] The NSA's Spy Hub in New York, Hidden in Plain Sight

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

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From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: Mon, Nov 21, 2016 at 10:11 PM
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] The NSA's Spy Hub in New York, Hidden in Plain Sight
To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>


The NSA’s Spy Hub in New York, Hidden in Plain Sight
By Ryan Gallagher & Henri Moltke
Nov 16 2016
https://theintercept.com/2016/11/16/the-nsas-spy-hub-in-new-york-hidden-in-plain-sight/

*They called it* Project X. It was an unusually audacious, highly sensitive
assignment: to build a massive skyscraper, capable of withstanding an
atomic blast, in the middle of New York City. It would have no windows, 29
floors with three basement levels, and enough food to last 1,500 people two
weeks in the event of a catastrophe.

But the building’s primary purpose would not be to protect humans from
toxic radiation amid nuclear war. Rather, the fortified skyscraper would
safeguard powerful computers, cables, and switchboards. It would house one
of the most important telecommunications hubs in the United States — the
world’s largest center for processing long-distance phone calls, operated
by the New York Telephone Company, a subsidiary of AT&T.

The building was designed by the architectural firm John Carl Warnecke
& Associates, whose grand vision was to create a communication nerve center
like a “20th century fortress, with spears and arrows replaced by protons
and neutrons laying quiet siege to an army of machines within.”

Excerpt from “Project X,” a short film by Henrik Moltke and Laura Poitras,
screening at the IFC Center
<http://www.ifccenter.com/films/project-x/> starting
Nov. 18. This article is the product of a joint reporting project between
The Intercept and Field of Vision.

Construction began in 1969, and by 1974, the skyscraper was completed.
Today, it can be found in the heart of lower Manhattan at 33 Thomas Street,
a vast gray tower of concrete and granite that soars 550 feet into the New
York skyline. The brutalist structure, still used by AT&T and, according to
the New York Department of Finance, owned by the company, is like no other
in the vicinity. Unlike the many neighboring residential and office
buildings, it is impossible to get a glimpse inside 33 Thomas Street. True
to the designers’ original plans, there are no windows and the building is
not illuminated. At night it becomes a giant shadow, blending into the
darkness, its large square vents emitting a distinct, dull hum that is
frequently drowned out by the sound of passing traffic and wailing sirens.

For many New Yorkers, 33 Thomas Street — known as the “Long Lines Building”
— has been a source of mystery for years. It has been labeled one of the
city’s weirdest and most iconic skyscrapers, but little information has
ever been published about its purpose.

It is not uncommon to keep the public in the dark about a site containing
vital telecommunications equipment. But 33 Thomas Street is different: An
investigation by The Intercept indicates that the skyscraper is more than a
mere nerve center for long-distance phone calls. It also appears to be one
of the most important National Security Agency surveillance sites on U.S.
soil — a covert monitoring hub that is used to tap into phone calls, faxes,
and internet data.

[snip]



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