Officials: Part of north tower facade to come down this weekend; last large piece standing

<br>NEW YORK (AP) _ A 50-foot-tall piece of the facade of the the World Trade Center _ the last prominent piece of the twin towers still standing _ is about to be taken down and will be saved for possible

Friday, December 14th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ A 50-foot-tall piece of the facade of the the World Trade Center _ the last prominent piece of the twin towers still standing _ is about to be taken down and will be saved for possible use in a memorial, city officials said Friday.

The lattice of steel, from the north tower, will be the second large piece from the twin towers the city has saved since two hijacked jetliners destroyed the trade center Sept. 11.

A piece of the facade of the south tower was removed several weeks ago, and also saved for possible use in a memorial.

Ironworkers have been laboring to bring down the hulking section of the north tower's facade for much of the past week.

``They thought it was going to come down much earlier,'' said Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. ``It turned out to be a much more difficult process than they thought it would be. It should be down, if everything goes right, over the weekend. But no one ever knows until you actually start doing it how complex it's going to be.''

Richard Sheirer, director of the Office of Emergency Management, said it is unclear yet how wide a piece will be saved, but said: ``It will be secured to be used for the future as part of a memorial.''