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Fuel Storage Fears Left Unanswered
By Andrea Appleton
Oct. 18 , 2006
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Three hearings, a high profile lawyer, and several years down the line, the verdict is in on the more than 80,000 gallons of diesel fuel stored at The Western Union building at 60 Hudson Street. It stays.
On Oct. 17, the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) voted against a Tribeca neighborhood group’s appeal to the legalization of the fuel storage at the “telecom hotel,” a hub for dozens of telecommunications companies.
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Though a contingent from Neighbors Against NOISE, the group that has spearheaded opposition to the diesel storage, was present for the decision, the board voted quickly and without soliciting public comment. Three commissioners voted against the appeal and one new commissioner abstained. Community group members were disappointed, but hardly surprised.
“The calendar said the case was closed,” said Deborah Allen, one of the group’s members. “They’d already made their decision.”
“I think what they did, in retrospect, is they knew where they wanted to go throughout the hearings and they looked only for information that would support their position,” Norman Siegel, the group’s attorney, added.
Neighbors Against NOISE contends that the amount of fuel stored in the building’s tanks for use in its backup generators poses a danger to the surrounding neighborhood. There is a good deal more fuel there than was stored in 7 World Trade Center, which collapsed in flames on Sept. 11, 2001. Some have claimed that the fire spread because of the stored fuel.
The variance applies to the distribution of fuel in the building, which allows the owners of 60 Hudson, GVA Williams, to store more than the allowable 275 gallons of fuel on each of six floors. The variance allows them to have nearly 2,000 additional gallons on the floors in question. The majority of the more than 80,000 gallons in the building is stored in the basement, where no variance is required. The variance also allows the tanks to be hand-filled, which opponents contend adds the possibility of dangerous human error.
“If the Fire Department and the Department of Buildings and all other civic authorities agree that the fuel stored is code compliant, there’s really no rational reason for residents to fear it,” said Brian Maddox, spokesman for GVA Williams and the Stahl Real Estate Company, who own 60 Hudson St. Maddox added that numerous fire safety engineers had inspected the building and approved it, including Dr. James Milke, one of the experts investigating fires resulting from the attacks of Sept. 11.
Opponents of the fuel storage say the BSA rubber-stamped the waiver, not only leaving a “virtual tinderbox” threatening the surrounding neighborhood, but also making it more difficult in the future for citizens to fight the larger issue of buildings storing large amounts of diesel fuel in residential areas.
“In very simple terms it’s business interests versus the health and safety of people who live in the neighborhood,” said Tim Lannan, president of Neighbors Against NOISE, and a resident who lives directly across the street from the building. “The BSA clearly has a business bias.”
Buildings Department spokeswoman Jennifer Givner would not comment on the board’s decision but referred the Trib to a written statement: “The proceedings before the BSA gave full voice to the concerns of the community. The conditions imposed by the Department of Buildings at 60 Hudson will enhance the level of fire safety at this location.” The statement went on to note that the variance did not increase the total amount of stored fuel in the building, and that the decision came after careful consideration of neighborhood complaints.
At a press conference following the hearing, nearly every local elected official turned out to denounce the BSA’s decision and to voice support for the community group’s efforts to fight the waiver. “It is almost beyond contemplation that the BSA would say to the people of Lower Manhattan ‘Take this risk,’” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler. “We should have learned after the fires at the World Trade Center.”
Though the road ahead for opponents to the variance is as yet unclear, the politicians and residents vowed to keep up their fight. Some went further, suggesting the telecommunications hub be relocated entirely.
“If a facility like that one on Hudson requires that much fuel, there’s only one answer,” said State Sen. Martin Connor. “Move it!”
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