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Firm To Face Public After Deutsche Bank Fire

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Aug 25, 2007 12:26 pm US/Eastern

Firm To Face Public After Deutsche Bank Fire

NEW YORK (AP) ― The main firm responsible for taking down a troubled ground zero skyscraper has agreed to discuss the project at a public meeting, the company and a city official said.

The announcement Friday came amid growing concern about the former Deutsche Bank office tower, where an Aug. 18 blaze killed two firefighters. Two more were injured Thursday when a heavy piece of construction equipment plummeted 23 stories to the ground.

The building, vacant since it was scarred and contaminated with asbestos and other toxins in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was being dismantled floor-by-floor, though the work has been halted.

The recent accidents refueled community concerns about contaminants, falling debris, and other dangers from the building. Residents and public officials jammed a community board meeting earlier this week.

The chief contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, wasn't represented at the meeting. CEO Peter A. Marchetto said in a letter Friday to Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer that the firm hadn't known it was invited.

Marchetto said Bovis representatives would appear at a future meeting. No date was set.

"We share the concerns of the community," Marchetto wrote.

Julie Menin, the chairwoman of the area's community board, said in a statement Friday that it was "imperative that the community hear directly from Bovis about what happened" and what would be done to prevent future problems.

A subcontractor, John Galt Corp., was conducting most of the work at the site. Bovis sent Galt a default notice Wednesday, giving Galt five days' notice before Bovis could terminate the contract. Galt had been cited with dozens of safety violations during the project.

The telephone rang unanswered at Galt's Bronx offices early Saturday.

(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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