Results tagged “worldfinancialcenter”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and state Department of Labor were at the World Financial Center yesterday, investigating yesterday's accident where two window washers were killed when a cherry picker toppled. While it is believed the device toppled due to a dip in the ground, another worker told the Post fluid was leaking from it last week and then it was fixed. The men, cousins who were longtime window washers, were working for Total Buildings Service, which told a Daily News reporter who called for comment, "There's really no story here."

Two cousins working as window washers died early this morning at the World Financial Center, on Vesey Street. WABC 7 reports that they seemed to be moving the lift, "which can lift three to four stories into the air, when the vehicle hit a depression in the roadway. The lift toppled over, crushing them." The men, ages 35 and 37, died from their injuries. The police and other agencies have been investigating the incident throughout the night; the city has been trying to improve safety for construction and window washing practices after a series of fatal accidents.

Now that Rupert Murdoch owns The Wall Street Journal, he wants all his toys in one toychest properties in one building, namely News Corporation's Sixth Avenue building. The Wall Street Journal newsroom has always been downtown and is currently located at the World Financial Center.

The architect who was in the construction site trailer crushed by 14,000 pounds of steel that fell 25 stories from a crane may never walk again. Doctors believe Robert Woo was likely paralyzed; his mother said, "He might not walk again...I've been telling him he's lucky to be alive." It is amazing Woo is alive - seeing photographs of the site, it's incredible he survived - but given the amount of construction and development ongoing in the city, we're alarmed as well.

Architect Robert Woo is hospitalized but in stable condition today after the construction trailer he was working in was crushed by a load of falling steel that a crane dropped. The crane was elevating the steel at the site of the new Goldman Sachs building at the World Trade Center. The accident occurred yesterday morning when a nylon sling snapped and seven tons of steel fell 25 stories. Woo was the only person injured in the incident at 200 Vesey St. He was pulled from the wrecked trailer dazed and bleeding from his mouth.

Thousands of commercial office workers, such as janitors and doormen, voted to strike on January 1 if building owners do not agree to give them raises. The workers, part of Service Employees International Union's Local 32BJ union, believe that building owners can afford to give them "significant raises" because owners have been benefiting from high rents. However, the owners says the economy is too shaky to give them raises. Members of the union marched from...

Yesterday morning's rain caused a recently installed sewer main to burst, flooding the basement and parking garage of a Battery Park City luxury apartment building. Water levels reached up to 20 feet. Not only were car owners greeted with news that their vehicles were either submerged or floating on top of sewer water, hundreds of tenants at 90 West Street were evacuated. Fire officials explained that, per WNBC, "rain flooded a re-routed sewer pipe,...

After many attempts by World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein and state officials to keep brokerage Merrill Lynch downtown, the NY Times reports the firm "appears ready" to move to a new, yet-to-be built skyscraper on Seventh Avenue between 32nd and 33rd Streets.

Migrating birds should have a safer journey now that the US Post Office has altered the exterior of one of its Manhattan facilities. Migrating birds have annually fallen prey to the Morgan General Mail Facility in Chelsea. The distribution center between 9th and 10th Aves. has a south face that reflects the trees in Chelsea Park on 28th St. Thinking they've found a nice perch, many birds smack into the side of the building. Volunteers for the Audubon Society counted 338 avian fatalities at the Morgan mail building during last fall's migratory season.

Now that Rupert Murdoch is on his way to owning the Wall Street Journal, not only does he get to enjoy owning the successful and admired newspapers, he gets to feel the brunt of its personnel headaches too! The NY Times reports that signs from contract-less employees, including the phrase "Show Me The Money," have been plastered on WSJ office walls, only for someone to tear them down...and for someone else to put them back up and on and on again.

This past Saturday anyone with a music playing device was invited to The World Financial Center Plaza by the North Cove Yacht Harbor. Potential participants were told to be there by 4pm, to wear a red, blue, yellow, or green t-shirt, to bring a watch with a second hand and a camera if possible, and to download an mp3 from their site.

Maybe there is good reason to try to stay off Forbes' list of 400 wealthiest people. The Manhattan DA's office charged a 24-year-old Russian national with an elaborate identity ring that targeted rich Americans.

THEATER: The Summer Play Festival is at full blaze over at the Theater Row complex on 42nd Street. At $10 a ticket it’s your cheapest way to catch new work by playwrights whose heat index is rising. Tonight you have your pick of four plays; insider theater blogger Surplus recommends Cipher, which concerns two clerks stuck in a secret location monitoring the thoughts of suspected terrorists. “When their assignment gets tough, they begin to ask questions — which is a dangerous thing to do.” - John Del Signore

When some Con Ed workers at Ground Zero found some human remains in a manhole last October, the city promised it would expand the search for remains (especially since it was revealed that the initial search for remains was more of a rush job). Now the city says that it will search under two more spots: West Street, in front of the World Financial Center, and Cedar Street, between Washington and West Streets.

