His comments came at a Council hearing into the safety of the Freedom Tower, which is being redesigned because the police said it was vulnerable to attack, The New York Times reported.
Others at the hearing expressed concerns about whether various city agencies have the legal power to enforce safety standards for the building. New York City building and fire codes do not apply to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site.
This issue has been highly controversial, especially after a mayoral commission formed in response to the Sept. 11 attacks authorized changes to the building code to make structures more resistant to attack, changes that would not be legally binding at the World Trade Center site.
Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority, said the authority had signed a memorandum of understanding with the city in 1993 to "meet or exceed" New York City building and fire codes, although he acknowledged that it was not legally enforceable.
The fact that buildings planned for the site are not legally required to adhere to the city's building codes drew concern at the Council hearing.
Similarly, the Police Department created a special unit in 2002 to make recommendations for securing buildings that are potential targets for terrorism. Yet the agency has no legal power to force building owners to adopt its suggestions.
The Police Department first expressed concerns with plans for the Freedom Tower in late 2003. In August 2004, Michael A. Sheehan, the department's deputy commissioner of counterterrorism, wrote to the Port Authority saying the design for the Freedom Tower was flawed. In response, Gov. George E. Pataki last month ordered the design changed to reflect the department's security concerns.
Architects are now redesigning the structure to set the building at least twice as far from the street to limit potential blast damage from a car bomb. The structure is not likely to twist as it reaches upward, and windows below 150 feet are likely to be made smaller.
Chief Colgan said that the Police Department now has a "full and equal voice" in discussions of the Freedom Tower's design, and that it might make future recommendations on aspects like heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and elevator embankments to improve security.
