Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Dwight Williams (212) 788-2972
Joining the Mayor at this ceremony were United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, United States Senator Alfonse D'Amato, Congressman Jerry Nadler, Chief Judge Jon Newman of the Second Circuit, Chief Judge Thomas Griesa of the Southern District and Father Joseph O'Hare of Fordham University.
"During my years with the federal government, I've spent lots of time in courthouses," said Mayor Giuliani. "I have seen that the real heart of a courthouse is not the structure itself but the people who work and serve the cause of justice. Whether the courthouse is old or new, it's the people who work there who do the difficult and demanding job of assuring that justice is firm and even-handed."
Completed 1995, this new courthouse is the largest federal courthouse in the nation. The facility is part of the U.S. General Services Administration's (GSA) Foley Square Project. The courthouse and a new federal office building located at 290 Broadway represent the largest federal civilian construction project in the nation's history.
The 44 new courtrooms offer the latest in telecommunications, energy efficient lighting, heating and air conditioning and will be able to provide services for the hearing impaired, television broadcasting and audio-visual presentations. The courthouse also features new artworks installed under GSA's Art-in Architecture Program which provides for permanent artworks for federal government facilities.
Built under a design/build contract with developer BPT Properties, the 27-story courthouse was designed by the architectural firm of Kohn Pederson Fox Associates with construction by Lehrer McGovern Bovis (Core & Shell) and Structure Tone Inc. (Interior). The courthouse was completed on time, within budget, and with no construction claims.
The groundbreaking occurred on March 29, 1991.