7 World Trade Center

The History

7, World Trade Center

Built: 1985

Destroyed: 11 September 2001

47 Floors

Height: 174 m

Architect: Emery Roth & Sons

7 WTC was built in 1985 as an addition to the World Trade Center, located across Vesey Street from the main compound.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/7wtc/default.htm

Engineers Suspect Diesel Fuel in Collapse of 7 World Trade Center

Cantor/Seinuk Engineers, P.C., Engineer. Silverstein Properties, Inc., Current Owner.

http://www.skyscraper.org/exhibitions/bb/jumbos/j_22.htm

The Owners

Larry A. Silverstein was appointed a director of Westfield America in May 1997. Since 1979, Mr. Silverstein has been President of Silverstein Properties, Inc., a Manhattan-based real estate investment and development firm which owns interests in and operates over 10 million square feet of office space. Mr. Silverstein is a member of the New York Bar, and a Governor of the Real Estate Board of New York, having served as its Chairman. He is a trustee of New York University and is the founder and Chairman Emeritus of the New York University Real Estate Institute. He is Chairman of the Realty Foundation, Vice Chairman of the South Street Seaport Museum, and a board member of the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

BLACKSTONE ACQUIRES DEBT ON 7 WORLD TRADE CENTER

New York, NY October 17, 2000: Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, the global real estate investment and management arm of The Blackstone Group, L.P., announced today that it has purchased, from Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, the participating mortgage secured by 7 World Trade Center, a commercial office complex controlled by real estate developer Larry Silverstein”

http://www.blackstone.com/news/press_releases%5C7_world_trade_oct_2000.pdf

Factsheet on Teachers Insurance and Annuity Associaion (TIAA) (note: Joseph W. Luik is probably the guy who brokered the deal for TIAA)

“But before the building can rise further than the substation, major financing issues have to be resolved by Larry Silverstein, who controls the long-term lease on 7 World Trade Center as well as the World Trade Center complex. The good news for Mr. Silverstein is that the company that insured 7 World Trade, Industrial Risk Insurers, has indicated that it will make a full payment under its $861 million policy. But it's not clear whether Mr. Silverstein can use those proceeds to start building without first reaching an agreement with the mortgage holder on 7 World Trade Center, Blackstone Real Estate Advisors.”

http://homes.wsj.com/columnists_com/bricks/20020710-bricks.html

“Bank of America reportedly holds the loan on 7 World Trade Center.”

http://www.mbaa.org/reft/stories/0136wtc.htm

“Fitch placed classes of Banc of America LL, Inc. Series 2001-7WTC on Rating Watch Negative due to the increased likelihood that the building will be rebuilt in the near future, using insurance proceeds. The transaction is secured by the beneficial ownership interest in a trust that owns a loan secured by certificates owned by Blackstone Real Estate Partners III LP through related entities representing ownership interest in another trust secured by four mortgages originally totaling approximately $449.4 million on a leasehold interest in 7 World Trade Center. It now appears, due to the urgency to rebuild the ConEd substation, that 7 WTC will be rebuilt in the near future and that, in effect, the bondholders may take on the increased risks of construction lending. It is still possible that bondholders will be repaid prior to construction, because the existing mortgages have a relatively high interest rate and less expensive financing alternatives may be available. Due to political forces surrounding the continued viability of lower Manhattan, Fitch believes that the city will use its best efforts to aid Silverstein in attracting high quality tenants to the building. However, Fitch believes that the cash flow that existed prior to the destruction of 7 WTC will not be replicated, particularly due to the projected substantial reduction in building size.”

http://www.mortgagedaily.com/RatingsC041002.html

“According to BestWire, Employers Reinsurance Corp's Industrial Risk Insurers has agreed to pay a claim for 7 World Trade Center, but a final price has yet to be settled. Some of the insurance proceeds will be used to pay off bondholders who bought part of the building's US$383 million mortgage. Larry Silverstein, the building's developer and leaseholder of the WTC twin towers, has said the claim for 7 World Trade Center will be US$861 million”

Aon Risk Bulletin, July 2002

The collapse

FEMA/ Congressional report: World Trade Center Building Performance Study

Chapter on WTC 7: http://www.house.gov/science/hot/wtc/wtc-report/WTC_ch5.pdf

http://www.house.gov/science/hot/wtc/wtcreport.htm

NIST Investigation: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/n02-14.htm

American Society of Civil Engineers “This effort is also being conducted for WTC 7, which is of considerable interest to the team.”

