The Freedom Tower

If you live near Interstate 287 or Interstate 78 in Central New Jersey, you may be roused by early morning thunder Saturday, Aug. 23, don’t necessarily look for rain.
MyCentralJersey.com says the thunder will “probably the sound of hundreds of motorcycles, fire trucks and emergency vehicles escorting a memorial cross constructed out of steel beams taken from the remains of the World Trade Center. The steel cross is being transported from Brooklyn to its eventual permanent location at the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company near the Pennsylvania Sept. 11, 2001, crash site of United Air Lines Flight 93.

“All told there should be about 1,000 motorcycles,” said retired Air Force staff sergeant Mike Angelastro, one of the lead organizers of the Iron and Steel — New York City to Shanksville Run.

“Cycles are joining us in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, all along the run,” Angelastro said. “We have people coming from far as Georgia for this.”

Eugene Stolowski is one of four FDNY firefighters who were injured in January 2005 when they jumped from the fourth-floor window of a Bronx building in a fire that took the lives of two other firefighters.

Stolowski now volunteers for the FDNY Fire Family Transport Foundation, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization which provides transportation to the families of injured, ill or deceased New York City firefighters and is handling the memorial transport.

“The memorial is a cross section of steel with the letters WTC welded to it to represent the Trade Center buildings,” Stolowski said. “The base was built out in Shanksville in the shape of the Pentagon, and the cross will be mounted on it there.”

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will consider selling a small lot near Ground Zero, reports Newsday, the Long Island newspaper reports.
Leaders of a church destroyed on Sept. 11 have surrendered land needed to rebuild the World Trade Center site in a $20 million deal with the government.

The congregation at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church will use the cash to build a new church a few blocks away from where it stood in lower Manhattan. The church’s 1,200-square-foot lot was listed in a report last month as one of more than a dozen obstacles slowing long-stalled rebuilding at ground zero.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns ground zero, and its leadership has agreed to the $20 million price. The agency expects $10 million to come from JPMorgan Chase & Co., which has a tentative deal to build one of five office towers planned at the site.
The Port Authority’s board is to consider approving the sale at its Thursday meeting.

Michael Goodwin says New York is usually one tough town, but it’s hard to imagine a softer civic touch than the one that greeted the admission last week that Ground Zero is a mess, the New York Daily News writer says. “When, after nearly seven years of false starts and promises, officials finally admitted that everything is hopelessly behind schedule and over budget, New Yorkers’ general reaction was to applaud the honesty and turn the channel.Don’t get me wrong, I like honesty from my government as much as the next sucker. But we shouldn’t confuse the seven-year-itch for confession with a solution for what ails Ground Zero. And therein lies the real outrage of the downtown disaster - officials still don’t have a real plan to fix it.

Even worse, they don’t seem to know what’s wrong. Or maybe they can’t bring themselves to be quite that honest.

If they did, they’d have to confess to original sin. They’d have to admit they’ve forgotten the fundamental meaning of 9/11 and that the memorial to those who died in the worst attack ever carried out on American soil should have been the first thing built.

Rudy Giuliani perfectly described the right approach in his farewell address as mayor. With the fires still smoldering, Giuliani, speaking from nearby St. Paul’s Chapel on Dec. 27, 2001, called Ground Zero ‘holy” and “hallowed” and declared, “we shouldn’t think about this site right behind us as a site for economic development.’ “

Today’s headlines affirm what most New Yorkers have known for a while, says Newsday, the Long Island, New York Newspaper. We reported yesterday that a report on progress at Ground Zero tells us that Ground Zero is still at zero. “Nearly seven years after the World Trade Center collapsed, the barren tract continues to smolder in true New York style, with foundering reconstruction plans, budget troubles, lingering health questions, and plenty of blame to go around.

Christopher Ward, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has acknowledged a vast gap between the reality at Ground Zero and the state’s grand plans to revamp the site. An array of well-hyped projects, including a memorial, a transit hub, and new office towers, have been plagued by cost overruns and bureaucratic snags.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg seemed defensive of the glacial pace of progress, warning that it would be “very difficult to forecast in such a complex development project any kind of realistic date and cost.” Underscoring the reality factor, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer noted that all the public has had until this point has been “seven years of Alice in Wonderland fantasy plans.”

