At a recent Community Board 1 meeting, the World Trade Center Redevelopment Committee discussed a number of developments about the WTC site. The meeting was the first since the killing of Osama bin Laden. President Barack Obama visited the site just a few days prior to the event.
Safety: On May 2, a 14-year-old boy was struck by a piece of debris that fell from the 13th floor of of 4 World Trade Center.The four foot rod smacked the boy on the hand and was taken to a local firehouse and treated. The Community Board took three executives from Tishman Construction to task over incident and demanded to hear how they intend to prevent future incidents. The company said it plans to put pieces of wood under a safety net in order to stop thin pieces of debris from falling through the net.
Foot Traffic: Furthermore, the overall concern of community residents is that there’s too much pedestrian traffic on Liberty Street, where the boy was struck. Many blame the 9/11 Tribute Center for causing the congestion. Tourists that visit the center block the street and crowd the sidewalk directly under the construction site.
Health Survey: The Department of Health unveiled the results of a recent survey it conducted and found a “high prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome” from people living near the World Trade Center. Also, there was a “higher risk of respiratory illness among people who returned to their homes or offices with a heavy layer of dust.” Chair Catherine Hughes said 25% of people who lived in the area after 9/11 had health effects. For more information from the city, visit: nyc.gov/9-11HealthInfo