9/11 Memorial Subcontractors to Get Overdue Pay From Port Authority
By Daniel Edward Rosen April 19, 2012 2:56 pm
reprintsSubcontractors who worked on the Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum will be receiving long overdue arrears from The Port Authority as part of an upcoming deal to resume construction on the site, Crain’s New York reports.
The bi-state agency will be doling out a total of $15 million to subcontractors, starting today, said Rob Berger, executive director of the Subcontractors Trade Association. Mr. Berger told Crain’s that subcontractors are owed $50 million for their work on the museum, which will resume work shortly with the aim of a July 2013 completion date.
Work on the museum was supposed to be finished for the upcoming 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. However, work was stalled after subcontractors refused to show up to the construction site due to owed money.
As Crain’s reports:
The subcontractors were caught in the middle of a dispute between the Port, which owns the World Trade Center site, and museum officials over who is responsible for $150 million in costs on the project. They have been negotiating with the Port Authority, because it signed their contracts.
The Port Authority’s money woes have been well publicized as of late.
In February, the agency released its findings from an internal audit, depicting The Port Authority as one that lost control of its budget (the entire redevelopment for the World Trade Center has already run over $3 billion in costs).
Last month, the agency was reported to have lost $16.9 million a year at John F. Kennedy Airport from outdated utility meters it used to gauge the electricity usage of its airplane tenants. It also lost $63 million on a 2006 interest rate swap with investment bank BNP Paribas SA.
drosen@observer.com
