A construction crane crushed construction trailers and trapped a worker this morning. According to 1010WINS, the FDNY says "the crane dropped a load of steel it was carrying and crushed the trailers. At least one person was rescued; his condition was not immediately available." more ›

A 19th century Greek revival building on Pearl Street – the road that formed the oyster shell strewn border of New Amsterdam in the 17th century – will soon be torn down, according to the A.P. The former warehouse at 213 Pearl was built in 1831 and was integral to what Ric Burns calls “the first district in the world devoted exclusively to commerce.” Once the city approves the permit, demolition could start as early... more ›

Governor Pataki, you can kiss your April "Freedom Tower" groundbreaking goodbye: Talks between World Trade Center leaseholder, the developer Larry Silverstein, and the Port Authority (WTC owner) went nowhere yesterday, as the deadline to . So enter the namecalling: Tthe PA calling Silverstein greedy and Silverstein saying that the PA "elected to suspend talks." The Times reports that talks "nearly blew up" many times during the waning hours of negotiating time (the deadline was 12:00AM), while the Post explains how the talks went:

The PA and Silverstein spent much of the day negotiating - until both sides took a break at 6 p.m. with an outline on the table that called for the developer to assume control of Towers 2, 3 and 4 on Church Street, officials said. more ›

The sound of rumbling you hear at the World Trade Center site isn't just from construction - it's the sound of egos. Senator Chales Schumer asked Mayor Bloomberg to commit $1.75 billion in Liberty Bonds to the project and dissed the Mayor's suggestion to put residential buildings - in other words, Schumer's strategy was "criticize and ask for money." Mayor Bloomberg said no way, considering the project could "come to a grinding halt." Schumer is also asking that the Port Authority move into Freedom Tower, which is more expensive (and might take the longest to complete) - oh, and he'd like WTC developer Larry Silverstein to slash his fee for managing the project. Yes, Schumer has been very, very busy. What Gothamist cannot believe is that it's almost five years after September 11 and there's still so much fighting about trying to rebuild the area. more ›

Robert DeNiro's future TriBeCa hotel will open in 2005. The six-story luxury hotel, at Greenwich and North Moore, is partially funded by the state's Liberty Bonds, which also funded Barry Diller's West Chelsea headquarters. The design was approved by the Landmarks Commission, but as if there was any doubt - it looks like everything else in that neighborhood. Ten, fifteen years ago, this would have been more exciting, but now it seems to be average in that typical upscale/downtown/new development way. Yes, it's supposed to fit in...but it could still have a little more oomph. Gothamist does like what we're hearing about the working wooden shutters and wraparound steel canopy but we can't help hoping David Rockwell is saving the magic for the interiors. more ›

It turns out that Barry Diller's new $138 million West Chelsea headquarters will be partly funded by the city's Liberty Bonds, which were created to help the city recover from September 11. Diller's InterActiveCorp won approval for $80 million of bonds, aided by promises of job generation. The 30 year-bonds have lower interest rates than banks, saving millions in interest payments and other taxes. This does not surprise us, as, of course, the man behind the Movie of the Week would be smart enough to save some money on his new headquarters. more ›