Put It Above Ground

Action Alert—Friday, July 27, 2007, Relocation of Sept. 11 Memorial Service from Ground Zero

Dear Families and Supporters,

Please see copied below Mike Kelly’s column concerning Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer’s decision to relocate the annual Sept. 11 memorial service from Ground Zero to “the concrete plaza� known as Zuccotti Park. Kelly also references this week’s marked increase in discoveries of human remains at Ground Zero on a daily basis with 35 recovered on Tuesday, July 24, 30 found Wednesday, July 25, and 40 more found yesterday. If you agree with the sentiments expressed, and our efforts to return the annual memorial service to the World Trade Center site, please take action, by sending a letter of support along with a copy of this article to the following:

Mayor Bloomberg: Attn: Nazli Parvizi, Commissioner, NYC Community Assistance Unit

FAX: (212) 788-7754

Email: nparvizi@cityhall.nyc.gov

Governor Spitzer: Attn: Marlene Turner

Phone: 518-474-8390

FAX: 518-474-1513

Email: marlene.turner@chamber.state.ny.us

Governor Corzine, Attn: Michael Goldblatt

Phone: 609-777-2232

FAX: 609-292-3454

Also, please consider sending a letter to the editor of the Bergen Record in support of Mike Kelly’s column at letterstotheeditor@northjersey.com.

Together we will ensure our loved ones are given the honor and dignity they deserve.

Sincerely,

Bruce DeCell, 9/11 Families for a Secure America

Bill Doyle, Doyle 9/11 Support Network

Anthony Gardner, World Trade Center United Family Group, Inc.

Kurt and Diane Horning, WTC Families for Proper Burial, Inc.

Jim McCaffrey, Advocates for a 9/11 Fallen Heroes Memorial

Dennis McKeon, Where to Turn, Put it Above Ground

Margie Miller, 9/11 Long Island Families

Sally Regenhard, 9/11 Parents & Families of Firefighters & WTC Victims, and The Skyscraper Safety Campaign

Patricia Reilly, Coalition of 9/11 Families

Rosaleen Tallon, Advocates for a 9/11 Fallen Heroes Memorial

Thursday, July 26, 2007

By MIKE KELLY
RECORD COLUMNIST

The annual 9/11 memorial service at Ground Zero, an emotional pilgrimage for thousands seeking comfort at the spot where relatives and friends perished so brutally, is being moved.

Authorities claim the new site is just across the street.

Don’t believe it.

They may as well take this event to a Broadway theater.

The ceremony was not merely significant for what was said – namely, the slow reading of names of each of the 2,749 victims. The observance took on a deeper meaning because of where it was held.

Ground Zero is not just a crime scene. Many believe it is a graveyard.

For families of almost half the victims, no remains were ever identified. For the past five years, relatives and friends of unidentified victims viewed the 9/11 service as an opportunity to reconnect with the spirits of their loved ones.

Indeed, Ground Zero still holds remains of the dead. Hardly a week passes without another announcement of more victims’ bones being found by workers digging new foundations or cleaning nearby roofs or window ledges. On Monday alone, 19 bone fragments were discovered. On Tuesday, the number was 35 possible pieces.

For relatives, each finding is heartbreaking. It signifies that the Ground Zero cleanup was not thorough. And, amid the thump of jackhammers at work on new buildings for the site, it raises a terrible question: Will all bone fragments ever be located before the new buildings are finished?

The emotional subtlety in that question seems lost on the stagnant bureaucrats who run our governments and went along with the cold decision to move the location of the memorial service.

Victims’ relatives were first told on July 11 in a letter, signed jointly by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The mayor and governor cited “ongoing redevelopment” of Ground Zero as the only reason for moving.

Really? For previous ceremonies, mourners gathered on West Street, at the edge of Ground Zero. Later, they walked on a ramp that led to the bottom of the trade center site to leave flowers and pray. Couldn’t construction stop for a few hours for mourners to walk down that ramp? Or, if the ramp cannot be used, why not let mourners stand by the fence and toss flowers into the pit?

The Bloomberg-Spitzer letter begs another question: What about New Jersey? More than 700 victims were from the Garden State.

Governor Corzine, where are you?

The July 11 letter was followed by another on Monday from Bloomberg and Spitzer to leaders of victims’ advocacy groups — including several from New Jersey — confirming the switch to a patch of land on Liberty Street, between Broadway and Church Street and Trinity Place.

The spot is called Zuccotti Park, but it’s more like a concrete plaza with no connection to Ground Zero other than the fact that it is within a short walk of the 16-acre site.

