Larry Silverstein
From Debunk911myths
Larry Silverstein
Claim
Controlled demolition was used to bring about the collapse of 7 World Trade Center on the afternoon of September 11, 2001.
This claim was bolstered by a comment made by Larry Silverstein on a PBS documentary, America Rebuilds, where he uttered the phrase "pull it". Conspiracy theorists claim that this is slang term used in building implosions, and that with those words, Silverstein was authorizing the demoltion of WTC 7.
Fact
Controlled demolition experts reject the notion that "pull it" is a term used in building implosions.
The only context that "pull" has been used in building demolition is for small buildings (a few stories tall), where construction crews attach long cables to pre-weaken a structure and literally pull it down with bulldozers and other equipment.
"Pull" is also used by firefighters in reference to "pulling firefighters out of a building", because the situation is too dangerous. It is in this context that Silverstein used the term "pull it".
His spokesperson, Dara McQuillan, said that by "it", Silverstein was referring to the contigent of firefighters in WTC 7.
FDNY interviews available on the New York Times website also shed light on the use of "pull" in firefighting on 9/11, and help address the question of whether firefighters were in WTC 7 in the afternoon.
FDNY Captain Ray Goldback:
- "I'm going to guess it was after 3:00...we walked all the way back down to Vesey Street. There was a big discussion going on at that point about pulling all of our units out of 7 World Trade Center. Chief Nigro didn't feel it was worth taking the slightest chance of somebody else getting injured. So at that point we made a decision to take all of our units out of 7 World Trade Center because there was a potential for collapse." [1]
Firefighter Richard Banaciski was in the Verizon Building, adjacent to WTC7.
- "Finally they pulled us out. They said all right, get out of that building because that 7, they were really worried about. They pulled us out of there and then they regrouped everybody on Vesey Street." [2]
Background
Larry Silverstein is a New York City real estate developer, who got his start in 1957 with buying residential buildings. In 1980, he acquired rights to build 7 World Trade Center, from the Port Authority. In 2001, he secured a 99-year lease to the entire World Trade Center complex, including the twin towers. After the building were destroyed on 9/11, he received $3.55 billion — considerably less than the $7.1 billion he sought by arguing that the 9/11 attacks were two separate "occurrences" and merited $3.5 billion in insurance payouts per tower. Silverstein has stated that the cost of rebuilding the World Trade Center complex under the Libeskind plan would be $9 billion. Under Silverstein's lease with the Port Authority, he is required to rebuild 10 million square feet of office space, and pay $120 million each year in lease payments (even while Ground Zero sits empty).[1]
Personal life
Larry Silverstein was born in 1932, in Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. Given his interest in classical music, Silverstein attended LaGuardia High School of Music and Art.[2] He then went on to NYU and graduated in 1952. He also attended classes at Brooklyn Law School. Silverstein married in 1956. He and his wife, Klara, have three children - Lisa, Roger and Sharon.
World Trade Center lease
In 2001, Larry Silverstein signed a lease for the World Trade Center, together with partner investors including Westfield America (shopping center developer), GMAC Commercial Mortgage (subsidary of General Motors), and Lloyd Goldman (private investor and former owner of the Chrysler Building).[3]
GMAC agreed to lend $833 million to Silverstein, which were to be financed through mortgage-backed securities that are often bought by pension plans and institutional investors. Westfield America borrowed $100 million from UBS Warburg, to help finance its share of the World Trade Center lease.[3]
Rebuilding
As leaseholder, Larry Silverstein is a key figure in rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. Approximately $1 billion of insurance money recuperated by Silverstein is slated for construction of the Freedom Tower. However, total costs to build the Freedom Tower are estimated at $3 billion, or $1,150 per square foot.[4] The remaining insurance proceeds that Silverstein received are going towards the costs of responsible for building other office towers on the site, including 150 Greenwich Street, 175 Greenwich Street, and 200 Greenwich Street, as well as the already rebuilt 7 World Trade Center, in addition to the annual lease payments to the Port Authority.
References
- ↑ Dean Starkman, Dean, Alex Frangos "Silverstein Jury's Decision Favors the Insurers", Real Estate Journal, April 29, 2004.
- ↑ One On 1: Developer Larry Silverstein, NY1, July 31, 2006
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sorkin, Andrew Ross, Simon Romero, Reinsurance Companies Wait to Sort Out Cost of Damages The New York Times September 12, 2001
- ↑ Nordenson, Guy. "Freedom From Fear", The New York Times, February 16, 2007.
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