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July 30, 2007 12:00 pm.
To all of our tenants who we were pleased to inform
yesterday and this morning on our website that your offices are now ready
for your return, please see the accompanying form of Notice that has been
mailed and is being hand-delivered to each of you regarding your rent
abatement. Thank you again for your patience as we worked to re-open the
Building.
Rent Abatement Notice
July 30, 2007 8:00 am.
Good morning! We are
delighted to confirm that all tenant areas including floors 10 through 15
have been cleared for re-occupancy by the city agencies. Only Pret a Manger
and the nail salon remain closed.
Please remember that IRC
has asked us to let you know that except for authorized personnel they are
closed until further notice.
It is our pleasure to work
with you through our help desk to answer your questions and provide the
support services to help you focus on your business.
Thank you for your patience and endurance during this
crisis.
Please click to review our Environmental Health &
Safety Information Sheet
July 29, 2007 11:45 pm.
It is with great pleasure that we announce the official reopening of the
Chanin Building. We have passed the City agencies' re-occupancy inspection
for all spaces with the exception of floors 10 through 15. We will be
working through the night on those floors with the city agency inspectors to
achieve re-occupancy. All retail spaces will be occupiable with the
exception of Pret a Manger and the Nail salon. We will update you in the
morning on the status of those spaces.
IRC's Offices:
IRC's offices will be closed until further notice except to authorized
personnel.
We would like to welcome you back to work. You have demonstrated amazing
resolve. New Yorkers seem to be able to handle almost any crisis and set an
example of excellence. Thank you. See you tomorrow.
Please click to review our Environmental Health &
Safety Information Sheet
July 29, 2007 8:00 pm.
Tenants on Floors 30
through 54:
We are delighted to be
able to welcome you back to the Chanin Building. We look forward to seeing
you anytime after 7 am tomorrow morning.
Tenants on Floors 2
through 30 and our retail tenants:
The City agencies began
their inspection this morning at 10 AM. It is still progressing. We
anticipate a few more hours of work before we can come back to you with the
results. We are so sorry for the additional suspense. We are very
determined to open the entire building tomorrow.
Please check back with us just before bedtime.
July 29, 2007 4:00 pm.
The City agencies are conducting their re-occupancy
inspection. We hope to be able to occupy the building on Monday morning.
We will keep you posted once the inspection is complete, to let you know if
Monday morning is possible.
Re-Occupancy Support Services
Our Help Desk will provide appointments for services
for you to make your re-occupancy experience as smooth as possible.
Most of you will be able to come to your spaces and
resume your business operation with little interruption or inconvenience.
Those of you that are in spaces that are more directly affected may need
additional support services.
We will be providing support services by appointment
through
Chaninbuildingdisasterrecovery@gmail.com or by phone at 917-566-8269.
We will attempt to address questions or needs you may have in the following
areas:
Con Edison has asked us to post the following information
regarding the Steam Explosion
“Affected customers and businesses may file claims for the value of
equipment, goods, and merchandise spoiled or damaged by the event, and
associated interior and exterior cleanup costs.”
If you would like to contact them directly or in advance of the
re-occupancy or for additional information call the Con Edison Claims
Department, 212-460-3221.
You can make an appointment through the Help Desk to meet with the Con
Edison Claims team who will have a field operation in our Chanin Building
Help Center upon re-occupancy.
Grand Central Partnership - As you may know,
Grand Central Partnership has been displaced from the Chanin Building during
this crisis. However, they have continued to provide support to businesses
in our area. You can arrange to meet with them through our Help Desk to
discuss programs available through the NYC Small Business Services. Some of
those programs are for renters and businesses affected by the steam pipe
explosion who may be eligible for low interest federal loans to help them
recover from the disaster.
According to the information provided, businesses
deemed eligible for the loans can apply for as much as $1.5 million and
renters can apply for up to $40,000. The loans can be used to cover
uninsured and under insured losses. The deadline for the application for
physical disaster loans is September 25, 2007. The deadline for economic
injury loans is April 28, 2008.
Service Desk - If you have a service need in
your space related to locks, keys, hardware, air conditioning, relocation of
boxes, files or furniture we will attempt to provide support. This service
desk is not for construction issues, only service calls. You can make an
appointment through our Help Desk
IT Support - If your space has been directly
impacted and you need these services to help you assess desktops in your
space that may have been move to accommodate the clean up, or other IT
service questions, you may contact us and we will make best efforts to
assist you.
Chanin Building ID - If you are without your ID,
please go to the second desk in the lobby staffed by your old friends Mackey
and Ricco. They will check you in and arrange for you to be contacted later
in the day to obtain a new ID. If you would prefer, please contact the Help
Desk in advance and they will arrange an appointment at your convenience
upon re-occupancy.
