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$1 Billion in Aid to Help Cover City for Ground Zero Liability
http://tinyurl.com/kvcneg (a cached tullyconstruction.com page)

The New York Times (nytimes.com)
March 24, 2002
By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
The Bush administration wants to provide up to $1 billion to shield New York City and scores of contractors against lawsuits stemming from the World Trade Center cleanup.

For months, insurers have refused to provide liability coverage to the city and contracting companies working there, arguing that the cleanup is far too big and the risk associated with it too hard to measure.

That has left the city and the contractors exposed to a potential wave of lawsuits by people who live or work near ground zero, claiming that they were sickened or injured by the work at the site.

The $1 billion was part of a $21.5 billion aid package that President Bush outlined this month to help the city rebuild, a proposal that is now before Congress.

The city and the contractors still face the same problem: finding insurers willing to provide coverage. But New York officials contend that the infusion of cash would enable the city to pay the sort of sky-high premiums that could persuade insurers to assume the risk of providing liability coverage.

As one New York official put it, ''It's amazing what $1 billion will buy.''

There is another option available if no insurance company will provide the coverage, New York and federal officials say. The money could be used to directly pay judgments made against the city and the contractors.

That course was the one advocated by Charles E. Schumer, the state's senior senator, in negotiations with the Bush administration over the terms of the overall recovery package. Mr. Schumer has argued that the city may not be able to purchase liability insurance, no matter how much money it has for premiums. Since his proposal could turn out to be ''the only alternative,'' Mr. Schumer said, the administration agreed to adopt it as a last resort, since it could save ''the city hundreds of million of dollars.''

The Bush administration noted that it would be unusual for the federal government to indemnify localities this way, stressing that the senator's option was the last resort. ''If that's what it takes, we're willing to work with the city and state on that,'' said Amy Call, a spokeswoman for the White House Office of Management and Budget. Using federal money to pay judgments directly requires the approval of Congress, and lawmakers may be reluctant to approve such an unorthodox plan.

The timing of the aid package is critical, city officials say, coming as New York faces a sizable budget deficit. ''This agreement could alleviate a serious financial burden at a time when the city can least afford it,'' said Edward Skyler, a spokesman for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Contractors at the site have been warning that they may be forced into bankruptcy by the lawsuits they expect to face as a result of the work their crews are doing at the site.

Many have voiced concern that companies near the site will say the cleanup has damaged their buildings, possibly by eroding foundations. Many also worry about lawsuits saying the work kicked up asbestos and other toxic pollutants. The contractors have said that ordinarily they would not have undertaken a run-of-the-mill project, let alone one like the trade center cleanup, without basic liability coverage. Nevertheless, many said, they did not hesitate to throw themselves into the rescue and recovery efforts when they were faced with the catastrophe of Sept. 11.

Peter K. Tully, the president of the Tully Construction Company of Flushing, Queens, said he never questioned his decision to send in hundreds of workers for the project but was still very concerned until recently, when he got word that the federal government might help provide coverage.

''We've faced a real financial risk,'' Mr. Tully said. ''If this had been a normal job, we would have bought insurance ahead of time. But under the circumstances, we couldn't do that. We were here on Sept. 11. No questions asked.''

The four main contractors at the site -- Tully, Bovis Lend Lease, Turner Construction and AMEC Construction Management -- expect to make a few million dollars in profit, but those contractors and the city fear that plaintiffs looking for defendants will focus on them.

They point out that Congress has already passed legislation limiting liability for other possible defendants -- New York State, the airlines, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Larry A. Silverstein, the leaseholder for the trade center.

The city and the contractors now have about $75 million in general liability coverage combined, an amount they say may cover basic accidents but not all the lawsuits they expect over asbestos pollution and the like.

Beyond that, the $75 million is less than a fifth of what builders have for a typical, far smaller building project in Manhattan. The contractors have said that a project of this size should have at least $2 billion in insurance.

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http://tinyurl.com/nt5bks
or
http://www.tullyconstruction.com/projects/details/?c=36

Unfortunately, the events of September 11, 2001 caused major damage between Murray Street and Albany Street (Segment 2). About 1,000 feet of the roadway was destroyed when falling girders pierced through the concrete pavement. This entire section of new concrete roadway had to excavated and replaced with a temporary asphalt and concrete roadway with new traffic signals, lighting, and underground utility reconstruction. This work included the maintaining of 3 lanes of traffic in each direction. The bikeway was reconstructed, with some modifications, between Vesey Street and Albany Street. In addition, a 250 foot temporary pedestrian bridge was constructed just south of Albany Street to move pedestrian traffic from one side of West Street to the other. This bridge was comprised of two prefabricated box truss structures connected side by side. It was fitted with a stainless steel roof. At Pier 25 (Harrison Street) which was utilized to barge steel removed from the World Trade Center to the Fresh Kills Landfill Tully was required to restore this entire area as part of the Segment 2 contract.

*link includes 48 pre-9/11 pics - some with the WTC towers still standing while Tully Construction worked near them

sample pics:

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http://www.dailypress.com/topic/ny-qvtop32369343sep17,0,4552805.story?page=5
Tully Construction has found itself in the news quite often this year - although it doesn't appear to have affected growth.

Tully has been under a special monitoring arrangement with New York City since 1996; prior to that, it was banned from doing business with the city. Among conflicts it became embroiled in were complaints that it performed a shoddy job fixing up Brooklyn homes after a water main break. The city said it is working with residents, Tully and other agencies to rectify the problems in Brooklyn. Tully did not return calls for comment.