Testimony to Congress: http://www.house.gov/science/full02/mar06/corley.htm

Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl of University of California: “I investigated the structural remains of the World Trade Center towers and building 7 and I have collected data on quality of construction, failure modes, as well as fire and impact damage. I have also identified and saved some key elements of the World Trade Center that appear to have been impacted by the planes or have been exposed to intense fire.

We plan to finish our studies by September and we will turn over all information, all the data involved, published or unpublished, to NIST.” (source)

NY TIMES 12/20/2001 City Had Been Warned of Fuel Tank at 7 World Trade Center

"Fire Department officials warned the city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1998 and 1999 that a giant diesel fuel tank for the mayor's $13 million command bunker in 7 World Trade Center, a 47-story high-rise that burned and collapsed on Sept. 11, posed a hazard and was not consistent with city fire codes. The 6,000-gallon tank was positioned about 15 feet above the ground floor and near several lobby elevators and was meant to fuel generators that would supply electricity to the 23rd-floor bunker in the event of a power failure. Although the city made some design changes to address the concerns - moving a fuel pipe that would have run from the tank up an elevator shaft, for example - it left the tank in place. But the Fire Department repeatedly warned that a tank in that position could spread fumes throughout the building if it leaked, or, if it caught fire, could produce what one Fire Department memorandum called "disaster."

http://www.ulster.net/~babs7/articles/robertlederman/guilianigang.htm

“Tuesday's terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) has had a significant impact on Con Edison's energy infrastructure in lower Manhattan. The fire and subsequent collapse of 7 World Trade Center has permanently damaged two substations located adjacent to the building as well as major electric transmission cables. A third substation located near the South Street Seaport also lost service. Approximately 12,000 customers are currently without electric power.”

http://9-11-01.powerquality.com/ar/power_wtc_disaster_causes/index.htm

“A cleanup is underway to remove tens of thousands of gallons of oil that spilled from 7 World Trade Center when the 47-story office tower collapsed on Sept. 11, according to a published report.

Citing an environmental impact report made public by the Empire State Development Corp., Newsday reported Thursday that 130,000 gallons of oil leaked from the Con Edison substation contained within the building.

Additional oil leaked from two 6,000-gallon storage tanks owned by Salomon Smith Barney, and conduits beneath the building may have contained asbestos and feeder lines wrapped in a material containing toxins, the report said.

Two 11,690-gallon diesel fuel tanks operated by Silverstein Properties were also inside the building, but were removed in March and April and showed no evidence of spillage, Newsday said. “

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/WABC_060602_oil.html

The Tenants

Tenant List (provided by CoStar Group Inc)

http://www.intellnet.org/resources/costar_wtc/7WorldTradeCenterTenants.xls

Floor Plan

“ Central Intelligence Agency's clandestine New York station was destroyed in Sept 11 attack on World Trade Center, seriously disrupting US intelligence operations; station was in 7 World Trade Center, one of smaller office towers destroyed in aftermath of collapse of twin towers; all CIA employees at site were safely evacuated; agency immediately dispatched special team to scour rubble in search of secret documents and intelligence reports stored in station”

http://query.nytimes.com/search/abstract?res=F00711F63C5D0C778CDDA80994D9404482

(the above article is reprinted in full here)

(CNN has a smaller version of the story here)

Salomon Smith Barney

A Member of Citigroup

http://www.smithbarney.com/  (Citigroup: http://www.citigroup.com/ )

Factsheet on Salomon Smith Barney

“We are shocked and deeply saddened by yesterday’s events that took place in New York City, Washington and Pittsburgh. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by these horrific events. As you know by press reports, several securities firms had employees in the New York World Trade Center complex. We successfully evacuated all Salomon Smith Barney employees from 7 World Trade Center prior to its collapse at 5 p.m. Tuesday. We have implemented our Disaster Recovery Plan for our affected businesses, and we are currently fully operational. Many of our Branches will be staffed today to answer any questions you may have, and will be prepared to conduct business at such time that the major exchanges re-open. Please refer to this Web site for updated information.” (source)