While the rebuilding lags, the controversy over the health impacts of the WTC disaster continues full throttle.

Lawyers for the city have attacked the claims of emergency and recovery workers suing the city for alleged health problems due to unsafe exposures at Ground Zero. The city says about 30 percent of the more than 10,000 claimants have no significant injuries. But advocates for the plaintiffs argue that medical records show a massive influx of illness among many 9/11 workers, including respiratory ailments linked to pollutants at the site.

Even as the court battle roils on, the state is moving toward expanding health care for WTC relief and recovery workers. A bill just passed by the State Legislature would extend disability benefits to more public service workers who participated in the Ground Zero effort.

The bill also extends the timeframe for 9/11 workers hired by private contractors to register for state workers’ compensation benefits. Fittingly, that deadline has been pushed back to September 10, 2010–probably in time to beat the first ribbon cutting at the rebuilt Ground Zero. But if this odyssey of urban politics has proven anything, it’s that what happens between now and then is anyone’s guess,” Newsday says.

Writing for Timesunion.com, Michael Burke of the Bronx says Jim Schaller in a May 25 letter,  could not be more wrong in his recommendation that a license plate “honoring” the “victims of the tragic event” — the terrorist attacks upon America by Islamic fundamentalists that murdered nearly 3,000 people — be one that would not “adversely refer to it in any way.”

The last thing we need is the state commemorating 9/11 as a “tragic event,” thereby denying how and why they died. That honors no one. We do not honor those victims by deeming any reference to the attacks as somehow “adverse.” Adverse to whom, how?

Though ironically, such a “vanity plate” would be the perfect fundraiser for the WTC 9/11 memorial. That $500 million vanity project, dedicated entirely to “what we need and deserve” will discard all evidence of 9/11 — “in order,” as per the handful who dictated its concept, “to preserve the integrity of the memorial.”

Note: On 9/11, my brother, New York Fire Department Capt. William F. Burke Jr. of Engine Co. 21 gave his life.

MICHAEL BURKE

Bronx

This is a little convoluted but there is a subway train that will run through the center of the World Trade Center site, according to New York One, but the train is actually in a black concrete tunnel box, but technically, it isn’t a subway tunnel.

“That’s because the Port Authority has transferred the weight of the tunnel onto steel supports and is now digging out the ground underneath. Soon, the tunnel will be suspended in midair.

“If you come back in a couple of months, it will be looking like it’s on stilts. It’ll look like some of the old railway trestles you see in the Rocky Mountains in the late 1870s,” said Port Authority Chief Geotechnical Engineer Raymond Sandiford.

The work is necessary because the space beneath the tunnel will eventually become part of the Trade Center basement.

For now there are small underpasses beneath the tunnel, only about enough room for workers and small machinery to maneuver below as they excavate. Eventually the subway tunnel will stand about 50 feet in the air, on what are known as mini-piles that have been drilled deep into bedrock.

“We’re basically building this thing on stilts- about 450 stilts. There are 450 mini-piles that we had to put in there,” said Port Authority Program Director Mark Pagliettini.

Before 9/11, there was actually a station there. The Cortlandt Street stop on what was then the 1 and 9 lines. But the collapse of the World Trade Center destroyed not only the station, but also a portion of the tunnel itself.”

Pat Shannan, writing for American Free Press Net, says
“more than 360 workers who dealt with the aftermath of the World Trade Center disaster are known to have died, New York health officials said in May. Of the more than 600 diagnosed with cancer (other than blood cancer), 80 are included in the death count. Other deaths were traced to blood cancers and heart and circulatory diseases. Five ex-workers committed suicide, said Kitty Gelberg, who is tracking the deaths for the state’s World Trade Center Responder Fatality Investigation Program.

Officials have determined the cause of death of 154 of the responders and volunteers who toiled at Ground Zero, the blocks nearby and at the Fresh Kills landfill, where debris from the site was taken. “It’s the tip of the iceberg,” said David Worby, who is representing 10,000 workers who say they got sick after working on rescue and recovery efforts.

“These statistics bear out how toxic that site was, Worby said. Most of the deadly tumors were in the lungs and digestive system, according to the tally from the state’s program. Ms. Gelberg said she had not yet determined whether the number of cancer deaths was more or less than those typically occurring in men in their 20s to 50s who work as cops, firefighters or laborers—the majority of 9-11 workers.

