City Plans To Demolish 11-Story Building On Governors Island

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York City officials plan to blow up a vacant building on Governors Island to make way for a new park.

The controlled implosion at 7:36 a.m. Sunday may be visible in parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island and New Jersey, officials said.

"The best view of the building will be from the Staten Island Ferry leaving Whitehall at 7:30 a.m.," said Leslie Koch, president of the Trust for Governors Island. "It takes approximately six minutes for that ferry to get from Whitehall to the spot in the Harbor just in front of the Statue of Liberty where you would have the best view of the implosion."

Koch said the implosion will take 10 to 25 seconds and will be streamed live on the trust's website.

The building will be demolished using more than 200 pounds of dynamite. The implosion of is being overseen by the Department of Buildings and FDNY.

The 11-story brick apartment building, known as Building 877 or the Cunningham Apartments, was built in 1968 and formerly housed Coast Guard families. It is the tallest non-historic building on the island.

It has been vacant since 1996 and does not meet current building codes, the trust said.

"The demolition of Building 877 is a major milestone in the transformation of Governors Island," stated Ronay Menschel, Chair of The Trust for Governors Island. "A beautiful sports field will be constructed in the space cleared of this building as part of the Island's new park. The public will enjoy glorious views of the Statue of Liberty from all points in the park."

Governors Island will open to the public as it normally does at 10 a.m. Sunday.

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