NEW YORK, NY December 21, 2007 —But following this summer's fatal fire, officials have no idea when it will come down. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has this update.
It has been over four months since a fire at the ill-fated vacant tower killed two firefighters. Yet, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation that owns the site is still immersed in negotiations on how to proceed.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver blames the federal EPA.
SILVER: We are the victim of the previous mistakes of the federal EPA, who basically does not want to sign off on anything because of their previous mistakes on 9/11.
An EPA spokeswoman refuted Silver's charge and the agency won high praise from Congressman Gerald Nadler's office for their work on the 130 Liberty Street project.
Meanwhile, a criminal probe continues of the circumstances surrounding last August's fire. For WNYC, I'm Bob Hennelly.
OUTRO: Last week, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta told a City Council hearing his department had yet to sign off on a plan to move forward.
Once the building is demolished, the site is supposed to be turned over to the Port Authority. The plan is for JP Morgan Chase to then lease it and build a 40 story office building.
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