WTC contractor under fire at meeting
Photo credit: AP Photo / David Karp | Smoke billows from the abandoned Deutsche Bank Building.
The embattled contractor responsible for dismantling the Deutsche Bank building faced an angry crowd Wednesday night, many of whom said they hold the company responsible for the fire that took two firefighters' lives this month.
Residents and local leaders alike jeered officials with Bovis Lend Lease, the company they believe allowed 130 Liberty St. to turn into a firetrap piled high with flammable materials, blocked stairwells and no working central water pipe.
"How much more fear and trepidation is this community expected to endure?" New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) asked at the meeting. "These accidents are inexcusable. We need to know that you understand that Bovis has an obligation to this community."
In addition to the deaths of Firefighters Joseph Graffagnino, 33, of Brooklyn, and Robert Beddia, 53, of Staten Island, on Aug. 18, a worker accidentally pushed a piece of heavy steel equipment off the 23rd floor last week, injuring two more firefighters.
Bovis officials defended the company's safety record, though they refused to answer specific questions about what went wrong in the days before the fire because the matter is under investigation by both Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Officials said this week that workers smoking likely caused the fire.
"Bovis is justifiably proud of its safety record in New York City," said Mark Melson, an executive vice president with the company. "We deeply deeply regret the loss of life and subsequent injuries at the site."
As he spoke, one resident in attendance turned around and mouthed the words "Blah blah blah," to the person standing behind him.
After the accident last week, Bovis fired its controversial subcontractor, the John Galt Corp.
John Galt had also been cited for city and federal violations for holes in the building's floor, falling debris and sparks flying near combustible material.
But members of Community Board 1 and other community groups demanded to know why it took a highly publicized disaster to move Bovis to take action.
"How is it that we raised a red flag about this in 2006" but Bovis failed to see problems until recently, asked Julie Menin, president of the board.
In 2006, the board expressed similar concerns about John Galt and another subcontractor, Safeway Environmental Corp., citing their sketchy track records. Safeway was the contractor in charge of dismantling an Upper West Side supermarket in 2005 when it collapsed, injuring a nanny and an infant.
Melson would only say that his company will only consider highly experienced contractors with good safety records to replace Galt.
The Deutsche Bank building, deemed a toxic site since the Twin Towers fell in September 2001, was being deconstructed floor by floor when fire broke out.
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