Chairman’s Award 2004
May 27
The Forbes yacht, The Highlander.
The Landmarks Conservancy presented the 2004 Chairman’s Award to Paul Crotty, Verizon Group President New York/Connecticut, which has completed the spectacular restoration of its landmark building at 140 West Street.
For four decades, the 1926 Art Deco building at the corner of Vesey Street was the headquarters of the New York Telephone Company. On September 11, 2001, the entire building was subjected to catastrophic damage by the collapse of the World Trade Center following the terrorist attacks.
The exterior restoration included 520,000 facade bricks, 22,500 cinder blocks, and 93 tons of structural steel. The lobby, which was designated an interior landmark in 1991, was damaged by burst water mains and firefighting efforts. It took over two years to restore the lobby by a team of 30 conservators, technicians, and artists.
Some of the most challenging restoration took place far from the building. In Brooklyn, a foundry used a 5,000-year-old casting technique, the lost-wax method, to restore the intricate bronze detailing. Only four twisted chunks of the frieze survived after the collapse of 7 World Trade Center on Verizon’s eastern facade. Everything else had to be copied from the undamaged western frieze. And in Mount Vernon, master carvers chiseled 5,000 cubic feet of limestone and granite to bridge the damage on the south- and east-facing walls.
Mr. Crotty’s illustrious career includes both the public and private sectors. As Verizon’s Group President for Public Policy and External Affairs he played a major role in protecting the public safety and coordinating the restoration of telephone service to the New York Stock Exchange; Federal, State, and local agencies; and business customers after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Honoree:
- Paul Crotty
