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 It has been reported that on January 10, 2008, the New York City Council will hold hearings about the toxic Deutsche Bank Building

• 1/2/2008, ANTHONY RAMIREZ in the NY Times, Council Plans Session on Deutsche Bank Fire (Click Here)
• 1/1/2008,CHUCK BENNETT in the NY Post, COUNCIL WILL RAISE CAIN OVER FAILURE TO RAZE DEUTSCHE BLDG.(Click Here)

The NYC Council’s redevelopment committee for Lower Manhattan is headed by Alan J. Gerson, a Democrat whose district includes ground zero. His committee will hold the hearings.  It is reported that the hearings will not be about who and what caused the fire.  However, there are still interesting questions to ask.  Here are a few that come to mind:

1)    A memorandum of understanding between FDNY and LMDC with regard to 130 Liberty Street. [By now, everyone knows that 130 Liberty Street is outside of the jurisdiction of NYC and that FDNY has handled other buildings outside their jurisdiction (e.g. the PA of NY & NJ) with Memoranda of Understanding]

• Has any progress been made in obtaining a memorandum  between FDNY and LMDC with regard to inspections and violations
• Who from FDNY is negotiating such an agreement with LMDC and who from LMDC?
• When will a Memorandum of Understanding be in place?
• What department of FDNY will be given the responsibility of inspections under any Memorandum of Understanding? If it is other than FDNY's Bureau of Fire Prevention, what is the reason [Note: FDNY's Bureau of Fire Prevention is designated under the Memorandum of Understanding between FDNY And PA of NY & NJ.

2)    The FDNY Inspection H.A.S.P.: A protocol for FDNY to follow to inspect toxic buildings (Note: H.A.S.P. is an acronym for Health and Safety Plan)

• Has any progress been made in establishing a protocol for the inspection of toxic buildings in general and 130 Liberty Street in particular?
• Who from FDNY is handling this?  Who from the NYS Department of Labor is handling this?
• When will a protocol be in place?
• What does the protocol entail? Tyvek suits?  Decontamination?

3)   Legalizing the current practice of a FDNY fire chief doing the 15 day inspections instead of the local fire house

• The internal rules of FDNY call for 15 day inspections by the local administrative unit (for normal non-toxic buildings).  The current practice of FDNY is to have a fire chief conduct the 15 day inspections not the local firehouse.  This is contrary and inconsistent to FDNY's internal rules that were in existence before the August 18, 2007 fire and after. 
  
• Given that the legal framework within FDNY is still the same bother before and after the August 18, 2007 fire, why is FDNY not doing 15 day inspections with the local firehouse and is instead using a special designated and equipped fire chief?
• When does FDNY plan to modify its internal rules regulations to conform this practice to them?
  
• Why have not FDNY's internal rules been changed to account for inspections by someone other than the local firehouse?
• If FDNY has found it impossible to have the local firehouse conduct the 15 day inspections after the August 18, 2007 fire, why is FDNY still "sidelining" three decent, decorated and dedicated fire officers