On Saturday I found myself cycling through the drizzling rain to The World Financial Center, an office building on the western edge of the former World Trade Center site. The occasion was Lisa D’Amour and Katie Pearl’s astonishing site-specific performance piece, Bird Eye Blue Print, presented in several rooms in an abandoned office for small audiences of 22 at a time. Upon receiving my ticket in the building’s lobby, I was asked to jot down my “point of origin” on a scrap of paper and wait.

THEATER: Listen up: The World Financial Center’s unique Word of Mouth Festival is going on through Saturday only. Taking inspiration from the festival’s location, The Women’s Project is presenting a series of short plays by women playwrights called Girls Just Wanna Have Fund$. They’re all site-specific works about the relationships between women and wealth (or lack thereof); audiences are escorted through various spots around the World Financial Center to watch each performance. (There's an article today's Times Metro section.) Another intriguing production is Bird Eye Blue Print, which occurs in an abandoned office suite on the first floor of One World Financial Center. “In these rooms, a mysterious woman known only as ‘the blue dress lady’ has made her home. Join her as she tours you through her realm of disappearing birds, empty phone jacks, false doorways and lost sisters. Is it an office suite? Or an elaborate optical illusion?” (Playwright Jeffrey M. Jones highly recommends the play; he also stresses that while they are limiting the advance reservations for Bird Eye Blue Print, nobody who showed up without a reservation was turned away on the night he attended.) - John Del Signore

MOVIE: In their ongoing series about The Next Generation of Film, the Film Society at Lincoln Center has been bringing award winning filmmakers to the Upper West Side to discuss the behind the scenes of their work. This newest installment features Ben Affleck, the Oscar winner who seems to be on the road back from being a celeb couple punch line with his work in the recent film, , it's rude. - Karen Wilson

Well, Gateway National Recreation Area is right in our neck of the woods, extending in three New York City boroughs and into northern New Jersey. It is a good place to start your quest for the perfect patch of sand and cooling waters.

Frog Eyes and Sunset Rubdown (despite having border problems) will be taking over Mercury Lounge two nights this week. Sunset Rubdown is Wolf Parade keyboardist Spencer Krug's side project, and he produced a beautiful album this year entitled, Shut Up I Am Dreaming. It got an 8.6 on Pitchfork, just a few points below last years Wolf Parade rating. Anyway, point is...it's good. If you go to the show tonight you can catch Beirut as an opener, see if his 2nd time out impresses the bloggers a bit more than his last show. Wednesday night you'll see Bedroom Walls opening.

Andrew Bird and M. Ward not only released two of our favorite albums this year, they both put on a perfect live show. Keren Ann is another one of our favorite people to see live. Over the past past few months we've paid to see Keren Ann, M. Ward, and Andrew Bird headline shows in NYC. For that reason we couldn't be more excited that Andrew & Keren are teaming up for a double headlining bill at Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday, and Mr. Ward is playing a free show at Castle Clinton in Battery Park on Thursday. Keren's album is called Nolita and you can listen to some of it here. M. Ward's album is called Transistor Radio and Merge has some songs you can stream. Andrew Bird's album is the Mysterious Production of Eggs and NPR has some songs and a review. M. Ward is also at Maxwell's on Friday.

The summer concerts are here (and so is the summer). From now until around mid-August, the weeks are full of free outdoor show options. We'll try to keep you informed of what's hot (besides this weather). R&B vocalist Lizz Wright is playing four shows at Joe's Pub this week. You can see her for free on Tuesday at the World Financial Center Plaza. The summer concert series at Prospect Park kicks off Wednesday night with signer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones. Thursday it's over to Rufus King Park in Queens for an after work party with the "legendary" DJ Mix Master Ice and others. Friday it's back to Prospect Park for the best in jazz with the Bad Plus (also playing Knitting Factory this week). Saturday head to Central Park Summerstage for soon to be R&B legend "neo-soul singer and pianist" John Legend.

The weekend is here, and unfortunately our run of nice weather has run out. The rains will be coming. Luckily the city is prepared with plenty of indoor activities to enjoy, and if you're not scared of getting a little wet there is some outdoor fun to be had as well.

Newsday reports that the design will "feature a huge, glass-and-steel entrance and will let daylight shine down 60 feet below ground to its four train platforms." The $2 billion project will also include a plaza with shops and restaurants, mechanical walkways between ferry service at the World Financial Center and other walkways that will link to the 14 subway lines.

The finalists will be on view in the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center. The Times has a piece about the 13 jurors for the WTC Memorial, including designer Maya Lin, Public Art Fund president Susan Freedman, Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris, and architect Enrique Norten.