20/20 hindsight "justification of excavation" apparently occurred at
the 175 Water Street Site, for example, (again not a single house
site, a whole block reduced to one "new" address, in this case, on the
island of Manhattan).

As reported TPQ of the archaeology by the press, (after the
archaeology was done) a building constructed by the Ronson Corporation
(representing a consortium of British banks that became "National
Westminster Bank" here in the States) on one of the few empty parking
lots in lower Manhattan, adjoined the South Street Seaport Historic
District, not in it, though, as part of "the deal" it was rezoned for
an additional floor at the top (built in landfill it would have been
hard to recreate a "superbasement" as some of the buildings in the
Seattle, WA urban uplifting have) which would bring in an additional
$1 million "per anmum" in rents. In exchange, according to the press,
a deal was worked out (though I was admonished that the archaeology
cost $50,000 a day just in interest on the property purchased in
"delay") that the archaeology would be done as part of the rezoning
which technically impinged on the historic district with a larger
shadow.

The same organization purchased the former Federal Assay site and
block, constructed using "slurry wall" another "world financial
center" which as part of the deal, preserved Police Precinct 1's
historic building, (where the NYC Landmarks Commission used to then
meet after the fact, no longer true) "demapped" a small street into a
park, demolished a firehouse and moved the firehouse into the building
in a new modern facility.

(as reported in the free press)

George Myers


George Myers