New Keys for selected suites - Please check the
list below to see if your space has a new front door lock; follow the Help
Desk procedure for key retrieval.
200
201
208
308
310
1100
1612
1616
1903
1910
2010
2305
2308
2710
2903
2920
3810
For planning and scheduling purposes, you should
consider that we would be unable to provide access to employees of a tenant
space that is secured with a new lock. That can only be done by a principal
of the tenant or their duly authorized representative.
Environmental Questions - Once we complete our
re-occupancy inspection, we will post an Environment Fact Sheet. If you have
questions that are not addressed in our fact sheet, you may contact the Help
Desk for an appointment with our Environmental Consultants.
Verizon - Unfortunately, we can not schedule Verizon
support through our Help Desk - You may have intermittent phone and
internet connectivity issues. Verizon, also impacted by the Con Ed steam
pipe explosion, is working to restore services to you and hopes to be
completed by Sunday evening, July 29, 2007. If you have no contact
information for Verizon please call 212-890-6611.
We will
update the site with the results of our inspection with the City Agencies as
soon as they are complete. We are looking forward to getting this crisis
behind us and getting you back to business. Thank you.
July 28, 2007 11:00 pm.
We continue to work around the clock to prepare for
what we hope is our final re-occupancy inspection with the City agencies
tomorrow morning. As soon as we know, we will provide a posting on the
website. Yesterday’s inspection began at 8 AM and did not conclude until 5
PM. It is possible that we may not have a status on the Monday occupancy
from the City until late in the day on Sunday. We apologize for the
continued delays. We are working diligently towards a Monday re-occupancy.
CHANIN BUILDING RE-Occupancy Plans:
Our plans for opening the building include our
commitment to you to anticipate as many of your questions and needs as
possible. This crisis has been a burden on you and your business and has
been increasingly difficult.
The Chanin Building is 54 stories high and home to over
125 tenants. Our goal is to support your ability to get your
business up and running as smoothly and quickly as possible.
Expect to see changes if your space was directly
impacted by the Con Ed Steam Explosion.
We are putting the support services in place we
anticipate you will need through our Help Desk. We will provide an update
tomorrow on each of the services you can expect. Appointments can be made
for all services through our Help Desk
chaninbuildingdisasterrecovery@gmail.com or 917-5666- 8269.
Con Edison:
You can make an appointment through the Help Desk to meet with the Con
Edison Claims team who will have a field operation in our Chanin Building
Help Center upon re-occupancy Con Edison’s has asked us to post the
following information regarding the Steam Explosion:
“Affected customers and businesses may file claims for the value of
equipment, goods, and merchandise spoiled or damaged by the event, and
associated interior and exterior cleanup costs.”
If you would like to contact them directly or in advance of the
re-occupancy or for additional information call the Con Edison Claims
Department, 212-460-3221.
Verizon
Phone and internet service have been consistently
unstable in the building due to Verizon infrastructure in the street from
the explosion. You should expect that there may be limitations on both
services immediately upon re-occupancy.
Verizon has informed us that all their electronic data
circuits are working and that they expect all their copper voice lines to be
operational this Sunday evening [July 29th]. If you experience
any problem with your Verizon lines Verizon asks that you follow your normal
procedure for reporting troubles. If you have no contact information for
Verizon please call 212-890-6611.
Tenant Office Front Doors:
As we told you yesterday, when the FDNY came into our
building in response to the steam explosion, they needed to access many
tenant spaces in search of people in need of help. Understandably, they did
not wait for keys to the doors, resulting in damage to over 100 locked
doors.
In some cases the locks were reusable. In others, it
was necessary to replace the locks
If you would like to pick up your new keys (6 copies)
in advance of the re-occupancy of the building, you can do so on Sunday,
July 29, 8 am – 9 pm at the 42nd street entrance. There will be
no access to the building as we will be conducting what we hope to be our
final re-occupancy inspection with the city. The service will resume at 6
am on Monday July 30, the day we hope to achieve re-occupancy.
We have made an effort to contact each authorized
tenant representative. However we may not have spoken to you or obtained a
confirmation that you are aware that your locks have been changed.
Therefore, listed below are the affected suite numbers where spaces have
been secured and new keys are available:
200
201
208
308
310
1100
1612
1616
1903
1910
2010
2305
2308
2710
2903
2920
3810
For planning and scheduling purposes, you should
consider that we would be unable to provide access to employees of a tenant
space that is secured with a new lock. That can only be done by a principal
of the tenant or their duly authorized representative.
