News

NEW YORK, NY June 30, 2005 —WNYC has learned that the City is allowing a building with vital telecommunications equipment to store thousands of gallons fuel, despite the concerns of Lower Manhattan residents. WNYC's Beth Fertig has more.

Neighbors in Tribeca have been fighting the building at 60 Hudson Street because they fear it's a potential target after 9-11. It's a hub for the telecommunications industry - so it needs to have backup power. But the facility has been in violation of city building codes for the past three years by storing more diesel fuel on some its floors than the limit.

The management company said it had trouble storing the fuel in other ways and argued that the overall amount is within the limit. In granting a variance, the city has asked the building to install fire resistant walls around the tanks and generators.

But a neighborhood activist says the building is still a threat because it has thousands of gallons of fuel below ground as well.