The Freedom Tower

The city of New York has closed a sorting site as part of  the long, painstakingly difficult seach for human remains at the World Trade Center.
City officials say the Medical Examiner’s office has finished shifting through 15,000 cubic yards of material excavated from Ground Zero. This latest search began in October 2006. Rescue workers began sorting through the rubble at Ground Zero on September 12. This latest stage of the sorting operation was done at 11 Water Street in Brooklyn. It was opened a year ago to analyze debris for human remains. In its place, a mobile unit will still be used for this purpose and be used as other parts of the WTC site are excavated. One possible new site will be the demolition site for the damaged former Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street which is still waiting to be torn down.
In announcing the move, Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler emphasized the fact that the search human remains at Ground Zero is not over but the focus of that search has shifted.

I recently stumbled across a fabulous piece called “9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America” at www.911familiesforameria.org. It was first posted by Tim Sumner but should be reposted as often as possible to soften the resolve of some to forget Sept. 11 as soon as possible.

I advocate reading this piece when ever the smell of death or the painful stain of memory in you fades:
“What glorious fools they all were.

Such unmitigated valor had been last seen in places forever burnished into the pages of our history books. Anyone who had flown B-17’s over Germany, sailed out to meet the Imperial fleet near Salvo Island, clung to that pier at Tarawa, hacked through the hedgerows beyond Normandy, cleared the streets of Hue in ‘68, turned east with the CAV towards Kuwait and the Republican Guard, or battled their way in and out of Mogadishu would have recognized them immediately — and gone with them. Yet most of the grunts of Ground Zero were “mere” civilians.

Where does America get so many magnificent people?

We had all seen the first wave decimated. As the dust dissipated, the rubble still shifted, metal creaked all around and above, alert pagers chirped, and a few radios broke squelch.

Was it over? Yes and no yet neither mattered. There was so much carnage, this faint hope, and all the fallen to find.

The second wave washed their faces, lowered their heart rates, and surged onto the Pile. America closed in and closed ranks behind them. Together, with whatever it took and given whatever they would need, to bedrock they charged, damning all else.

Turning the ‘Pile’ at the World Trade Center into an empty ‘Pit’ staggered the minds of those who first faced the task. In terms of weight, the shattered humanity of 2,749 people was a mere 1/100,000th of 200 million tons of wreckage. Bobby Gray gave some sense of it, in the book Nine Months at Ground Zero, while describing the evening of September 12, 2001:

That second night, I was at the edge of the pile with Sam Melisi of [the] FDNY. I grabbed this operator named Dave who was in Local 15 and asked him to run the Bobcat, a little frontend loader that can hold about a yard of material. He went into the edge of the pile of debris, got a bucket, and backed it up. I don’t know where we were thinking we were gonna put the material, but then Sammy said, “Okay, stop him. Just shake it out a little bit. I’m going to go through it.”

I’m like, “Huh?”

I’m looking at the pile and then looking at this little bucket of material Sam’s sifting through by hand, running it through his fingers. Then I had this realization that we would have to do this with the entire pile, all of it, every single bucket.

I thought, “Oh my God, there’s 50,000 people here.” We weren’t listening to the news or reading the paper. We didn’t know how many people were lost there yet. But I already knew we were not going to find many whole people. We were going to find parts, maybe millions of parts, and if there were 50,000 people in the pile, I knew two of them might be in that bucket.

It would not be that easy.

The destruction ran 70 feet deep to bedrock, towered seven stories above street level, plunged through nearby streets, crushed or crashed into adjacent buildings, and spread out in all directions over a field twice the size of the World Trade Center’s 16 acres. This photo, taken from the roof of the FDNY’s ‘10 House’ a few days later, shows but the southwest corner of the site.
They wanted what we all wanted: more miracles. Yet those fleeting hopes came with a price as this article Safety Becomes Prime Concern at Ground Zero, on November 8, 2001, in the New York Times illustrates:

Goggles, respirators, safety boots and helmets are mandatory for workers on the debris field. But the protection they provide, if they are worn and worn properly, can still be inadequate, as there have been 34 broken bones, 441 lacerations, more than 1,000 eye injuries and hundreds more burns, sprains and smashed fingers through Sunday.
…
From Sept. 21 to Oct. 7, for example, OSHA observed an average of 43 hazards on the site each day, ranging from workers not wearing proper protective gear, to dangers caused by improperly stored fuel tanks, to cranes that were dangerously assembled. By late October, the number had fallen to 33 a day.

Rates for some specific injuries have fallen even more sharply, according to the New York City Department of Health.

In the first three weeks after the attack, firefighters, construction workers and others sought medical assistance 6,342 times, for problems like broken bones, burns or more modest issues, like blisters or sprains. In the last three weeks, that number was 1,297, with 384 visits last week, the records show.

The most immediate threat is from the countless physical hazards at the site: the hot steel, the gas cylinders, the unstable debris piles, the cranes swinging back and forth.