If you have any questions, you may contact our Help
Desk, they can be reached at
chaninbuildingdisasterrecovery@gmail.com or 917-566- 8269.
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Restroom Keys:
Several floors have locks that have been changed.
Building management will distribute multiple keys to tenants on those
floors.
2nd floor Men’s room
2nd floor Ladies room
5th floor Ladies room
19th floor Ladies room
19th floor ADA Bathroom
29th Floor Ladies room
Chanin Building ID:
If you are without your ID, please go to the second
desk in the lobby staffed by your old friends Mackey and Ricco They will
check you in and arrange for you to be contacted later in the day to obtain
a new ID. If you would prefer, please contact the Help Desk in advance and
they will arrange an appointment at your convenience upon re-occupancy.
Our Help Desk was quiet today. Hopefully you are
enjoying your week-end and preparing to return to work on Monday. We hope
to bring you good news from the City agencies tomorrow. Again, thank you
for your continued patience.
July 27, 2007 10:00 pm.
We continue to work with the regulating City agencies
to gain approval for re-occupancy on Monday July 30, 2007.
We are happy to report to you that floors 30-54 have
passed the City agencies assessment team’s inspection. We continue to work
around the clock with crews in the lower portion of the building so that we
can pass the City agencies’ building re-occupancy inspection on Sunday.
Tenant Office Front Doors:
When the FDNY came into our building in response to the
steam explosion, they needed to access many tenant spaces immediately, in
search of people in need of help. Understandably, they did not wait for keys
to the doors, resulting in damage to over 70 locked entrance doors.
The doors have not yet been repaired or replaced. That
will occur after the building in re-occupied. However, they have all been
secured, in some cases with new locks. If your space falls into this
category, we will contact the authorized tenant representative for your
company this evening. Where we are unable to speak to the designated
contacts, we are leaving messages. Please feel free to contact us
proactively at the email and phone numbers below if you would like to make a
proactive inquiry about your lock status.
A key distribution program has been established though
our Help Desk, They can be reached at
chaninbuildingdisasterrecovery@gmail.com
or 917-566-8269. An authorized representative will need to sign the
acceptance form.
For planning and scheduling purposes, you should
consider that we would be unable to provide access to employees of a tenant
space that is secured with a new lock. That can only be done by a principal
of the tenant or their duly authorized representative.
Windows:
There are over 120 windows that were broken in our
building. The glass has been removed and replaced with plywood. The glass
restoration will occur after the building is re-occupied.
Chanin Building re-occupancy plan
There are many details to share with you regarding the
re-occupancy procedures. We will continue to provide updates over the
week-end.
CON EDISON:
This morning, one of our tenants called to let us know
that she had received a reimbursement check in the mail from Con Edison for
the claim she filed for her clothes, shoes, cell phone and pocketbook ruined
when she ran from the building when the explosion occurred.
Thank you for the emails and phone calls complimenting
our Help Desk, IT and Security team members. They were all so gratified
that you would take the time, during this crisis, to acknowledge their work.
July 26, 2007 10:00 pm.
We are working with regulating City agencies to gain
approval for re-occupancy on Monday, July 30, 2007.
Con Edison has completed construction of the sidewalk
bridge over the 41st street exit, allowing us to use our
emergency stair in our fire life safety requirements for re-occupancy.
Verizon continues to work to restore full telephone and
internet services to you, our tenants.
We continue to work around the clock to be prepared for
our first partial inspection tomorrow morning with city agencies. We will
work through the weekend to be prepared for our re-occupancy inspection
Sunday.
Tomorrow morning we will work with city agencies to
conduct a partial occupancy inspection of floors 54 down to 30. On Sunday
we will be prepared to work with those same agencies to conduct a full
re-occupancy inspection.
Personal Belongings:
Today we returned an additional 50 packages. We will
continue to provide services to you until the building is reoccupied.
Critical Business Resources Retrieved from Tenant
Spaces:
Today we were able to service many more of you through
the Business Continuity Plan. We processed over 60 requests, ranging from
servers to that very important piece of paper tacked to the bulletin board
in someone’s office. Many of you were frustrated by the situation, but were
gracious, patient, and helpful while working with our retrieval team. The
frustration with this crisis in many cases was put aside and replaced with a
team spirit, which can spring from a crisis.
Damage by the FDNY:
It was necessary for the FDNY to break down many doors
leading to tenant spaces in the building. We are undertaking a program to
temporarily secure the tenant spaces affected by the FDNY response.
We will provide you immediate updates after our partial
and final re-occupancy inspections to keep you apprised of our progress. We
are working diligently with the hope that Monday morning you will all be
back to work.
