addition, the regulators have approved a protocol for cleaning the roof.  The roof cleaning – which includes the search for human remains – is scheduled to resume on July 5th and should take about four weeks to complete. 

 

Coin Vault Demolition

The coin vault has been abated and, after environmental tests were completed, the regulatory agencies inspected and certified it as clean and ready for demolition. The New York City Department of Buildings has issued a demolition permit and the demolition of the coin vault is scheduled to begin the week of July 10.  The demolition will require the use of jackhammers and other power tools and equipment, so the process may generate some noise. However, in conjunction with the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, LMDC will be monitoring noise levels and vibrations. If you have any concerns about noise or vibration, you can contact me.

 

Over the next few weeks, a concrete pad will be poured to enable the installation of the tower crane.  The subsequent installation of the tower crane will take about four weeks.

 

Finalization of Implementation Plan

As has been previously discussed, we have been consulting with the regulatory agencies to finalize the Implementation Plan – a detailed procedure dictating how the structure of the building will be dismantled.  We will be continuing our consultation over the next several weeks as the coin vault is demolished and the tower crane is installed. We hope to have a final Implementation Plan that will enable us to begin deconstruction of the building by the end of the summer.

 

Site Safety

The safety of the workers and the surrounding community remains our top priority on this project.  Daily safety drills are ongoing and we will continue to coordinate with and update the city’s emergency response agencies.  

 

 

Michael Haberman

VP for Community Development

Lower Manhattan Development Corp.

One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor

New York, NY  10006

212-587-9738

 

The papers are full of pictures of the of the newly designed Freedom Tower.(see articles below) I am sure these will be followed by even more pictures of the additional buildings as they become available.

They can continue to pat themselves on the back but the fact still remains that everything that they plan to construct will be outside the legal jurisdiction of NYC Building and Fire codes.

No matter how many times we bring this up everyone involved just turns a blind eye.

Not one article even mentions this fact or the fact that the majority of injuries sustained from a terrorist attack are from shattered glass.

The entire lower portion of the Freedom Tower although safeguarding the occupants from an attack has put the local pedestrians at risk with the amount of glass used.

 

What ever happened to safety and security

 

Put It Above Ground Campaign

 

Tower comes shining thru

BY PAUL D. COLFORD 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/430926p-363267c.html

For Related Articles go to

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=23

 

Families Of 9/11 Victims Sue City To Find Missing Remains

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=60616

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=23

 

The 7 day public comment period on the WTC Memorial ended yesterday, although I just checked the site and you can still post comments at

http://www.renewnyc.com/Memorial/frm_memcomments.asp?type=new

 

If you have not done so please post your comments.

If you have already posted comments please share them with us at

9/11 Memorial Faces Setback Over Names

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/nyregion/27names.html

 

For Related articles go

 

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=23

To All, 

            The Daily News reported this morning that the city does not want to be held responsible for those who became sick or died as part of the cleanup at Ground Zero (see article below). Now I understand that this will probably be tied up in court for years but I have a question that I hope someone can answer. 

Since the Port Authority owned the buildings and the property and the buildings were built to their codes, not NYC Building and Fire codes and they allowed the cleanup to take place should they not be the ones held responsible. 

Now I know you must think I am crazy but I am stating this to make a point. The Port Authority continues to disregard NYC Building and Fire codes citing that they are exempt because the WTC site is not NYC property. 

Well the way I look at it is you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If the site is not NYC property and the Port Authority is bound by their own rules and codes then they should be held accountable for what happened on the site. 

I make this point because the LMDC refuses to do anything about the Port Authority’s exemptions at Ground Zero and are allowing construction to proceed outside the legal jurisdiction of NYC codes. 

If we hold them responsible for what happened at “THEIR SITE� they may think twice about building to code. 

Dennis   

Lawsuit says poisons killed 57 at WTC site
BY THOMAS ZAMBITO

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/429268p-361877c.html 

 

To All,

Please read the articles below. You will see differing opinions. One who gets what we are trying to do and one who never will. Unfortunately the one who never will is on one of the LMDC’s Advisory Committees while people like Rosaleen Tallon and Jim McCaffrey are not.

A simple, fitting tribute  

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=24608  

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_163/talkingpoint.html

 

When you are finished please follow the instructions below and post your comments at both locations. Your voice is important and it must be heard

Dennis

Many cultural and arts groups are urging all of their constituents to post comments on the New Memorial Plan.

I also urge you all to post your comments whatever your opinion. We need to have our comments on record.

A seven day public comment period began 6/20 on the new WTC Memorial Recommendations. You now have the opportunity to go on record with your comments.

The link to submit comments is located at:

Memorial Design Revision Comments

http://www.renewnyc.com/Memorial/frm_memcomments.asp?type=new

 
Also please post a copy of your comments for us at

 

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=46

 

We would like to have a record of comments to compare with what the LMDC releases. Unfortunately we did not do this last time and we know the result.

