Starting today demolition of the portions of floors (14th - 20th) that were damaged in last years fire will take place. Each floor should take approximately 1 to 2 days to complete.

[FONT=Verdana]The LMDC has received approval from federal, state and city regulators for the amended plan governing the abatement of 130 Liberty Street. As a result of this approval, LVI Services, Inc, the subcontractor, will be permitted to proceed with the abatement of the building. The approved plan decouples the abatement and deconstruction phases of the project and contains safety enhancements, including the installation of fire suppression systems in certain areas of the decontamination units and the fire hardening of all decontamination chambers.[/FONT]

The Deutsche Bank demolition job is a nightmare of safety violations and near disasters, with subcontractor John Galt Corp. repeatedly misleading regulators, documents charge.

Weeks before the Aug. 18 blaze that killed two firefighters, Galt workers accidentally set a safety net afire and dropped molten steel on some scaffolding. Galt workers doused the fire without calling the Fire Department.

Galt also assured the state that a crucial standpipe that failed during the fatal fire was tested and in "working condition" in April 2006. After the fire, inspectors discovered a piece of the pipe had been cut and removed.

The Manhattan district attorney and the state attorney general are investigating the cause of the fire and trying to determine responsibility.

An increasing number of incidents leading up to the fire are found in internal reports by inspectors for the federal Environmental Protection Agency and an EPA consultant, CH2M Hill of New Jersey, from March 21, 2006, through this Aug. 16 - two days before the fire.

The records show regulators were constantly citing Galt for numerous problems. At times, Galt appeared to be trying to deceive its overseers.

For instance, on June 9, 2006, the subcontractor claimed a pile of debris had been cleaned of toxic dust and passed air and wipe tests deeming it safe for disposal.

Galt couldn't provide documentation, so the EPA decided to check it out.
On the 35th floor, the EPA discovered the material was still filthy with toxic dust. After complaining that Galt was wasting their time, regulators confronted Galt executive Don Adler.

"Adler stated something to the effect that this building isn't subject to any regulations, so what standard could it possibly fail?" EPA inspector Bob Fitzpatrick wrote.

Another Galt executive, Mitch Alvo, made several excuses. Fitzpatrick noted: "He seemed to know that the material wouldn't pass the regulators' inspection
and was trying to justify it."

Galt executives did not return a call seeking comment.

More than a year later, on July 5, Fitzpatrick noted two containers with "large amounts of dust and debris" that were reported to have been cleaned.

"This is a constant and recurring problem," he wrote.

It wasn't just dust. Eight days later, inspectors watched as workers dumped contaminated water through a hole in the 20th floor.

The pervasiveness of problems appears to have led a key safety inspector to simply throw up his hands. In a March 1 visit, regulators said they confronted Bovis Lend Lease site safety manager Jeff Melofchik about numerous workers without proper hardhats or other protective gear.

The report says Melofchik "stated he was aware of the problem but didn't think it was going to be fixed."

A Bovis spokeswoman said Melofchik denies making such a statement and insists he tried to correct the problems "immediately."

One of the worst days came on July 31, weeks before the blaze that killed Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino.

That day, CH2M Hill said Galt workers cutting steel on the 28th floor set afire safety netting hanging outside the building. Galt workers doused the blaze with extinguishers and a water hose.

Inspectors on the 23rd floor saw "pieces of molten metal" falling from above and landing on outside scaffolding.

Finally, they asked a Galt "management specialist" to identify the contents of drums of toxic waste that were to be transported from the building.

"After 15 minutes, it becomes apparent that the specialist is not really sure what is in each drum," the consultant wrote.

Two days later, the city Buildings Department ordered all burning work halted, issuing a violation for unsafe storage of combustible materials, records show.

A Fire Department spokesman declined to comment.

The Bronx contractor booted off the Deutsche Bank tower job for incompetence stood to pocket extra millions by selling off all the scrap metal stripped from the damaged tower.

Under its deal with the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the state agency that owns the building, John Galt Corp. was allowed to sell off any metal taken from the tower damaged in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

At the current price of about $255 a ton, John Galt would have pocketed nearly $4.6 million in profit merely by cleaning off and selling the building's 18,000 tons of scrap metal - on top of the tens of millions for the demolition.

State officials refused to answer questions yesterday about how much scrap Galt has already sold off. In the past five months, the firm has removed 10 floors off the top of the building.

Officials would confirm only that the contractor is allowed to sell off any scrap it recovers and cleans, from steel beams to air conditioning units.

"The metals are being recovered and recycled, including the building mechanical equipment such as pumps, chillers, etc.," the LMDC told the Daily News.

The agency said the "value of the metal on recovery goes to the contractor to offset the cost of demolition." It would not say whether John Galt's profits from the scrap metal were able to lower the cost to taxpayers.

I got an e-mail this morning from LMDC:

JOINT STATEMENT FROM NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS AND FIRE DEPARTMENT REGARDING

INCIDENT AT 130 LIBERTY STREET

At approximately 2:00 PM, a worker employed by the John Galt Company was working on the 23rd floor of 130 Liberty Street when he lost control of a pallet jack he was operating. The jack traveled through the door of a construction hoist, falling 23 stories. The falling jack landed on the top of a temporary covering, which partially collapsed, injuring two firefighters. The firefighters were transported to St. Vincent’s hospital. Firefighter William Corbetis, of Engine 258, is in serious condition. Firefighter Neil Nally, also of Engine 258 is in stable condition.

The Buildings Department’s Stop Work Order, issued after Saturday’s fire, remains in effect for demolition activities. The Stop Work Order did not apply to remedial work (such as cleaning of debris and repairing scaffolding), which the individual operating the pallet jack was conducting. Since today’s incident, all work has been halted to allow for an investigation by the Fire Department.

Looks like it's all over, Galt was hit with a "Notice of Default" yesterday from Bovis Lend Lease, the general contractor. The notice axed Galt from the project, citing numerous safety violations at the demolition site and "the failure to properly maintain all required site safety precautions."

Is that all that they have showing up?

Well ins't that interesting. With things like this, it maybe their last.

I usually get e-mails updates from the LMDC, be interesting if they send out something today. If they do I will post it.