“Citigroup immediately had to relocate 2,500 employees who had been housed in 7 World Trade Center, a building that collapsed a few hours after the Twin Towers. Most of those employees were subsequently housed in existing bank offices throughout the New York metro area. But even after that, the bank finds itself with surplus space.” (source)

“Robert Genalo, vice president of investments at Salomon Smith Barney in Melville, said a portion of his company's administrative operations were housed in the World Trade Center's Building 7” (source)

“Citigroup, which owns Salomon Smith Barney, should show the best performance: a 6% gain for the year” (source)

David Matvey:  Director, http://www.LegacyRus.com and Salomon Smith Barney At 7 World Trade Center (source)

Salomon Brothers Inc.

7 World Financial Center, New York 10048, New York

Tel: 2127477000 (source)

IPO’s underwritten by Salomon Bros. http://www.hoovers.com/ipo/view/underwriter/0,2616,251,00.html

“A program at the 12:30 p.m. luncheon (to be held at Salomon Brothers, 7 World Financial Center) will include remarks by Louis-Michel Morris, Conseiller Commercial, French Consulate; and a keynote address by Marie-Monique Steckel, president, France Telecom North America.” (Apr. 23, 1998)

“The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, frustrated by Citigroup's unwillingness to turn over information about any WorldCom executives who may have gotten shares in initial public offerings, will try to pry the information out with a subpoena.

Rep. Michael Oxley (R., Ohio) said Friday that a subpoena is necessary because Citigroup provided insufficient information about what, if any, special treatment its Salmon Smith Barney investing banking division may have given WorldCom executives. Salomon had been one of the now-bankrupt telecom's principal investment bankers.”

“But Citigroup says some information that the committee is seeking was destroyed in the Sept. 11 terror attack on the World Trade Center. Salomon had offices in 7 World Trade Center, one of the buildings that collapsed in the aftermath of the attack. The bank says that back-up tapes of corporate emails from September 1998 through December 2000 were stored at the building and destroyed in the attack.” (source)

Internal Revenue Service Regional Council

“The IRS had 110 employees‹including 75 lawyers‹on the 24th and 25th floors of 7 World Trade Center. With employees working at home or at the agency's Midtown Manhattan offices, permanent facilities have yet to be located.

New York IRS spokesman Kevin McKeon said that many paper files unique to the New York regional office were lost. But he said that targets of New York office investigations were not going to get a free pass.

"There was no risk of lost files," said IRS spokesman Tim Harms in Washington, D.C. "Our file work is in computers far away from there."”

http://www.nlj.com/special/wt-1001c.shtml

“Mr. Bernard, 57, was an industry specialist for the Internal Revenue Service and was based in Boston. On Sept. 11, he was on his way to a meeting at the I.R.S. offices at 7 World Trade Center when the first plane hit the towers. He was struck by falling debris and died of his injuries on Dec. 11.”

http://www.inmemoriamonline.net/Profiles/Folders/B_Folder/Bernard_David.html

U.S. Secret Service

“World Trade Center Building 7 stood in the shadow of the North Tower. Inside the 47-story building: the US Secret Service's largest field office with more than 200 employees. On September 11 all of them escaped, but Building 7 was reduced to rubble. This week on "CyberCrime," an exclusive look into the hours, weeks, and months following 9/11 and how the US Secret Service was able to recover thanks to the largest cybercrime team in the country -- the New York Electronic Crimes Task Force (NYECTF).

"All the evidence that we stored at 7 World Trade, in all our cases, went down with the building," according to US Secret Service Special Agent David Curran -- the number three guy in that office. "We lost our network, we lost all our computers, we lost all the equipment that we use as Secret Service Agents. Everything from machine guns to our shotguns to our electronic equipment that we use."

