Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Storage Facility Demolition and Reconstruction

Manhattan and Staten Island, New York City

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) worked
with the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME)
to decommission the OCME’s storage facility along the East River of
midtown Manhattan and facilitate its operational needs through the
construction of a new facility at the Freshkills landfill in Staten Island.
The new facility will be operated by the Departement of Sanitation of
New York (DSNY).

The existing OCME storage facility consisted of a semi-permanent
tent installed as a response station following the World Trade Center
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Serving initially as a site for
emergency medical treatment and temporary interment and later
transitioning to assume continuing Office operations, its position on
valuable property was never intended as a permanent solution nor
could it accommodate the Office’s full range of operational needs.
Armand Corporation entered a contract with EDC to manage the
demolition, relocation, and construction of the facility in Staten Island.

Armand coordinated with OCME and EDC to manage its disassembly,
first procuring demolition contractors Girandola & Shutkind who in turn
subcontracted for electrical work and relocation services. Demolition
involved dismantling electrical connections throughout the facility,
breaking down the tent in stages, razing a temporary single-story wood
frame structure, and packaging the facility’s equipment for relocation to
the destination site. Armand provided general oversight and full-time
superintendents on site to oversee safety and adherence to schedule
for the effort which was completed in under three weeks.

Following the design team’s submission of applications for permits to
the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) to secure right of way
for the relocation, Armand assisted by stepping in to procure waivers in
response to concerns raised by the Department of Buildings (DOB) for
the Staten Island site. Armand also engaged a professional Expediter
to secure approvals from the New York City Public Design Commission
pertaining to clarifications over the new site’s foundation and fire
protection measures.

Through its retainer contract with the New York City Economic
Development Corporation (New York City EDC), Armand Corporation was
tasked with managing the construction of the OCME Tent structure at
Freshkills, Staten Island. This one-story structure was commissioned
by Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Department of Sanitation,
the Economic Development Corporation, through review approvals
granted by the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of
Environmental Conservation and Small Business Services.

Construction of the new storage facility would alleviate the growing
need of the OCME to provide support to the people of New York City during
natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy and during pandemics such
as COVID-19 in the modern age. The pre-engineered structure designed
by Big Top Manufacturing composed of a steel skeleton with custom
fabric to meet the requirements of the project. The vaulted structure
was constructed on a structural pile foundation and contains an asphalt
pavement type slab-on-grade. The structure was fully equipped with
electrical service, a methane detection system, and an automatic
ventilation system. With an area of 10,000 SF and a height of 55 feet at
the apex, the structure is able to store a multitude of OCME’s growing
inventory of storage boxes equipment and machinery.