As UN Breaks Ground, Cracks Develop in Swing Space
Plan, City Records Show
Byline: Matthew
Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
May
5 -- It was a sunny morning Monday as UN officials and Ambassadors used
shiny ceremonial
shovels to break ground in front of the East River for a temporary
conference
building for some function to move to during a renovation of its
headquarters.
But storm clouds were gathered one block west, at the Albano Building
to which 700 UN
staff members are slated to move. A Partial Stop Work Order was glued to the
glass front door of 311 East 46th Street, for unsafe work conditions.
Of even more concern was a stop work order for the
construction site
next door at 315 East 46th, where the Buildings Department notes
a "violation
served for cracks of non load-bearing wall at cellar level of adjacent
building
at 305-311 East 46 Street." The
Fire Department of New York has "requested structural stability check,"
which remains "due." The UN's prospective swing space is itself
swinging, "building shaking / vibrating -- structural stability
affected."
Even after this warning, of cracks in the
building to which the UN wants to move its staff, work continued
illegally at
315 East 46th Street. The Building Department notes
"work contrary to Stop
Work Order," specifically, "drilling."
Inner
City Press reported
exclusively on Sunday about the violations at 311 East 46th
Street. On Monday at the ceremony, Inner City Press raised the
issue to Under
Secretary General for Management Alicia Barcena, who said she would
have more
to say about it later. We'll be
here. As the ground breaking celebration took place, the sound of
drilling was heard from across First Avenue.
UN North Lawn on another perfect day, before the shaking swing space
For
now, these impressions on the sunny day on the North Lawn. Some
Ambassadors had
not been told they would be wielding shovels. The UK's John Sawers, for
example, expressed surprise but then took his place.
Chief of staff Vijay Nambiar wore large dark
sunglasses. There were Ambassadors everywhere, of Japan, Ghana, Cyprus,
Morocco, and too many to count. Assistant
Secretary General
Michael Adlerstein read out a list of corporations. Dollar-a-year Under
Secretary General Joseph Verner Reed was said to be representing the
Rockefeller family. Plus ca change.
Footnote: At the
subsequent reception -- the UN
Spokesperson's Office told Inner City Press on Friday the cost would be
$30,000
to $50,000, depending on the weather, now resolved one would think on
the lower
side of the range -- Reed said he had worked for 17 years for the
Rockefellers.
Lapel pins were handed out, staff members sang, and much food was left
over. Ms. Barcena spoke for BAN Ki-moon, who was headed to speak to the
press. Inner
City Press asked about the just-released
(by whistle-blowers) reviews of the
Office of Internal Oversight Services, and whether BAN thinks the
UN should
have a Freedom of Information Act so that such reports are routinely
released
to the press and public. The answers were not entirely clear; watch
this site.
* * *
These reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
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