Deutsche Bank Building

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For the current Deutsche Bank building in New York, see 60 Wall Street

The Deutsche Bank Building at 130 Liberty Street in New York City, United States, adjacent to the World Trade Center, opened in 1974 as Bankers Trust Plaza. The building was acquired by Deutsche Bank when it acquired Bankers Trust in 1998. The Deutsche Bank Building was heavily damaged in the September 11, 2001 attacks and severely infested with mold and other contaminants, to the extent that the building was declared not salvageable. The building remained vacant for several years after the attacks, shrouded in black netting. The building was declared a total loss in 2004. In 2007, deconstruction of the building proceeded.

Damage

The 40-story building was severely damaged by the collapse of the 2 World Trade Center (South Tower) in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The collapse of 2 World Trade Center tore a 24-story gash into the facade and destroyed the lobby. As well, a steel beam was lodged in its side. With a gaping hole exposing the building to the elements, black mold severely contaminated the building and its ventilation system.

After the 9/11 attacks, netting that had the appearance of a black burial shroud was placed around the building. The bank maintained that the building could not be restored to habitable condition, while its insurers sought to treat the incident as recoverable damage rather than a total loss. Work on the building was deferred for over two years during which the condition of the building deteriorated. The fire sprinkler system had sprayed excessive water in the building, which caused black mold to grow, making the building unsafe.

Remains

In 2002, over a year after the attacks, a number of mummified human remains were found inside the building. The remains had been ejected there by the explosions across Liberty Street. Additionally, in September 2005, even more human remains were found on the roof. In March 2006, construction workers who were removing toxic waste from the building before deconstruction found more bone fragments and remains. This has prompted calls from victims' family members for another search of the building by forensic experts. In 2006 between April 7 to April 14, over 300 human bone fragments were discovered in the ballast gravel on the roof. Workers sifted through the gravel to find these remains. In total, more than 700 bone fragments were discovered on the roof of the building.

Deconstruction

The cost of this deconstruction has steadily increased as large amounts of 9/11 toxins, asbestos, dioxin, lead, silica, quartz, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chromium and manganese have been found in the building.

On February 27,2004, an agreement was announced to settle the disposition of the building and insurance claims. Later that year as part of this agreement, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation acquired the land and commenced its deconstruction.

An Associated Press December 7, 2006 report indicates that the building will be dismantled. This report indicated that area residents were fearful of the 9/11 toxins in the dust within the building.

Deconstruction began in March 2007, and as of January 2008, deconstruction is scheduled to continue until the end of the year.

May 2007 Accident

On May 17 2007, work was halted after a 22-foot section of pipe being cut by workers fell 35 stories and through the roof of "The Ten House", home to Engine 10 and Ladder 10 of the Fire Department of New York. Two firefighters were injured by debris, although they were not struck by the pipe itself.

August 2007 Fire

On August 18, 2007 at approximately 3:40pm a 7-alarm fire broke out on the 17th floor of the building. The skyscraper, once 41 stories, had been reduced to 26, with crews removing a floor a week. At the time of the fire, crews were removing asbestos. A preliminary cause of the blaze has been found to be careless smoking by workers on the 17th floor even though smoking was prohibited. The fire spread in both directions, affecting a total of 10 floors. The floors were filled with a maze of protective polyurethane sheets which were designed to prevent the spread of asbestos. The sheets also helped to trap smoke making fighting the fire near impossible. Two firefighters, Joseph Graffagnino, 33, of Brooklyn, and Robert Beddia, 53, of Staten Island were found on the 14th floor. They suffered severe smoke inhalation and died from carbon monoxide poisoning. In addition to the nightmare conditions inside, the building did not have a functioning standpipe. Firefighters were forced to raise hoses up from the street to combat the flames. The building had not been inspected since March, when it should have been inspected every 15 days. The fire burned into the night before being put out. Plans to deconstruct the building will still continue as quickly as possible.

Future of the 130 Liberty Street site

Negotiations over the World Trade Center site concluded in April 2006 with private developer Larry Silverstein yielding his right to develop on the site designated for Tower Five to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in exchange for assistance in financing Towers Two, Three, and Four. Mayor Michael Bloomberg later claimed there wasn't enough demand for office space to fill the five towers included in the World Trade Center's master plan and called for a major revision of the plan to include housing and hotels. But the demand for Manhattan office space, including downtown, has boomed since 2006, and January 16, 2007, financial giant JP Morgan Chase was in talks with the Port Authority about developing the new 5 World Trade Center skyscraper into a corporate tower, which would prevent Mayor Bloomberg's push to use the site for housing.

Several sources familiar with JPMorgan Chase's talks with state and Port Authority officials said the firm's bid to develop the proposed 57-story tower for major corporate tenants is being taken seriously by the bistate agency. In fact, sources said, JPMorgan Chase is not the only corporate bidder for the site.

To make the commercial deal work, the Port Authority would have to agree to expand the size of Tower 5's base in order to accommodate the large, lower-level floors needed for trading rooms, a requirement for most financial-services firms.

On June 14 2007, Bloomberg and Governor Eliot Spitzer announced that JP Morgan Chase had won the bid to buy and build the new tower at 130 Liberty Street to replace the Deutsche Bank Building.

References

External links

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