Posted on 04/07/2006 6:04:02 PM PDT by voletti
UNITED NATIONS: The United States is quietly blocking the start of a long-awaited renovation of United Nations headquarters in hopes of keeping down costs, US Ambassador John Bolton acknowledged on Thursday. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked for an authorization of $100 million in new spending to get the work under way later this year, but Washington wants to commit to just $23 million at present, Bolton said. The plan has been languishing in the UN General Assembly’s budget committee for the past three weeks, and diplomats said Washington was at this point the lone obstacle. “For three weeks now, the committee has been hung up on the issue, with no real word from the US as to where things stand and when they might get resolved,” said one diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. Bolton said: “This is not a matter of saying we are for or against the plan. What we are saying is, ‘Let’s do this in a responsible, prudent, graduated fashion.’” A UN official, asked about the bottleneck, said only: “We hope for an early resolution so as not to delay the project.” The landmark 38-story UN skyscraper is one of New York’s most popular tourist attractions. But after 54 years, it is riddled with asbestos and lacks fire detectors, a sprinkler system and other emergency safety devices. The United Nations has been working for six years on a renovation plan for the tower. The latest proposal, estimated at $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion or more has been scaled back and stretched out to avoid moving the whole organization into temporary headquarters while the work was carried out. Reuters
Trump had some comments on this renovation a while back. They weren't complimentary for the UN's construction managers / architects.
Read Claudia Rosset's article about their "budgets". They should just get gone.
Need to slow this down. There are many, many rats in the U.N., and, yes, probably a lot of rodents, too.
Here we go:
Donald Trump, regarding the United Nations' remodeling plan (You're gonna LOVE this)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1449112/posts
Trouble At Turtle Bay (The numbers for the U.N.'s new renovation project just don't add up)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1404486/posts
I will be happy when the demolition team dynamites that place to the ground.
Let's move the HQ to Paris.
A nice, friendly and cultured city, with none of the urban troubles of NY. . .
They can probably put up a monster of a building inm Zimbabwe for 100 mil...
I remember that. Trump said he could do that project for about a third or less of the cost.
Thanks for the links to Trump's congressional testimony. Very enjoyable read.
Home Depot has paint on sale. That makes for a "renovation" for a lot of us little folks.
"with none of the urban troubles of NY. . ."
Moving it to France could be good.
Dude, I dont know the last time when you were in NYC, but there is plenty of urban troubles there. That place is the toilet bowl of the world.
Save the money let the next set of terrorists destroy it.
>>I will be happy when the demolition team dynamites that place to the ground.
October 2002, I believe (might have been 2003), on the observation platform of the Empire State Building on a crisp, clear Sunday morning. With the wife, teenaged son, and wife's homosexual extreme Leftist Manhattanite uncle. We're looking east, towards the UN.
Me: I wish it would slowly slide into the East River while we watched.
Uncle: There are nothing but cleaning crews there now, and they're nice people. It should wait until Monday, when the regular occupants are there.
The point being, even some Lefties are starting to "get it", when it comes to the UN.
bttt
Kick em out, pull it down.
A good first step of getting out of the U.N.. Moreover, making it relocate its headquarters outside the USA.
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