Deconstructing The Deutsche Bank Again

The EPA and the LMDC came to an agreement yesterday on how to temporarily proceed with plans to demolish the rest of the Deutsche Bank building on 130 Liberty. More than six years after it was damaged by the 9/11 attacks, it still stands there with what looks like giant fishnets on its sides. The EPA publicly condemned the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. for its lack of safety and concern for those that work and live in the downtown area. The lapses in safety ultimately led to two firefighters losing their lives last month when a fire broke out in the hulking abandoned mess of a building.

There have been a lot of financial problems that contributed to the problems at 130 Liberty St. Insurance money did not come in at first, the federal government under George Bush did next to nothing and still to this day does not adequately fund New York City for what happened in 2001.

Avi Schick is now the head of the LMDC which was charged with taking down the Bank building earlier this year after Spitzer was inaugurated. To his credit, he has only been there a few months despite the fire occurring during his watch. Still, that building should have been inspected up and down. Since it wasn't, debris in the stairwells and a non-existent water system indirectly killed two brave souls of the FDNY.

The criminal investigation is still in its preliminary stages, but that does not mean we should just slowly forget about it and let them publish a slap on the wrist in a Friday news dump sometime next year. Someone is going to be held accountable for their (in)actions whether they like it or not.