But despite their physical losses, nothing could shake the field office's solid foundation. This week on "CyberCrime," you'll see how the members of the NYECTF came to the Secret Service's rescue. Watch as more than 50 law enforcement agencies, 200 corporations, and 12 universities donate tens of thousands of dollars in equipment and hundreds of volunteer hours to enable the US Secret Service's New York office become operational within just 48 hours of the attacks.”

http://www.techtv.com/cybercrime/features/story/0,23008,3378780,00.html

Watch the WTC Building 7 segment – “A lot of cases had to be closed as a result of losing that building.” – David Curran.

Gerald Lynch of John Jay College helped post 9-11 & allowed the SS to use building to resume work.

Special Agent Robert W Weaver of the New York Electronic Crimes Task Force – Statement to House Committee on Science, June 24^th 2002

More info: http://www.sbq.com/sbq/wireless/sbq_wireless_disaster.pdf

Weaver: “We lost Craig Miller, an employee that we still can’t find. His body has never been recovered. People here are still grief stricken.” (first quarter, 2002)

Steve Carey – SS special agent in charge or recreating task force.

“When 7 World Trade Center came down on Sept. 11, an agent on loan from Washington, special officer Craig Miller, perished, and the entire Secret Service office was buried in that building. Yet, despite the devastation, the New York Electronic Crime Task Force has stepped up its operations in credit card fraud and for Osama Bin Laden's money”

http://www.ectaskforce.org/City_Leads_Way.pdf

“ One employee, Master Special Officer Craig Miller, died during the rescue efforts. Miller was temporarily assigned to New York in preparation for the United Nations General Assembly.” http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/press/pub1202.pdf

“in selfless dedication to others, Master Special Officer Craig Miller was lost in the collapse of the World Trade Center.”

http://www.house.gov/istook/rel-ss-customs.htm

American Express Bank International

“Like many companies directly impacted by the recent terrorist attacks, financial services giant American Express must manage the crisis on two main fronts, its employees and its customers.

Its headquarters, located at 7 World Financial Center, is just a stone's throw from the crumbling ruins of what was once the World Trade Center. The 5,000 employees that work at the site were all evacuated safely on the day of the attacks as debris rained down and smoke filled the air. Twelve others who were at work in the Twin Towers at a client office are missing.” (source)

Standard Chartered Bank

London Based Standars Chartered Bank had its NY base in WTC 7

New York Federal Reserve Bank

Foreign Exchange Committee Member List

Robert White

Regional Treasurer

Standard Chartered Bank

7 World Trade Center

http://www.ny.frb.org/fxc/ar2000/FXAR0001.pdf

“After several unsuccessful attempts to find a new home in Manhattan after its premises at 7 World Trade Center collapsed on 9/11, London-based Standard Chartered Bank has signed a lease for 94,000 square feet on the third floor at One Madison Avenue. The ten-year deal was negotiated by Insignia/ESG.” (source)

Provident Financial Management

ITT Hartford Insurance Group

First State Management Group, Inc

Federal Home Loan Bank

“The Finance Board also marked the 70th anniversary of the FHLBank System by re-issuing a new charter to the FHLBank of New York. The Bank's original 1932 charter was lost when its offices at 7 World Trade Center were destroyed in the September 11th terrorist attack.”

http://www.fhlbny.com/news/Press_Release/pr_20020718.htm

NAIC Securities

Securities & Exchange Commission

This office was the “Northeast Regional Office” of the SEC, which is one of only 11 national SEC regional offices.

“Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC)

7 World Trade Center, 13th Floor

New York, NY 10048

(212) 748-8000 “

http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/links.htm

http://www.sec.gov/contact/addresses.htm

““Clearly what happened was a severe blow,” Wayne Carlin, the SEC’s Northeast regional director, told the Washington Post. “It will slow us down, and we will need some amount of time to recover.”

The office, which enforces SEC regulations, lost files on about 300 pending investigations, including a major inquiry into the manner in which investment banks divvied up hot shares of initial public offerings during the high-tech boom.

Mr. Carlin said there were no plans to drop any pending matters. “We lost a lot of stuff, though some of it is reconstructible,” he said. “Anybody who is under our investigation would be making a mistake if they thought they were in the clear.”