“We understand your disappointment,” Bloomberg and Spitzer wrote in Monday’s letter.

Do they?

“They view us as a liability,” said Anthony Gardner of Brick Township, who formed the World Trade Center United Family Group in memory of his 35-year-old brother, Harvey, who was killed in the North Tower.

So picture this scene on Sept. 11, 2007:

Mourners can gather on a concrete plaza with what the great minds of Bloomberg and Spitzer surely must believe is an inspiring view.

Well, consider the view.

Instead of looking into Ground Zero – as they did for the first five anniversary services – mourners can now gaze at a Burger King.

This is no way to remember the dead.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

For Immediate Release
July 27, 2007

September 11th Advocates

________________________________________

July 26, 2007

An Open Letter To All Senate Judiciary Committee Members

Watching Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testify before Congress on July 24, 2007, for the third time, was excruciatingly painful.

During Gonzales’ testimony, it became abundantly clear that Americans were witnessing the unraveling of the fabric of America. We do not feel that this is an overstatement.

The Attorney General, a man who supposedly personifies America’s rule of law, obfuscated, committed perjury, and belittled the very institution, the Congress, which makes America a great Democracy. Over and over, we publicly witnessed Gonzales’ refusal to answer the questions posed by you – a Committee authorized to conduct oversight duties. You were made to look frustrated and foolish as your attempts at Executive Branch oversight were thwarted by the bizarre, circular non-answers of Attorney General Gonzales. For the third time, you were unable to penetrate his stonewalling.

We want to know, is it not a crime to mislead and outright lie to the Congress? How many more opportunities will you give Attorney General Gonzales to make a farce of our system by denying Congress information that would allow you to do your job and properly perform your oversight role?

The Bush Administration has repeatedly told us that American troops are fighting to spread democracy in Iraq. Ironically, here in America we seem to be losing the core principles that make us one. Mr. Gonzales’ testimony and the Administration’s refusal to have key people testify at the hearings, without any accountability, make a mockery of our system of checks and balances. We are supposed to have three equal branches of government: the Executive, Judicial and Legislative. While they are often on opposite sides of an issue, the three branches are to be unified in the maintenance of American civil liberties, not working in concert to covertly undermine and rescind them. Again, no one branch is supposed to have absolute power, nor should any combination of the other two be cowed or manipulated into consensus against the interests of the American people.

And, while we support these inquiries and applaud your patience and attempts to solicit truthful and substantive answers to your questions during all of the Gonzales hearings, it was disconcerting to watch the disdainful contempt that the Attorney General exhibited for the entire process.

Sadder still, it appears that you are becoming unwittingly complicit in your own undoing. It is evident that what we are watching is the U.S. Congress in the process of making itself irrelevant. When the Executive Branch alone is allowed to act without any oversight, or any accountability, then what we will become is a dictatorship. And once all Americans realize that Congress is unable to perform any oversight, whether it is due to lack of will or complicity, you will no longer be needed. Once it becomes apparent that the Executive Branch is not only making the laws but also deciding which laws to follow, the Congress will be just a quaint, unnecessary and useless artifact.

This Administration, aided and abetted by some members of Congress, has repeatedly deceived the American people by allowing the Executive Branch to ignore the rule of law and divisions of power specifically stated in the Constitution. This Administration’s “constitutionally and legally challenged� activities include, but are certainly not limited to: taking America into a pre-emptive war on false pretenses, warrantless wiretapping, illegal torture, and the political firing of attorneys. Where are those who took an oath to uphold the Constitution and are supposed to represent us in our government … our Congress?

While we understand that you only have limited tools in your arsenal to address these matters, what we don’t understand is why you have yet to use them. We also understand that using these tools may involve a lengthy and highly contentious process that we will all have to endure. Yet in the annals of history, the only thing that will count is whether or not you upheld the rule of law and fulfilled your Constitutional responsibilities. The mere countenance of argument and eventual capitulation will only ensure our collective demise, and the continued abuse of power by others in the future. But by seeking the truth and reestablishing the balance of power you can negate the current Administration’s unilateral quest for domination, and hopefully, begin to restore the United States’ international and regional standing in the world.

Thus, all options for achieving these goals should be put back on the table.

Show the American public and the world that our democracy has been reinstated. That the system put in place by our forefathers, the system that this Administration says it wants to spread throughout the world is once again viable and indeed worth saving. Fight with all that you have to save our democracy here in America. You owe it to every American, but most of all you owe it to the men and women in the military that have been repeatedly put in harm’s way attempting to establish a democracy overseas.

