Nearly a decade after it was badly damaged by the falling south tower of the World Trade Centre, a 41-story New York bank tower has finally been dismantled down to street level.

John DeLibero, a spokesman for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp, said the above-ground portion of the structure was gone as of Monday.

It will take a few days to remove the basement of the former Deutsche Bank building situated across the street from the trade centre site, he said.

The property will then be turned over to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the main trade centre site, for development.

Mr DeLibero said the transfer would take place by the end of the month.

The tower was contaminated with debris from the trade centre and for years stood shrouded in black netting.

The clean-up was delayed multiple times by fights over how to remove the material without polluting the neighbourhood. More than 700 body parts of September 11 victims were recovered, mostly on the roof, along with parts of the hijacked plane.