The SEC will probably be able to get new copies of documents from the parties that turned them over initially, Mr. Carlin said.

Barry Barbash, a partner with the New York and Washington, D.C. offices of Shearman & Sterling and former director of the division of investment management at the SEC, said that most of the securities firms have back-up systems.

“It’s really the [SEC’s] internally generated notes and correspondence that will prove most problematic,” Mr. Barbash said. “

http://www.nylawyer.com/news/01/09/091401b.html

meetings held:

Senate Banking Committee

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs

Hearing on "The Competitive Market Supervision Act"

2:00 p.m., Monday, February 28, 2000

13th Floor Conference Room - Securities and Exchange Commission Offices

7 World Trade Center, New York, NY

Witness’: The Honorable Arthur Levitt, Mr. J. Patrick Campbell, Mr. Keith Helsby, Mr. Hardwick Simmons, Mr. Leopold Korins, Mr. Robert Seijas

http://banking.senate.gov/00_02hrg/022800/index.htm

Hearing on the "Financial Marketplace of the Future"

9:30 a.m., Tuesday, February 29, 2000

13th Floor Conference Room - Securities and Exchange Commission Offices

7 World Trade Center, New York, NY

Witness’: The Honorable Arthur Levitt, Mr. Philip Purcell, Mr. Charles Schwab, Mr. Henry M. Paulson, Mr. David Komansky, Mr. Allen Wheat, Mr. Richard Grasso, Mr. Frank Zarb

http://banking.senate.gov/00_02hrg/022900/index.htm

Mayor's Office of Emergency Mgmt

“In June 1999, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani built a $13 million emergency crisis centre on the 27th floor of 7 World Trade Center, a building just north of the towers that itself collapsed late Tuesday afternoon.

Giuliani intended the centre to serve as a command central during city emergencies including blackouts, storms and terrorist attacks. Guiliani spent part of the New Year's Eve 2000 celebration in the emergency centre.”

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2001/0913/cn8-1.html

“Simon and Teperman contend that the medical response to the World Trade Center attack was hindered by the fact that the city's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) — which coordinates all aspects of a disaster response — was housed in 7 World Trade Center.”

http://www.disasterrelief.org/Disasters/011115wtclessons/

“As Police Commissioner Howard Safir's chief of staff, Sheirer forcefully opposed the construction of the OEM center known as "the bunker" on an upper floor of 7 World Trade Center. Then-OEM Director Jerry Hauer spearheaded the ill-conceived effort to build "the bunker" in the shadow of the twin towers. Sheirer's opposition to locating the command center at that location unfortunately was vindicated when the 48-story office building at 7 World Trade collapsed nearly seven hours after terrorists crashed two commercial airliners into the twin towers.”

http://www.politicsny.com/reports/february02/2-14-02-sheirer.shtml

“On the morning of September 12, Richard Sheirer, director of the mayor's Office of Emergency Management, was scheduled to conduct a biological-terrorism drill in a cavernous commercial warehouse on the Hudson. Known as tripod -- short for "trial point of distribution" -- the exercise was to test how quickly Sheirer's staff could administer treatments at the kind of ad hoc medical centers that would be set up all over the city in the event of an actual attack. For an audience, Sheirer had lined up Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the police and fire commissioners, and representatives of the FBI and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He had hired over 1,000 Police Academy cadets and Fire Department trainees to play terrified civilians afflicted with various medical conditions, allergies, and panic attacks. He had even arranged for a shipment of 70,000 M&Ms to be delivered and divided by color into medical packets representing different prophylactics and vaccines. But the M&Ms never arrived.

On the morning of September 11, Sheirer got to City Hall at 8 a.m. for a meeting about the Jackie Robinson-Pee Wee Reese memorial planned for Coney Island. "I was in heaven, sitting between Ralph Branca and Joe Black," he remembers. "We were about to select the statue, and then we heard the pop." At first he thought a transformer had exploded in an underground substation. Then he got a flash report from Watch Command in OEM headquarters.

As his driver barreled down Broadway, Sheirer recalls, "my first move was to clear the streets so we could get emergency vehicles in and people out." He radioed the police department and told them to shut down traffic below Canal Street and close every bridge and tunnel in the city.

