Gothamist: Ouroussoff: Goodbye Transparency, Hello Fear

bob

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:52:17 -0500

also note the bomproofing of all the buildings around Foley Square (Centre Street) - they are even ripping out all the windows of the historic federal court house to put in inperable blast proof windows - so how does the FDNY get firemen in through blast proof windows!

Schadenfreudian Mensch

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 13:45:40 -0500

Yes, those barriers will sure keep the Cory Lidle's from ramming their planes into those precious buildings.

Lexiphane

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 12:59:53 -0500

Fear of lawsuits perhaps. I'm sure the cost of these barriers is hardly justified in light of the long odds that a truck bomber would damage or completely destroy any individual low-priority-target building. When judged by the potential costs of a lawsuit on behalf of anyone killed or injured in the event of a bombing when barriers were absent, I'm sure their installation looks like a bargain.

MT

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 12:55:24 -0500

That's a really interesting idea. I hadn't thought about it before but I guess a lot of the newest architecture is very fortress-like. Look at the buildings of Liebeskind and Hadid. The stone edifices with slashes of glass do look pretty formidable.

matty

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 12:32:36 -0500

Considering most of the Park Avenue buildings are "pre-war" I guess we can blame Woodrow Wilson and his fear mongering for scaring the nation's architects to build buildings that would protect its citizenry from Bolsheviks and Kaiser-Loving Huns.