“We are not saying all of these deaths are World Trade Center-related,” she said, not yet ready to make that determination without the statistics.

She added that relatives of people who died of cancer may be likely to link their loved one’s death to their 9-11 work and add them to the database, despite other possible factors. Ms. Gelberg said she is compiling the deaths from public sources, individuals and agencies and believes there is an overall undercount of workers who have died. The statistics cover Sept. 12, 2001, through May 1, 2008.

The city Health Department said it was actively examining whether deaths have been elevated as a result of 9-11. Last year, the head of Mount Sinai Medical Center’s monitoring and treatment program, Dr. Robin Herbert, predicted a “third wave” of 9-11-related deaths from cancer.

“We know people were exposed to carcinogens. There was benzene, dioxin, asbestos,” said her colleague Dr. Philip Landrigan. “There’s reason to be concerned, so we’re engaged in watchful waiting. So far, there’s no excess.”

Cathy Murray, whose husband, Fire Lt. John Murray, died of colon cancer April 30, “absolutely” connects his disease to his work at Ground Zero. He was diagnosed in June and was 52 when he died, she said. An FDNY spokesman couldn’t immediately say where or when Murray performed 9-11-related duty, but a department letter confirms that he spent at least 40 hours at World Trade Center-designated work sites.

“He was perfectly healthy,” said Cathy Murray, 53, of Staten Island. “He never smoked a day in his life, and neither did I. It happened so quick and [was] so aggressive. He was responding [to therapy] at first, but then he wasn’t,” she added. “And now he’s gone.”

From Nigerian Curiosity: “How To Shoot Yourself in the Foot …”

“After the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the U.S., Nigeria was added to an American list of countries with ties to terrorism. This, despite the fact that then-president Olusegun Obasanjo spent a significant amount of time visiting the US and proclaiming Nigeria’s staunch support of the American counter-terrorism efforts.

As a Nigerian abroad, I was frequently asked questions, such as “Is it true that Nigeria harbors terrorists?” or “Is it safe in Nigeria, what with Al Qaeda and stuff…”. With each question, I got protective about Nigeria and explained that Nigerians are not interested in Al Qaeda or terrorism. I would have to point out that Nigerians are considered some of the happiest people on the planet and that our love of ‘owambe’ (all night) parties, ‘awoof’ (I will have to rely on my readers for a detailed definition of this Nigerian concept), weddings and the overall good life would overcome any slight risk of even dabbling in terrorism.

Then MEND began to mete out their demands for justice, while its less-ideologically inclined imitators simply demanded money and Johnny Walker. Before I knew it, the uncomfortable questions started again. I would receive phone calls from long lost friends, “Is your mother okay? FOX News says they just bombed an oil rig” or “Some Americans got kidnapped over there. Is your family okay?” All I can say in response is, “My family is fine. The kidnappers will release the victims in no time, don’t worry. That’s how they do things…” And, with every new kidnapping incident, I paid less and less attention because I trusted that the kidnappers would release their victims and all would end well.

Things started to get better. America’s economic recession grabbed headlines and people focused on other things like the battle for the American presidency and the continuing process to pick a Democratic nominee. I started to breathe easier. I even managed to read a widely circulated US government report that the Nigerian Taliban, a small group operating mainly in Kano, has no ties to Al Qaeda or other Islamist militant groups in Algeria, Afghanistan or anywhere else. Hence, all that talk tying Nigeria to terrorists was all a big bad mistake. I poured myself a glass of Riesling and made a mental note to write about it and remind Nigerians and the world of the retraction.

But then it happened. I saw the following attention grabbing headline in my Google Reader - ‘R-E-D-A-L-E-R-T: IG Warns over Al- Qaeda Plot to Bomb Nigeria’ and my mouth became sour. I went on to read that Nigeria’s inspector General (IG) of Police, Mike Okiro, told a group of senior officials that,

“The al Qaeda network has threatened to send time bombs to Nigeria . . . CPs (commissioners of police) of all the commands should be on the alert and ensure that these items (bombs) do not pass through their end,”