The PUT IT ABOVE GROUND CAMPAIGN is still calling for the following

Elimination of the Port Authority’s exemptions from NYC Building and Fire Codes at Ground Zero.

Elimination of the random placement of names.

Inclusion of historical artifacts at ground level (facades, sphere, staircase etc)

Inclusion of an American flag at the site. Possibly a large custom version of the Flag of Honor which will also include the names of the victims of 1993.
These are just our recommendations.

 

Whatever you think is really important. Please take advantage of this opportunity and once again let your voice be heard.

Put it Above Ground Campaign

 

 

 

 

This is definitely not an artistic spot, this brick wall on the side of a firehouse that overlooks Ground Zero and a building being demolished.

But there is a lesson for the future of Ground Zero here. 

 

That brick wall is home to the first 9/11 memorial near the former site of the World Trade Center. The memorial is not only a moving piece of art; it sends a message about what memorials should do.

The battle over how to commemorate almost 3,000 victims of the 9/11 attacks began even before the rubble was carted from Ground Zero.

Often lost during the debate was a simple fact: Memorials should first remember the dead. In the case of Ground Zero, this meant listing names — prominently, extensively.

The memorial, announced after a worldwide competition several years ago, did not follow that logic. The design, with the goofy title of “Reflecting Absence,” placed panels with victims’ names far below ground, amid waterfalls and pools.

Think of a cave.

This design was the work of an artist, who seemed determined to create a memorial that people had a hard time getting to. Practical considerations, such as dampness from all that water 70 feet below ground in an already watery area, were not discussed in a big way.

But when nuts-and-bolts engineers took a look at “Reflecting Absence,” they reflected what most ordinary folks thought already: This is ridiculous.

For starters, how would throngs of people congregate 70 feet below ground in limited space?

Next came questions about where to put heating and air conditioning equipment in an area that was also supposed to be home to a major commuter rail hub and the foundation for a 1,776-foot skyscraper.

Then came security concerns.

Police wanted all visitors below ground to pass through metal detectors. Was that solemn? Practical?

Why make this experience so hard? Or to put it another way: Why hide all this below ground?

Fortunately, the memorial design seems to be changing. The final breaking point was cost — estimated to be about $1 billion to build all the ramps, elevators, waterfalls, and heating and cooling systems below ground.

A new design, unveiled this week, places the names of the dead on outdoor panels, at plaza level. But there are still waterfalls and a museum far below ground.

Why?

The original designer of “Reflecting Absence” harshly criticized the new proposal. But so what? It’s time for a little common sense.

Which brings us back to that firehouse wall at the corner of Liberty and Greenwich streets.

Not willing to wait for the final memorial, New York’s Fire Department commissioned its own tribute to its 343 members killed when the Twin Towers fell. What emerged was a 56-by-6-foot bronze bas-relief memorial that will not win any awards at modern art schools.

This is something from the 19th century, perhaps along the lines of what you might see at Gettysburg.

But it’s perfect and beautiful.

We see more than 40 firefighters depicted in many phases of their heroic work on 9/11, from aiming water hoses to washing dust from their faces in a hydrant.

But what draws spectators are the names.

The other day, dozens of people stood quietly.

“Look,” a woman whispered to a little boy as she pointed to a name.

At another section, a man in a gray suit stood in silence.

In the end, those names help us remember. They are the human link to the inhumanity of 9/11.

No waterfall can do that.

 

For additional articles go to

 

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=23

To All,Many cultural and arts groups are urging all of their constituents to post comments on the New Memorial Plan.

I also urge you all to post your comments whatever your opinion. We need to have our comments on record.

A seven day public comment period began 6/20 on the new WTC Memorial Recommendations. You now have the opportunity to go on record with your comments.

The link to submit comments is located at:

Memorial Design Revision Comments

http://www.renewnyc.com/Memorial/frm_memcomments.asp?type=new

Also please post a copy of your comments to us at

 

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=46

We would like to have a record of comments to compare with what the LMDC releases. Unfortunately we did not do this last time and we know the result.

The PUT IT ABOVE GROUND CAMPAIGN is still calling for the following

Elimination of the Port Authority’s exemptions from NYC Building and Fire Codes at Ground Zero.

Elimination of the random placement of names.

Inclusion of historical artifacts at ground level (facades, sphere, staircase etc)

Inclusion of an American flag at the site. Possibly a large custom version of the Flag of Honor which will also include the names of the victims of 1993.

These are just our recommendations. Whatever you think is really important. Please take advantage of this opportunity and once again let your voice be heard.

Put it Above Ground Campaign

The Power of Their Names

-Rosaleen Tallon
Sister of 9-11 Fallen Firefighter Sean Patrick Tallon
Put It Above Ground Campaign