The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) announced today that another milestone has been reached at 130 Liberty Street and that the final stages of work on the abatement and decontamination have commenced. Since the tragic fire of August 18, 2007, the LMDC has worked closely with federal, state and city agencies to enhance safety conditions for first responders, workers and residents and to make modifications to the plan for abating the building.

On February 7, 2008 the LMDC received approval from thirteen federal, state and city agencies for modifications to the plan for abating 130 Liberty, including the decision to completely abate the building prior to deconstructing it.  Following that approval, LVI Environmental Services, Inc. has been working two shifts a day with approximately 150 to 200 workers in the building to prepare it for full abatement and clearance by environmental regulators.
   
The work completed by LVI to date includes the restoration of building enclosures, the construction of two interior fire-rated stairwells for use by first responders, the creation of emergency scaffold egress for the New York City Fire Department, the installation of a remote negative air cutoff switch, the fire-hardening of decontamination chambers and existing vestibules, the building of new fire control systems within the decontamination chambers, the shoring of slabs compromised in the fire and the installation of additional sidewalk sheds. 
 
As a result of the work completed by LVI to date, the New York City Department of Buildings today lifted a stop work order that has been in place since the August 18 fire that will allow the final stages of cleaning and abatement to proceed with a full complement of over 300 trained asbestos workers working two shifts per day, six days a week.
 
“Today we have taken another important step towards our goal of safely and expeditiously abating and deconstructing 130 Liberty Street,” stated Avi Schick, Chairman of the LMDC.  “For months we have had up to 200 workers in the building making significant progress, but today we have entered a new critical phase that will enable us to bring a hundred additional workers on to the building to finish abating it, taking us a step closer to completing this project and bringing closure to the residents of Lower Manhattan.” 

“Over the past months, City agencies have worked closely with our state and federal partners in an effort to make 130 Liberty Street the safest possible environment for the workers who will complete the abatement and demolition, for the first responders who may need to operate in the building, and for the surrounding community,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler. “As abatement restarts, the City will continue to have a strong and ongoing presence at the site through the Fire Department, the Buildings Department and the Department of Environmental Protection. We will assist in any way we can while enforcing the robust safety measures that have been put in place until the remainder of the building is abated and safely deconstructed.” 

 “I’m pleased that the countless meetings I have held with community leaders and city, state, and federal regulatory agencies have helped create a concrete 2-stage plan to remediate and then deconstruct this building,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.  “This is a welcome announcement that will bring us one step closer to rebuilding and revitalizing downtown.”