Workers start to bring down Ground Zero building
Construction workers have begun removing the steel skeleton of a contaminated skyscraper next to the World Trade Centre site, the most visible sign yet that the building is coming down.
But the former Deutsche Bank building still faces several challenges before it can come down for good, including an ongoing search for September 11, 2001, victims’ remains.
This week, several bone fragments were found on a floor searched months ago.
The 40-storey tower became an eyesore above ground zero after part of the trade centre’s south tower collapsed into it, leaving toxic dust and debris.
After a lengthy dispute between the building’s owners and insurers, a rebuilding agency bought the tower in 2004 and took responsibility for its removal.
A cleanup did not begin for a year, until environmental regulators approved the plan. A labour dispute last year and the search for remains have slowed the project.
But last week, a huge crane began removing steel beams and heavy equipment, including heating units and elevator motors, from the top of the building, said Bob Harvey, who oversees the project for the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Centre.
It should take several weeks to remove the top floor, making the building a smaller part of the skyline for the first time, Harvey said last week. After that, “it speeds up as you go down,” he said.
Workers are moving through the building’s upper floors to remove toxic dust and other materials, and the city medical examiner’s office is continuing a search for human remains.
More than 760 bones have been found in the building since autumn 2005.
On Monday, construction workers found 19 bone fragments on the ledge of the 37th floor, which had been searched several months ago.
Medical examiner’s office spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said the workers had been charged with recovering any remains on the ledge. “The medical examiner’s office is not equipped to search ledges for safety reasons,” she said.
The contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, has said the tower will be down by the end of the year, Harvey said.
Bovis spokeswoman Mary Costello said on Tuesday the project should continue on schedule, “barring factors that have nothing to do with us,” such as bad weather.