The other primary threat is not as visible: the toxins that have been measured in the dusty air, or the smoke that rises from the fires still burning deep underground.
…
Part of the problem, particularly in the early weeks, was that many workers and firefighters did not wear proper respirators, leaving large numbers with lung irritations, coughs and perhaps even more serious injuries.

By the following May, they had brought up 200 bodies and scraped 20,000 human remains from every nook and cranny of hallowed ground they could lay their hands on. Even those bitterly earned numbers left 1,100 unidentified and the grinding collapse, fires, and time makes 100% identification seem impossible.

Some say that had the workers only known the danger, they would have been more careful. That is insulting; they were neither emotionally detached nor stupid. It burned beneath them for months (a year later, in the Pit, you could still taste it within the swirling dust). That assumes city officials are less human, cared less, and were not as shell-shocked as the rest of our nation. It also pretends that — at least in the early days — something less than the 82nd Airborne Division could have removed them by force.

Yet thousands from the second waive are now sick and perhaps dying and no one was found alive after September 12, 2001.

So, were they too brave?

They completed their mission within the limits of mere mortals, we owe them a debt that can never be paid, and that is a hell of a question to ask about heroes.

Author’s note: The beginning of this commentary was originally published in October 2006.”

A satellite image of Manhattan was collected at 11:43 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Sept. 12, 2001 by Space Imaging’s IKONOS satellite. The image shows an area of white and gray-colored dust and smoke at the location where the 1,350-foot towers of the World Trade Center once stood. Since all airplanes were grounded over the U.S. after the attack, IKONOS was the only commercial high-resolution camera that could take an overhead image at the time.

To enlarge this image, go to http://www.uphaa.com/index.php/14-most-amazing-satellite-picture-youll-ever-see/

“As Lower Manhattan continues to recover from 9/11,” New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says, “our diverse 24-hour community still has many needs that must be addressed. That is why Silver says he worked closely with the governor and Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) to advocate for a wide range of programs and services in need of these important grants throughout the downtown community in the wake of the terrorist attacks six years ago which turned the area into a ghost town for years.
Now, however, Silver says Aid for education, healthcare and a variety of community services and amenities will go a long way toward achieving our goal of rebuilding Lower Manhattan bigger and better than ever before.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced recently that it is awarding more than $37 million in Community Enhancement Fund grants to support a variety of community improvements. The grants will fund crucial programs, services and facilities in neighborhoods throughout Lower Manhattan.

The 33 grants will go to not-for-profit organizations for a range of projects including healthcare, education, community services, recreation and cultural projects. The grants address needs in each of Lower Manhattan’s distinct and diverse neighborhoods and communities.

The LMDC is providing $8.5 million towards improving healthcare services, $7.6 million for recreational facilities and programming, $4.5 million for the area’s public schools, and $8.8 million for services to assist low-income families, disadvantaged workers and businesses, children, and the elderly. Another $7.7 million will go to a group of diverse museums and cultural institutions to aid them in attracting visitors Downtown by expanding their programming and enhancing their facilities.

“As Lower Manhattan blossoms into a residential destination, these funds will ensure that critical public amenities receive necessary support,” said Gov. Spitzer. “This is part of our vision to transform Lower Manhattan into a 21st century community - one that is supported by a growing list of corporate tenants, but also responsive to community needs and alive with recreational and cultural activities.”

A proposed New York city ordinance would look after the children whose health deteriorated dramatically after 911.
City Councilman Alan Gerson last week announced the proposal that would seek to cover children exposed to deisel fumes, a lung irritant and carcinogens that worsen the symptoms of children who developed respiratory problems after the collapse of the World Trade Center.
“Unfortunately, we cannot undo past exposures,” Gerson said in an interview with the Downtown Express. “But we can prevent new exposures, and over time we can begin to compensate.”
The site says Gerson’s proposal came right after the Health Department announced that children who were in Lower Manhattan on 9/11 were more likely to develop asthma. The survey of 3,100 children enrolled in the World Trade Center Heath Registry showed that 6 percent received an asthma diagnosis after 9/11. Those children who were caught in the dust cloud on 9/11 were twice as likely to be diagnosed with asthma as those who were not in the dust cloud.
“This legislation would be good policy with or without the [Health Department] report,” Gerson said. “But it’s imperative policy when you’re talking about a susceptible population.”
Diesel fumes are like mold or secondhand smoke: bad for everyone, but especially toxic for people with asthma, Gerson said. His legislation would require construction site vehicles and machinery to use Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel, a less toxic version of standard diesel fuel. Many agencies and developers doing large construction projects in Lower Manhattan are already using the low sulfur vehicles under a voluntary agreement.

NEW YORK – St. Nicholas’ Greek Orthodox Church, destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has donated a crucifix recovered from ground zero and a photograph of the church that once stood near the World Trade Center. It was presented to a Sept. 11 visitors’ center on the church’s 91st anniversary.

The St. Nicholas’ congregation is raising money and New York state officials have agreed to help rebuild the church on the World Trade Center site.