July 25, 2007 8:00 pm.
It is our expectation that most of you will re-occupy your space
early next week subject to the inspection and approval of the regulating
City agencies.
Today was a critical day in our progress towards
re-occupancy. Con Edison has restored steam service to the building. This
will allow us to provide air conditioning to your space.
Con Edison is constructing a sidewalk bridge on the
Lexington Avenue side of the building and we expect to be permitted to use
that exit. However, our emergency stair is located on the 41st
street side of the building, in the frozen zone. Once Con Edison constructs
a sidewalk bridge on that street, and it is cleared from the frozen zone,
we will be permitted use of the exit. At that time we can meet our fire life
safety requirements for re-occupancy.
We have scheduled a partial inspection of our building
on Friday morning with the regulating City Agency for floors 54 down to 30.
Our crews working around the clock will have completed the clean up,
inspection and testing in accordance with the City agency protocol at that
time.
Our crews continue to work their way down the building
to complete the work in the portion of the areas that had more direct
damage. We expect to be prepared for a second inspection on Sunday for the
balance of the tenant occupied spaces, floors 29 and down through the lobby,
including retail spaces.
Unfortunately there are approximately 19 of our tenants
whose premises were most greatly impacted. Each of those tenants will be
contacted to discuss with senior management, the most effective and prudent
approach to restoring their space, first for tenant access and then to
re-occupy.
Personal Belongings:
In addition to the few hundred bags returned yesterday
to so many of you, today we were successful in returning an even greater
number of packages. Just over 100 packages remain available for pick up. If
you have not contacted the building, we hope to hear from you shortly. We
are anxious to see you connected with your personal belongings.
Critical Business Resources Retrieved from Tenant
Spaces:
Today we processed over 50 requests and appointments.
We would like to thank you for following the procedure, making the requisite
appointments and working with our IT professionals and Building Management
personnel. We are impressed with many of you who have come so well prepared
and organized with your thoughts, requests and form. (See PDF Download for
appropriate form.) The system is working well with both technical IT and
related support. For those of you who were among the first to arrive, we
thank you for your patience as we worked out the bugs in the system. If you
have not contacted us for this service, we look forward to providing these
services where possible. We can be reached at
chaninbuildingdisasterrecovery@gmail.com or by phone at 917-566-8269.
Regrettably, if you are among the 19 companies most
greatly impacted by the explosion, we were unable to make this service
available to you at this time.
Your Mail:
The United States Post Office has picked up all the
mail that was in the mail chute collection box in the lobby prior to the
explosion. The United States Post Office at Grand Central can be contacted
at 212-330-5752. Please provide them with the building address, floor and
or room number. Your mail, currently being stored at the post office, can be
picked up at Window 26. Please call in advance. The recommended pick up
times are 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. We would like to thank The Grand Central
Partnership, one of our displaced tenants, for providing this information on
our behalf.
We will continue to do everything
possible to ease the strain on you and your business during this crisis.
Chanin Building Recovery Form
Technology Release Form
July 24, 2007 10:00 pm.
Today, many of you contacted us or were contacted by the Chanin
Building Recovery Team with concerns about personal property. Trying to
sustain connections to your business during this crisis without critical
business information from your space has been increasingly difficult for
you. While we cannot allow you to access your space, we can arrange access
on your behalf, operating within the regulating City agency guidelines
through our Recovery Retrieval Program.
Here’s how it works:
Critical Business Resources to Be Retrieved from your tenant space:
First and foremost, you need an appointment. You will have one within two
business hours of your initial contact, by email or phone. We will not be
effective in serving your needs without an appointment. We know this crisis
is frustrating and hopefully this process will alleviate some of your angst.
If possible, print and fill out this form which organizes the critical items
that you would need to retrieve from your office. Bring it with you to the
Chanin Building Recovery Center after you have an appointment scheduled. We
plan to access each tenant space, only once during this process. This will
allow us to serve each of you on an expedited basis. Accordingly, the
appointment can only be made by the tenant of record.
We will meet with you at your appointed time and with the support of an IT
Project Manager, a member of the Building Management team and a member of
the Recovery Team, accompanied by security, we will attempt to undertake the
retrieval. This assumes, of course, that the items are salvageable and your
space is accessible.
You should list these items in order of importance. Some examples of items
you might need to retrieve include: computer disks, computers, selected
paper files and work in process.
Examples of items that you should not list include: unimportant files and
information that is duplicated somewhere else.
You need to call for an appointment so we can schedule your support
requirements. We can be reached at
chaninbuildingdisasterrecovery@gmail.com or
via phone at 917-566-8269. The phone will be staffed between 8 am and 10 pm.
