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SHE KILLS MONSTERS, P. 27
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VOLUME 24, NUMBER 29
express s THE NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN
W.T.C. Command Center alterations questioned
A foggy bottom
Downtown Express photo by Milo Hess
On Monday, Dec.5, a dense fog enveloped much of the city. Pier 25 in Tribeca appeared spared from the fog that hovered above the Hudson River.
Community Board 1 looking for facts on methadone clinic’s move BY CYNTHIA MAGNUS Community Board 1 is feeling left out of the loop. A methadone clinic is moving into the neighborhood and some board members are disturbed because they weren’t notified.
Representatives of Gramercy Park Services LLC, an uptown methadone clinic currently planning a move to 90 Maiden Lane will make a presentation at the C.B. 1 Financial District Committee meeting on Wednesday to
DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2011
explain their plans to sublease space and share a floor with an existing substance abuse treatment practice, Metropolitan Corporation for Life Skills.
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BY ALINE REYNOLDS The First Precinct and World Trade Center Command Center is moving its headquarters to W.T.C. Four, according to a recent announcement made by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and confirmed by the New York Police Department. The decision, which Bloomberg announced at the annual World Trade Center press conference on Sept. 7, came as a surprise to Community Board 1 Chairperson Julie Menin during an interview this week. “I don’t know why we weren’t notified — we asked to be notified,” said Menin. Relocating the precinct, now situated in Tribeca, to the W.T.C. site is a “questionable” move, she said. “I’d absolutely want to hear more from the Commissioner about this as to why it should be on the site itself. It has to be near the site, ‘cause it has to be proximate, but not [directly] on the site.” Specifically, Menin fears that the precinct could become a potential terrorist target if it is located at the redeveloped W.T.C. rather
than in its vicinity — citing former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s widely criticized move to place the then-police command center at 7 W.T.C. “When 9/11 happened, so many of the top commanders and officers at the site were out of communication with the rest of the field — that was a major issue,” said Menin. Meanwhile, the newly formed W.T.C. Command Center, which has temporarily replaced the 1st Precinct horse stable on Ericsson Place, is now being scrutinized for what is considered to be potentially unlawful alterations to the building. “We don’t think the [city Landmarks Preservation Commission] approved it,” said C.B. 1 Landmarks Committee Chair Roger Byrom. “So we sent an e-mail to the [Department of Buildings] and the L.P.C. saying, ‘can you tell us what went wrong here.’” L.P.C. Spokesperson Lisi de Bourbon said the commissioners are investigating the matter per the community’s request. “It’s a landmarked building,” she said.
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