Giuliani Makes Plans to Master Disaster

New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani plans to build a 46,000-square-foot, $15.1-million bulletproof bunker on the 23rd floor of the World Trade Center complex so he can manage any disaster that might strike the city. Hurricanes, floods, blizzards, building collapses and terrorist attacks all are potential threats, Giuliani says, and a state-of-the-art bunker is needed to replace the city’s emergency center at police headquarters. “This is a facility that will allow us to keep working,” said Jerome Hauer, director of the mayor’s Office of Emergency Management. The City Council has approved money for the project; the center would open in January. The plan is not without its critics. “The mayor’s actions are increasingly bizarre,” Council Speaker Peter Vallone said.