Celebrates Rededication of Landmark Building With Ceremonial Splicing of
Fiber-Optic Cable
NEW YORK, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon officially relocated its
corporate headquarters from 1095 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown to 140 West
St. in Lower Manhattan in a ceremony held today.
Gov. George E. Pataki, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, state Assembly Speaker
Sheldon Silver and other city and state leaders joined Verizon Chairman and
CEO Ivan Seidenberg and senior company executives to officially rededicate the
landmark building, badly damaged in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the
adjacent World Trade Center towers.
In a twist on the usual ribbon-cutting ceremony, the officials used a
high-tech machine to melt and splice thin strands of fiber-optic cable. The
event symbolized the repairs to the massive switching center also housed at
140 West St., and Verizon's work to rebuild communications in lower Manhattan
after the September 11 attacks.
"Today we celebrate more than the rebirth of a landmark building," said
Seidenberg. "We take a moment to recognize the resiliency that our employees
share with all New Yorkers. This painstakingly restored building and the
people who work here reflect our dedication and commitment to this great
city."
The 32-floor structure is now home to about 1,500 Verizon executives and
employees. Built in 1926 as the original headquarters for New York Telephone,
the building houses the principal offices for Verizon's senior leadership and
board of directors, as well as for the company's domestic telecom unit serving
customers in the Northeast. It will also serve as the headquarters for Verizon
in New York.
"Verizon's return to its newly restored historic headquarters, adjacent to
the World Trade Center site, is another great sign of Lower Manhattan's
rebirth," Gov. Pataki said. "Last week we broke ground on Goldman Sachs' new
world headquarters across the street, and today I am pleased to welcome
Verizon and 1,500 employees back to their corporate headquarters and rightful
home in Lower Manhattan.
"With each commitment to downtown, we send a strong signal to the global
business community that New York is still the financial capital of the world.
Verizon joins over 75 other large companies and thousands of small businesses
that have made a commitment to Lower Manhattan. It's this kind of renewed
commitment that will help take Lower Manhattan into the future and further its
transformation into a vibrant, 24x7 mixed-use community," the governor said.
Mayor Bloomberg said, "Verizon is one of our best corporate citizens, and
I am delighted the company decided to establish its corporate headquarters in
Lower Manhattan and move 1,500 employees to this wonderfully restored
building. On the heels of last week's groundbreaking for Goldman Sachs' new
headquarters building just a block away, Verizon's move shows a strong vote of
confidence in Lower Manhattan's remarkable recovery and the extraordinary
progress we're seeing every day."
Assembly Speaker Silver said, "I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Verizon
for relocating its corporate headquarters here to 140 West St., and I
congratulate Chairman Seidenberg on the reconstruction and restoration of this
landmark building and survivor of the September 11 attacks. These actions are
indicative of Verizon's boundless compassion, pride and patriotism, and an
inspiring display of the commitment, vision and leadership that Lower
Manhattan so desperately needs in order to remain the business and financial
capital of the world."
Thomas A. Dunne, Verizon vice president for public affairs in New York,
said, "The re-opening of this grand old building symbolizes the resurgence of
Lower Manhattan. Retaining our corporate headquarters in this city, and
especially at this location, speaks volumes about our pride in working with
and for our fellow New Yorkers."
Verizon expects to continue to employ about 18,000 people in the five
boroughs of the city, Dunne said.
Designed by Ralph Walker, 140 West St. was one of the first art deco
skyscrapers built in the city. Completed in 1926, the building defined the
skyline of Lower Manhattan for many years and was designated as a city
landmark in 1991.
During the September 11 attacks, the former 7 World Trade Center building
collapsed against the south and east sides of 140 West St. The building was
riddled with gaping holes and filled with debris and water.
Verizon spent four years carefully restoring the original architectural
elements and upgrading the building's systems and amenities. The National
Trust for Historic Preservation recently presented the company with its
highest award in recognition of the restoration.
Lee Brathwaite, Verizon vice president for corporate real estate, stressed
that the work on 140 West St. was much more than a preservation effort. "This
building is the cornerstone of our real estate portfolio," said Brathwaite.
"We restored its original splendor, but just as importantly, we have
modernized the infrastructure systems, including a state-of-the-art
telecommunications network that serves a significant portion of Lower
Manhattan."
The new and improved West Street facility has an enhanced building fire-
alarm system and fire-command station, a new fire-suppression system, 23
modern passenger elevators, 70 new restrooms accessible to people with
disabilities, an eight-megawatt emergency power unit, and a first-in-the
nation 7RE digital switching center.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), a Dow 30 company, is a leader in
delivering broadband and other communication innovations to wireline and
wireless customers. Verizon operates America's most reliable wireless
network, serving 49.3 million customers nationwide, and one of the nation's
premier wireline networks, serving home, business and wholesale customers in
28 states. Based in New York, Verizon has a diverse workforce of nearly
215,000 and generates annual revenues of more than $71 billion from four
business segments: Domestic Telecom, Domestic Wireless, Information Services
and International. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com.
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches
and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other
information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at
http://www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News
Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news
releases.
SOURCE Verizon
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Related links:
http://www.verizon.com
http://www.verizon.com/news
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html
CONTACT:
Eric Rabe, +1-212-395-0500,
eric.rabe@verizon.com, or Lark-Marie Anton, +1-212-395-7602,
lark-marie.anton@verizon.com, both for Verizon
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