News article on community park spring cleaning event, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Nearby buildings pose questions following cleanup of Ground Zero “It’s just a constant reminder,” Housing is a possibility. “Even ■ Planners face a M. Myers Mermel, chief execu­ of the terrorist attack, said Ilyse though the building is landmarked host of issues as tive of TenantWise.com, an online Fink, a spokeswoman for the city it could be converted to residen-. commercial real-estate firm, esti­ Buildings Department whose of­ tial use or a hotel, or the commer-, they work to revive mates that 16.3 million square feet fice winddws face the shrouded cial space could be reconfigured,” of office space that was damaged bank towef. Paulsen said. downtown in the terrorist attack has beeri re­ opened — but another 3.5 million Near the southwest corner of Said Tomson: “One of the func-- the trade center site is 90 West St., tions of our agency is to take a; square feet remains unoccupiad. look at what the potential is and to By KAREN MATTHEWS a 1907 skyscraper designed by Gil- ASSOCIATED PRESS Merrill Lynch and American ' bert, the architect who also de- facilitate a process where deci­ Express have returned to their : signed Manhattan’s well-known sions are made. ... If it became' The last steel girder has been Woolworth Building. essential to have a large residen­ headquarters in the World Finan­ tial development we might do trucked out of ground zero but the cial Genter. More'' recently, the nine nearby office buildings that The 25-story West Street build­ that.” Bank of New York has started ing was pierced by flying debris remain vacant — sonic shrouded moving 5,000 employees back into Other buildings will be not reoc­ from the twin towers but is struc- in netting to protect bystanders its 22-story building at 101 Bar­ cupied for many months. At the, from falling glass — attest to the clay St. turally sound, said Joel Weinstein, Verizon building at 140 West St,/ horror of Sept. 11. president of the engineering firm the switching station is working But other buildings are far from but the offices won’t be in use until The owners of several buildings, . being reoccupied and could be LZA Associates, which was hired the fall of 2003. including the 40-story Deutsche by the owners to evaluate it. torn down. “There are still holes in the side Bank tower and a landmark sky­ Weinstein said it would cost $60. scraper designed by Cass Gilbert, Mark Lingnau,- a spokesman for million to $80 million to repair the of the building,” spokesman John are still negotiating with insurers. once graceful office building. Bonomosaid. Deutsche Bank, would not discuss The Deutsche Bank tower, across published reports that the Liberty The U.S. Postal Service hopes to from the World Trade Center site, Tom Mathes, vice president of open its 15-story building at 90 Street building, also known as 1 building Owner FGP 90 West St. is so infested with mold that its fu­ Bankers Trust Plaza, could be Church St. this fall. “The building ture is in question. LLC, said only, "We’re evaluating had a lot of water damage from razed due to mold infestation. But all of our alternatives. We’re still Although some of the buildings several people who are familiar in discussions with our insurer.” sprinklers and firefighters’ hoses,” will be reoccupied, the prospect with the building confirmed that spokeswoman Diane Todd said. that large office towers will be un- its interior surfaces are covered Because 90 West St. was. de-. salvageable raises a host of ques­ with mold caused by moisture dared a city landmark in 1998, it tions for planners as they work to from fire sprinklers. could not be torn down without revive downtown. permission from the Landmarks “We’re still in the process of Preservation Commission Louis Tomson, president of the Lower Manhattan Development coriducting our evaluation of 130 Liberty St., both structurally and environmentally,” Lingnau said. Commission Chairwoman Sher- Ida Paulsen said that if the owners SZAdvQncc Corp., said his agency may play a role in redeveloping some of the properties. The agency, which is ’ , The building, once worth $170 mil- ; lion, is covered with black netting are not able to secure financing to repair 90 West St. they could sell it to someone who would convert it 6-9 os charged with redeveloping down­ town, could consider condemna­ tion if buildings were deemed be­ yond repair. ■ and a giant American flag. to another use. R3geioP(5 NYC-WTC_000143026