The donated crucifix was found at Ground Zero. The church also donated a Bible today and a photograph of the church that was taken just after two planes hit both towers to the Tribute WTC Visitor Center. The church members also held a traditional Greek Orthodox service on the spot where their church once stood after donation ceremonies.

EXTON, Pa., Dec. 5 — WPCS International Incorporated, a leader in design-build engineering services for specialty communication systems and wireless infrastructure, has announced that it has been selected by Silverstein Properties as a wireless consultant in the design of an advanced wireless communications system for World Trade Center buildings 2, 3 and 4. The company is a Heinz Corporation subsidiary. The design will include a needs analysis with technical performance specifications for a wireless in-building radio system that will insure the reliable communication for all emergency agencies including the Port Authority, FDNY and the NYPD.

Silverstein Properties is a Manhattan-based real estate development and investment firm that has developed, owned and managed more than twenty million square feet of office, residential and retail space. In July 2001, Silverstein Properties completed the largest real estate transaction in New York history by acquiring the 10 million square foot World Trade Center, only to see it destroyed by terrorist attacks six weeks later on September 11, 2001.

Silverstein Properties is committed to the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site www.wtc.com and in May 2006, Silverstein Properties opened 7 World Trade Center, a 52 story 1.7 million square foot office tower at 250 Greenwich Street, just north of the World Trade Center site. The building is now approximately 75% leased to a world-class roster of tenants. In September 2006, designs were unveiled for three new office towers on the World Trade Center site, which includes 200, 175 and 150 Greenwich Street, which will be developed by Silverstein Properties. Construction on the three towers will begin when the Port Authority delivers the sites to Silverstein Properties in January 2008.

Larry A. Silverstein, president and CEO of Silverstein Properties, commented, “Beginning with 7 World Trade Center, we have set a new standard in technology and security for our buildings. This includes a commitment to the most advanced communication systems throughout our properties.”

Richard Fann, president of WPCS/Heinz, commented, “Our company completed a similar project for Silverstein Properties at 7 World Trade Center a few years ago and we are pleased to be selected again for this new project as we are aware of the high quality standards imposed by Silverstein Properties. We are looking forward to establishing the parameters for a best in class wireless communications system for such an important project.”

Adam Brodsky is a contrarian of sorts.
Brodsky, a columnist for the New York Post, called recent stories surrounding the New York medical examiner’s decision to deny first responders the same health benefits as 9/11 victims a myth.
“Considering all the recent hype,” Brodsky wrote, “New Yorkers can be forgiven for thinking public officials take sickened 9/11 heroes to the mountains to die, as Spartans did with unhealthy babies.

The truth is quite different.

Forget the cheap headlines: “Abandoned Heroes.” “Please Help Me Go On Living.” “The Sick Can’t Wait.”

Ignore the overheated rhetoric: “Many are being denied proper assistance,” as one newspaper insisted. “I knew . . . people were going to die from what they were exposed to,” Sen. Hillary Clinton claimed, vowing to “rescue the rescuers.
An “impartial” Manhattan jurist’s comment last month is more telling: “They have $1 billion just waiting on the table,” Judge John Newman said, referring to federal funds meant to shield Gotham from 9/11 workers’ lawsuits. “It just cries out . . . to distribute it to the people who are dying.”

In fact, there are money and resources and services galore for 9/11 heroes - even though, to date, no death has been linked to Ground Zero dust.
Yes, you read that right: As far as science can tell, not a single person has died from 9/11 fumes.”
The science used by the New York city ME and medical authorities speaking for the state police is markedly different.  Buy science in New York seems, is in the eye of the beholder.

Protesters gathered outside the offices of the New York City medical examiner office today demanding he reverse his stance on deaths he says were unrelated to Ground Zero illnesses.
Speaking to the crowd, New York State Sen. Eric Adams vowed to introduce legislation to include first responders who toiled at Ground Zero will be eligible for the same “line-of-duty-benefits as September 11 victims.
The protest and call for legislative efforts stem from recent rulings by ME Charles Hirsch who has ruled against two rescuers who worked at the World Trade Center just days after September 11 and later died of illnesses other physicians said were caused or aggravated by the toxic dust they were exposed to at Ground Zero.
Adams said. “We still hear the voices and pain of those that did not die on 9/11, but died after and will die in the future. My bill would allow the medical examiner to list those who worked on Ground Zero on 9/12 and after as victims of 9/11.” Lawyer Norman Siegel of the ACLU added the responders are “American heroes…we must do everything we can help them and their families.”

By Tevah Platt
Staten Island Advance

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — As an EMS worker, Lt. Brian Ellicott was best at comforting his patients: “When you’re better, you’ll go out dancing,” he used to tell them, distracting them from their pain. Lt. Ellicott, described as a big, “teddy bear” of a guy and a father of two, did that most every day.

Sept. 11, 2001, was different; there were few injuries to dress, just toil to be done in the dust.