Emails and voice mails can be left after hours.
We have attached two forms to help you prepare the information to enable us
to provide the services you need. The first is a form to help organize your
request, to restore business connectivity during this crisis. The second is
a release required in the event you need technology assistance. The Chanin
Building Recovery Center is located on the 14th floor of the Grand Hyatt.
Only companies who are on the appointment list will be able to pass the
security checkpoint.
Personal Belongings:
In spaces where accessible, personal belongings have been collected, secured
and stored in the building. Please use the same contact information to
arrange at time to pick up belongings.
Today we were able to return a few hundred bags containing personal
belongings to tenants who had made appointments. This retrieval effort is
taking place at the Chanin Building at the 42nd street entrance.
If you have issues or inquiries regarding this crisis related to matters
other than retrieval, please call Grace Bellino of Colliers ABR at
212-318-9743 or
gbellino@colliersabr.com.
Chanin Building Recovery Form
Technology Release Form
July
24, 2007 11:30 am.
We are as determined as all of you, to get back to normal and resume our
business lives as quickly as possible. It has been difficult to reach so
many of you who have been impacted by this emergency. We have been brought together by this
crisis and have learned of impending weddings, medication requirements and
displaced business issues. Rest assured we are working diligently to
achieve both access and occupancy for you.
We have had difficulty
contacting some of you. If your
business has not heard from us, please contact Grace Bellino
of Colliers ABR at 212-318-9743 or Gbellino@colliersabr.com.
There are two restrictions set
forth by the regulating city agencies - one at street level and the other
INSIDE our building. Street access
limitations are defined as the FROZEN ZONE.
As you know, our Lexington Avenue and 41st Street entrances are located in the FROZEN
ZONE.
The second regulated area is the
INSIDE of the Chanin Building which is separate and apart from the
FROZEN ZONE. We have met with the
city agencies and are working around the clock with our clean up
contractors to meet their requirements for both access and re-occupancy.
Since we are currently prevented
from accessing the Lexington Avenue and 41st Street sides of the building which are in the
FROZEN ZONE, we have been unable to progress as aggressively in the clean
up of roof areas and set backs, as in other areas of the building.
We are now addressing the top of
the building and working our way down. Based on the logistical limitations
in the FROZEN ZONE and the re-occupancy standard set by the City Agencies,
we do not expect the building to be re-opened for business for the rest of
the week.
As a result, we have been
prevented from allowing anyone from the public into the building, a
regulated area, to retrieve property or access their space.
We look forward to providing
updates as promptly as possible. Again, we appreciate your patience and
understanding during this difficult period.
July 23, 2007 11:00 am.
The City has not cleared the building for entry by the public for access -
either to retrieve property or otherwise - or for occupancy. Regrettably, we do not expect this status
to change within at least the next 48 hours. We will continue to provide updates.
July 22, 2007 10:00 pm.
The building will not be opened Monday. We have had scores
of workers in the building, night and day, and have made substantial
progress in removing steam-damaged portions of the interior and broken
glass. Dehumidifiers are in place and operating. Con Ed has
largely cleared and boarded the windows that were broken, and are holding
to their plan of washing the facades shortly. Con Ed has
restored electric power.
City authorities are trying to open 42nd street
Monday morning. We have constructed protected pathways through the
debris site.
We will provide another update tomorrow. Please send us emails
with your questions, identifying yourself and being as specific as
possible.
Thank you for your patience.
July
21, 2007 11:00 pm.
We met with various city agencies today and received positive feedback
on their assessment of the work proceeding in the building. We are
continuing to advance our recovery operation to achieve reoccupancy.
There are still unpredictable incidents of loss of power and no
ability to provide air conditioning to any portion of the building due to
the steam pipe explosion.
We have made extensive progress on mitigation of the areas of the
building most affected. In addition, all broken windows were
boarded. Within the next 24 hours, we expect the city agencies to
undertake the exterior cleanup of the facade of the building and all
associated debris on the exterior.
This morning, under the management of a highly competent private security
company, we have begun the process of retrieving personal valuables from
areas of the building where we could gain access. Items will be stored in a
guarded and secured space within the building. We will provide further
information once we have achieved a solution in conjunction with the
various city agencies to allow tenant access.
July
20, 2007 5:00 pm.
Damage to the building includes broken windows (primarily in the lower
southeast portion of the building), water damage from steam that entered
the building through the broken windows, and damage to office interiors
from steam and the force of the explosion. We are working diligently within
guidelines set by the various City agencies to reopen the building.
There are no portions of the building that are yet accessible to the
public. We will update the website as more information becomes available.
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