114 Liberty Street clearance inquiry, April 2003

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Cc: "Gilsenan, Michael" <[email protected]>: "Radhakrishnan, Krish" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 10:26 AM Subject: 114 Liberty Street

> This is in response to your request to leave the polyethylene sheeting over > the windows in place at the completion of the Department's unoccupied > building clean up of debris from the collapse of the WTC. > > It is my understanding that building representatives and the Department > retained contractor, ETS, were in discussions regarding this matter prior to > addressing the request with the Department. I received the first call and > inquiry while at home on Friday evening (April 4, 2003) while the breakdown > was directed to begin at 7:00 a.m. Saturday (April 5, 2003). The two major > issues are the late request to the Department for the change in project > planning and the direct communication with the contractor rather than the > Department. Also, please note the written request was received on Saturday, > April 5, 2003 at 9:42 A.M. The request included two original messages dated > Friday, April 4, 2003 at 8:35 P.M. and at 9:21 P.M. that were not received. > Also, the project monitor, JLC Consultants, did not receive the information > regarding the request. > > Despite the notice, the Department reviewed your request and agreed to > permit the polyethylene sheeting to remain over the windows. The > polyethylene sheeting installed over existing damaged in place asbestos > -containing material in the residential spaces was left in place. Further, > the 1st floor commercial space (Pizzeria) was isolated from the remainder of > the building. The demolition of the dropped ceiling in the Pizzeria > disclosed the presence of delaminated and damaged asbestos-containing > material (ACM). This material had lost its cohesion properties and was > falling off in large sections. Further, the substrate was also found to be > asbestos-containing material. The area was cleaned and passed a visual > inspection by the Department prior to its isolation, however, clearance > testing was not performed. Also, in the basement above the oil tank there > is a partial layer of white block. The blocks were in good condition and > therefore were not sampled nor covered. > > As you are aware, statement made to the Department prior to the initiation > of the cleaning activities indicated that the building did not have in place 2

NYC-WTC_000163131