125 Cedar Street DEP article review, Dec 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Not only are the residents pleased with the results, but all partners in the effort were impressed by the cooperative spirit of the project.

“I believe that DEP and EPA deserve a great deal of credit for cleaning and testing the building in a thorough and timely manner,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who represents much of Lower Manhattan, including 125 Cedar Street.

Since 9/11, the tenants of 125 Cedar have temporarily relocated to Brooklyn, Connecticut, the Upper West Side, the West Village, and Battery Park City, and for the past eight months, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been covering their rent. Although their building now is clean, repair of its structure still is under way, and the tenants have not yet been able to return to their homes.

For Speaker Silver, the goal always has been to get the residents back home as quickly as possible.

“I have worked to ensure that the residents of 125 Cedar Street would be able to return to their apartments as quickly as possible and that their homes would be preserved throughout the redevelopment of Ground Zero,” said Silver. “I am hopefill that the landlord will take the final steps that will clear the way for the residents to return before the end of the year.”

Despite the delay, there is much relief that the cleaning techniques originally recommended by DEP following the disaster have proven to work well.

“The outcome at 125 Cedar not only validates the cleaning procedures we initially recommended to the public immediately after 9/11,” noted Avaltroni. “These results are a good indication to all residents of Lower Manhattan that it is safe to return to normal activities.”

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