Over 550,000 sf. of the 130 Liberty building has been cleared by regulators

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver gathered representatives of federal, state, and city agencies on January 28th for a 130 Liberty Street deconstruction update. The report was led by Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) Chairman Avi Schick, who said that more that 550,000 square feet of the former Deutsche Bank building has been cleaned and cleared by environmental regulators.

The 130 Liberty building was badly damaged on 9/11 and became contaminated in the years following. The LMDC bought the vacant 40-story tower from Deutsche Bank in 2004 and began abatement and deconstruction in early 2006. It was down to floor 26 when a fire halted work on August 17, 2007.

Today, the building is nearly decontaminated. If the schedule is maintained, it should be deconstructed by the end of the year, making way for World Trade Center south-bathtub construction.

“We continue to make good progress on the abatement of the building,” said Schick. “At the time of the fire it had been abated down to and including the 20th floor. The good news is the abatement is now down to and including the sixth floor.

“Further good news is that clearance of floors four and five should come within the next two weeks,” he added. “And that leaves floors one, two and three -- and the expectation is that those floors will be cleared by the end of March. We’re all looking forward to that date, and to getting there safely.”

In addition to interior abatement work, workers from contractor Bovis Lend Lease have removed the building’s façade down to floor 16.

Schick was joined by LMDC President David Emil, who said that project managers expect to finalize the revised deconstruction plan soon. It should be posted on www.renewnyc.com in the first week of February, and a public meeting will be held later in the month for public comment.

The public also can subscribe to e-mail updates about the project through the LMDC website, and participate in the city’s Notify NYC emergency-alert pilot program.

At the meeting, several government agencies explained their unique, direct roles in the massive structure’s safe decontamination and demolition. Among them were representatives from the city departments of Buildings, Emergency Management, and Environmental Protection; state Department of Labor; and the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Fire Department officials also attended, explaining that the building standpipe is regularly pressure checked and tested, and involved in regular safety meetings and on-site inspections.

Air monitoring continues around the building and in the surrounding neighborhood. More information about that program, managed by the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, and reports on air sampling are available here.