John Galt

The ever-troubled Deutsche Bank building at Ground Zero seems to be moving a bit closer to deconstruction, as the state announced today that it has approved an abatement plan for the tower at 130 Liberty Street.

After a fire at the building killed two firefighters this summer, the deconstruction of the damaged tower was put on hold while officials sorted through the high-profile mess. On top of being strongly associated with the fatal fire and a couple other attention-grabbing accidents at the site, one of the subcontractors on the job, John Galt, was tainted by scandal and mob ties, as the Times revealed, and was booted off the deconstruction team.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation then selected a new general contractor last month, LVI Services, Inc., which plans to mostly remove asbestos before dismantling the building.  read more »

Almost five months after a deadly fire halted deconstruction on the former Deutsche Bank building at Ground Zero, the state has picked a new contractor to oversee its demolition, New York-based LVI Services (which also specializes in controlling the “superbug” bacteria … just in case).

Ironically, LVI was originally slated to be involved in the deconstruction of the building, though a deal with it and lead contractor Bovis Lend Lease fell apart, according to an August article in The New York Times. As a result of the failed deal, Bovis brought on board the John Galt Corporation, the company that has reportedly come under investigation for the fire on Aug. 18 that killed two firefighters. The Times has more on John Galt here.  read more »

Here’s a snippet of a community board meeting in Manhattan last night about the construction work at the former Deutsche Bank building, where two firemen were killed and two more injured in a seperate incident afterwards.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is jointly controlled by the governor and the mayor, hired as the general contractor for the site a company called Bovis Lend Lease. Bovis, in turn, hired as a subcontractor the John Galt Corporation, who Bovis has since fired.

Several investigations are now underway.

But residents at the meeting last night wondered how Galt was hired in the first place, since the company had no experience doing the kind of work they were contracted to do, and allegedly had ties to organized crime.

In the clip above, Bovis Executive Vice President Mark Melson (right) and Senior Vice President James Abadie (left) are asked that question by a local resident.

"Who forced your hand? Was it the former governor? Was it the former governor’s mentor, Al D’Amato? Who was that person," the resident asked.

Melson said he doesn't know.