Officials ratchet up security plans for Ground Zero

Real Estate Weekly, Oct 11, 2006 by Danielle Wolffe

With Ground Zero construction kicking into high gear, unprecedented security measures for workers are expected to be finalized by the end of the year.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is currently reviewing Requests for Proposals for companies to operate a central processing center to pre-screen criminal background and identification of contract employees prior to their starting work.

The results of that screening will be maintained at a "central data clearinghouse" and workers will be rated according to four levels of security access control from 'high' to 'no access'.

James Kallstrom, Governor Pataki's senior counter terrorism advisor, said this week it was vital that a secure system was in place as construction steps up, adding, "It's a site that has been attacked twice before, so it has an awful lot of symbolism. On the site right now are things like the slurry wall and the transit center that, if they are not secured properly, they could have catastrophic results."

But speaking at a meeting of the Subcontractors Trade Association this week, the executive director of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Charles Maikish, reassured union members that any screening system would be fair.

"The fact that you are late on your alimony isn't going to automatically disqualify you," Maikish told the hard hats.

In February last year, Kallstrom submitted a set of recommendations to the Port Authority. He said his final recommendations will be released within the next two weeks and the Port Authority will then be responsible for figuring out how to implement them.

The Port Authority is currently reviewing RFP's submitted last May for companies to operate the central processing center.

Maikish, who is a member of a task force comprised of leaders involved in securing the downtown area, said pre-screening employees at a central site that could include the union halls might be as simple as running their social security number. Such screening should protect workers confidentiality as the results would go directly to the employer, who would in turn be responsible for telling the employee if he was eligible to work or not.

Maikish reassured the STA members that the system being considered should not involve a lengthy processing time and would only check workers status according to three criteria: Those found to be on the terrorist watch list; those convicted of a construction site related crime (including theft, or misuse of explosives); and those convicted of or known to be a member of organized crime.

He revealed that during the many months of talks that have taken place on the issue, other proposals considered include truck inspections being carried out at plants--particularly concrete trucks whose innards have a short shelf life--and the use of Global Position System devices to track their movements.

This security might be used in conjunction with other measures such as biometrics, which check an individual's identity according to iris, fingerprint, or facial recognition scans, Maikish said.

Biometrics were included in Kallstrom's February recommendations and may be used on the site. Biometric technology is still in its infancy however, and can't be used exclusively, Kallstrom said.

"Biometrics are one way of ascertaining with a high degree of certainty that the person you registered is the person standing in front of you," Kallstrom said. "But theoretically, you could register as one person and not really be that person."

Port Authority police will definitely be used as armed guards in conjunction with the New York Police Department on the site during the construction periods, Kallstrom said. Beyond that, the only thing that is certain is that security will be extensive.

"We will establish a set of standards across the whole site. We won't have any stovepipe security operations. Everything will be integrated," Kallstrom said.