Why would Okiro say this? And, why would he and the Yar’Adua Administration not do everything within their power to discourage the publication of such a glaringly disadvantageous headline? The IG’s statements go completely against any progress that Nigeria is attempting to make in rebranding itself and preparing for the development it proclaims to strive for. Nigeria cannot market itself as a tourist haven if its own IG contradicts the hardwork and collaboration between Nigerian and American authorities in retracting previous claims that Nigeria has terrorist ties. Nigeria cannot calm the fears of needed global investors who are hesitant to invest capital in the economy when our own IG is telling the world that the nation is an immediate terror target. But, even more important than any of that is the fact that in a country where citizens have hardly any light, are spending more and more of their hard-earned income on ever rising food, gas and other necessities, is it really wise to make such statements publicly? It is never wise to create fear in the heart of the populace by telling them that a world-renowned terrorist group plans to set off bombs in Nigeria whether that is true or not. Nigerians do not need this, in addition to all the other ‘wahala’ (problems) they deal with on a daily basis.

Despite this, I am glad that the IG has started his damage control and is now downplaying his quoted statement by asking Nigerians to ignore published accounts of a bomb plot. The Public Relations Officer of Nigeria Police Force, Agberebi Akpoebi, even went as far as declaring that the published reports were completely false and were done simply to serve “a selfish and private interest”. I am not quite sure what that means or whether this is effective damage control, especially as these responses from the IG were delayed by almost a week, but I can only hope that in Nigeria’s journey towards a more stable and secure nation, that we take the right steps to prevent the ambitions of those that seek to cause chaos while protecting the interests of the Nigerian citizen. And by interest, I am talking about the right to a peaceful nights sleep without adding terrorism fears to the many headaches Nigerians have to deal with. We cannot continue to give ammunition to those who clearly do not have our interests at heart. Let us try to not shoot ourselves in the foot by tying our lot to the aims of terrorism either intentionally or unintentionally.

May the souls of all those lost in the recent Lagos pipeline explosion, rest in peace. I hope that the IG, the seemingly hardworking Lagos state government and the federal government have an effective plan to prevent these explosions, which are beginning to occur too frequently.”

Kimberly Ripley of New Hampshire, writing at www.gather.com:

“I walked as far around the perimeter (of Ground Zero) as the public was allowed. I just knew I’d find something to commemorate the lives lost here. I know plans for a memorial are in the making, but in the meantime I felt certain some type of makeshift tribute would be in place.
I found nothing. Aside from an American flag flying gently in the warm New York City evening breeze, there was nothing but construction equipment in the giant void that once served as a grave of sorts for the people who lost their lives on 9/11.
Why were there no flowers? Why wasn’t there at least a sign? “Rest In Peace.”
New Yorkers flowed by and around the area. Life seems a lot different than it was the last time I visited this city. It was just four weeks after 9/11. When I stepped off the train in Penn Station I was instantly heartbroken as I viewed hundreds and hundreds of signs with photographs on them.
“Have you seen this woman?”

”Has anyone seen my husband?”
Yet here it is just a few years later and nothing honors the void where the Twin Towers once stood.
In addition to the lack of respect and honor for those lives lost and their loved ones who remain, I think about the brave American men and women fighting terror in the Middle East. To not commemorate the tragedy of 9/11 negates (at least in my mind) what these soldiers stand for.
I know that one day a wondrous memorial will grace Ground Zero. But in the meantime I truly believe there needs to be something to remind us of the day that forever changed us as Americans. Our soldiers, our veterans, our 9/11 heroes, our dead, and their loved ones all deserve far better than what I observed there this evening.

Press reports say more secret World Trade Center papers have turned up in the trash, just days after a homeless man said he found blueprints to Freedom Tower in a New York trash can.

The New York Post reported Sunday that a pair of self-described “salvage experts” said they have twice found piles of sensitive blueprints, schematics and e-mails detailing plans for buildings intended to replace the World Trade Center.

The plans include details of the temporary PATH train station and a proposed Port Authority Police headquarters, the newspaper said.

The men’s first find was about a year and a half ago, and the second was March 13, the newspaper said.

“We knew what we had. I thought the information was important and potentially dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands, and we weren’t going to let that happen,” one of the men said. “We were protecting the trade center. We were protecting the country.”

Port Authority spokeswoman Candace McAdams said the $16 billion project “produces literally tons of building plans and documents that are not privileged and confidential.”

But the newspaper reported that the documents found read, “SECURE DOCUMENT — CONFIDENTIAL FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY,” on every page.