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Residents fret over air, again

By David Freedlander, amNewYork Staff Writer | dfreedlander@am-ny.com

August 20, 2007

Fire broke out at the abandoned Deutsche Bank Building, bordering Ground Zero. Two firefighters were killed trying to battle the blaze. (Newsday / Patrick Andrade / August 18, 2007)

Some lower Manhattan residents remained on edge a day after a deadly fire broke out at a building across from Ground Zero, with many calling on the city to better coordinate emergency responses.

The fire at the Deutsche Bank building killed two firefighters and sent a plume of smoke across the sky where the Twin Towers once stood. Saturday's blaze remains under investigation.

Those who live near the area said it reminded them of the terrorist attacks six years ago, and how vulnerable they still are should another tragedy strike.

"We live in the greatest city on earth but it's so scary here sometimes," said Diane Lapson, president of the Independence Plaza North Tenants Association. "We feel like we are the forgotten people here."

Many said fire officials couldn't tell them whether or not they should evacuate.

"First responders need to know that we are here," said Esther Regelson, who lives a block south of the Deutsche Bank building. "It's not safe. It's what we've been fearing all along."

Many area residents said they feel that city officials have not done enough to put emergency evacuation plans in place.

"It was like I was back on 9/11," said Pat Moore, whose building faces Ground Zero to the front and the charred Deutsche Bank building to the side. "There we were, back on the roof again, watching the whole thing burning, and wondering if it was going to collapse."

Residents of the area have long felt that they were mislead after 9/11 into believing that the air quality around their homes was safer than it was, and many still suffer respiratory ailments related to the collapse of the Twin Towers

Gov. Elliot Spitzer toured the site earlier Sunday and declared the air quality safe.

"There are numerous air quality monitors in this vicinity," Spitzer said. "And this is ongoing, it has been persistent. Every one of them has been negative for asbestos; every one of them has been negative for the fine particulate matter that is of concern to us."

Many remained skeptical.

"What I hear is that the air is safe to breathe," said Moore. "But I don't know whether or not to believe it."

Borough President Scott Stringer called for an investigation into what kinds of contaminants were released from the fire

"The last time people were lied to," he said. "We are not going to sit down until we are satisfied that the air quality is safe."

The Deutsche Bank building has remained vacant since it was damaged beyond repair on 9/11 and found to contain toxic contaminants.