MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UN could move to Brooklyn

United Nations delegates, welcome to... Brooklyn?

UN planners have found commercial space across the East River in Brooklyn that could serve as a temporary home while the United Nations' iconic glass-and-steel Headquarters in Manhattan gets a long-overdue renovation, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report Monday.

The report assessed where things stand with plans to renovate the UN secretariat building, which was considered modern when it was constructed 50 years ago but now violates most New York City fire and safety codes.

The 38-story tower has no sprinkler system, is packed with asbestos and loses about 25 percent of the heat pumped into it in the winter.

Annan said a search of more than 100 properties in Manhattan had turned up nothing that satisfied its needs for both office and conference space. One possibility that planners looked at was 7 World Trade Center, which is expected to open next year, officials said.

A major issue is working out where to hold the annual General Assembly debate, when world leaders descend on New York for several days.