Down at the scene, he joined Fire Commissioner Tom Von Essen and his chiefs Pete Ganci and Bill Feehan -- old friends from Sheirer's 26 years with the New York Fire Department. They were establishing a command post at the base of the burning tower. Then the second airplane hit. "At that point there was no more doubt," he says ruefully. "We were under attack." He picked up one of the three cell phones strapped to his belt and started giving orders: to the Coast Guard to seal the harbor, and to the State Emergency Management Office to send backup search and rescue teams and get the Pentagon to freeze the city's airspace. Then he lost his signal.

As Sheirer helped move the Fire Department command post, he saw a cloud of smoke and debris engulf his own command center, on the twenty-third floor of 7 World Trade Center. His staff was inside sending alerts to representatives of nearly 100 organizations -- everyone from Con Edison to the Department of Health. One of his deputies radioed him to report that the OEM would have to evacuate.”

“ Of course, Sheirer's deference also helps keep the limelight shining on hizzoner. Sheirer could easily step out from Giuliani's shadow -- he's briefed President Bush, Tony Blair, and Henry Kissinger, among others -- but he plans to retire when the mayor leaves office. “

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/sept11/features/5270/

Equal Opportunity Employment Commission

New York District Office

Not listed, but confirmed via:

7 World Trade Center, 18th Fl.

New York, NY 10048

1-800-669-4000

212-748-8500

http://www.familialdysautonomia.org/resguide/chapter7.htm

“Roxanne Zygmund of Bayonne, N.J., an employee of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, was working at her computer at 7 World Trade Center when she heard a loud boom.

The 44-year-old mother knew something wasn't right.

"I ran down 18 flights," she said about 10:45 a.m. while waiting on line at a nearby pay phone to call her family and let them know she was OK shortly after the two towers collapsed. "People were running and trampling. I was outside and I saw the next building get hit. I heard a big explosion and people were jumping out of the building.

"I just want to get in touch with my kids," she said, her blouse stained with coffee from the mad dash to get out of the building.

Zygmund said several people trapped in 7 World Trade Center were waving white flags to get the attention of emergency workers. Several hours later, at 5:20 p.m., that burning, evacuated building also collapsed. “

http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/091201/12wtcscene.html

“The EEOC lost 1,500 workplace discrimination case files stuffed with handwritten notes and witness statements that were housed in 7 World Trade Center.

All that remained was a database at the EEOC's Washington headquarters containing the names and addresses of parties and a computer code indicating their complaints.

The office's 35 investigators wrote down whatever details they could remember about each of their 40 cases and asked complaining employees, employers, and courthouses for copies of files.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0110/p18s1-wmcr.html

ISO

Dennis Dapolito

Senior Consultant

Insurance Services Office, Inc.

7 World Trade Center

New York, NY 10048-1199

NYSE

“The NYSE's communications and power systems were located below 7 World Trade Center, which sat in the shadow of the Twin Towers.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/kudlow/kudlow031302.shtml

And what meeting was Richard J Spanard set to attend?

“Richard J. Spanard, Beta Tau '93 (Slippery Rock University) is a U. S. Army captain and commander of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal company based in northern New Jersey. On the morning of September 11, he was enjoying breakfast at a deli 50 feet from the World Trade Center twin towers when the first plane hit. General hysteria inundated the deli. Spanard decided that he and the three soldiers with him should move to number 7 World Trade Center, where they had a scheduled meeting.”

http://www.sigmataugamma.org/Read%20the%20latest%20news/SAGA/winter02.pdf

“Richard J. Spanard, Beta Tau '93 (Slippery Rock University), and his wife Bobbi Ann celebrated the birth of their first child, Jacob Tyler, on Aug. 18 at Wierzburg Army Hospital in Germany. Spanard is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army.”

http://www.sigmataugamma.org/Read%20the%20latest%20news/SAGA/winter97/Alumni.htm

He heads the 754th ORDNANCE COMPANY

http://www.monmouth.army.mil/754ord/index.htm

Richard.Spanard@mail1.monmouth.amy.mil