The future of our Democracy is in grave danger. It is imperative that you act immediately.

September 11th Advocates

Patty Casazza
Monica Gabrielle
Mindy Kleinberg
Lorie Van Auken

On Thursday, July 26, 2007, forty (40) potential human remains* were recovered from the Liberty Street section at the WTC site.

Total Remains

1608

785 - Deutsche Bank
209 - Manholes
407- Haul road (including 3 from 39th Street Facility)
177 - Liberty Street
3 - West Street
2 - Rooftop 130 Cedar
13 - DEP Subterranean Structure under the Haul Road
12 - Subterranean outside WTC site

NEW SEARCH

Remains recovered 1608

Remains sent for testing 0

DNA extracted 0

Matches 0

WTC Items Recovered 0

ORIGINAL SEARCH

Remains Recovered Over 20,000

Remains sent for testing NA

DNA extracted NA

Matches 1598

Remains tested with new process NA

DNA Extracted NA

Matches 11

WTC Items Recovered NA

(We have requested this information on numerous occasions with no response. We will keep these as NA until we receive information from the ME’s Office)

Put It Above Ground

For Related Articles Go To

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=23

Statement of Skyscraper Safety Campaign to the WTC Memorial and Museum Committee

7/25/07

It has been said that “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.�

Yet that is exactly what is happening at the WTC memorial & museum and other redevelopment at Ground Zero. By all accounts, the memorial, museum, and other structures at this sacred site will continue to be above the law, exempt from basic city building and fire code regulations.

The twin towers were exempt from local regulations. We know what that meant – only three closely clustered stairwells in each tower, instead of the four minimum remotely separated stairwells required by every building code in America. How many of the 2,749 victims would have survived had safety been the primary concern? How many lives could have been saved if they only had followed the minimum regulations?

We have been told that the memorial complex and other new structures will meet or exceed building and fire codes. Yet, the Port Authority resists showing the public the plans. Just like the memorial itself, code compliance is hidden, out of sight and out of mind. Public safety is just that: public!

We learned over a year ago that plans for the memorial & museum were never submitted to the New York City Buildings Department, even for a courtesy review. Yet, construction is now under way on the memorial and museum - so much for meet or exceed!

Architectural renderings of the memorial (which have never been disclosed to the public), have shown that there are only two non-compliant ramps from the underground memorial and museum structure. It is our understanding that some of the emergency exit stairwells will be located off the memorial site itself – all the way across West Street, in order to preserve the barren nature of the plaza! How about preserving life? After hiking that endless, exhausting subterranean trek of never-ending corridors, think about climbing numerous flights of stairs just to get away from the disaster? How will emergency responders get down to rescue those trapped below- and how will they get the victims out?

With millions of visitors expected to come to the cavernous museum and memorial, it is likely that the issuance of tickets will be the primary means of turning away the many - to allow for the few to enter. How have emergency egress plans been prepared in this regard? Will the means of egress comply with the building code and its designated occupant load of how many people can actually occupy the space? Or will the egress only be capable of handling the artificial ticket limits? What happens when the inevitable pressure is applied to increase the numbers of visitors who can visit? Will the egress capacity be increased? & how could that be corrected after the structure is literally cast in concrete?

It is up to Governor Spitzer & Governor Corzine to solve this problem once and for all! They have both stated that Homeland Security is their top priority. They can put real action to words by ensuring that the entire World Trade Center site truly strives to the highest levels of safety and security. Order the Port Authority to give up their immunities from the city’s fire and building codes. Order them to follow the rules just like everyone else. Order transparency to be the rule of the day. Order the Memorial & Museum complex to be put under the legal jurisdiction of NYC Building and Fire Departments. Stop the code-deficiency insult to those lost on 9/11 by stopping a repeat of history! No NYC buildings - especially the WTC with its memorial and museum - should be above the law!

Sally Regenhard, Chair: 646-266-1987/Prof Glenn Corbett, Chief Technical Advisor: 201-993-2814

To All,

Please take a look at these excerpts from the Mayor’s 10/27/06 Press Release after the “accidental” discovery of remains in the Con Edison manhole. In light of the recent recovery of 87 remains at 140 Liberty we thought it would be prudent to revisit this release.We have highlighted points we would like to discuss along with our italicized comments.

To read complete release go to

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=32212

“Although the report finds that the vast majority of the site had been thoroughly searched and is free of human remains”

The recovery of over 1,500 human remains clearly shows that the new search was based on the faulty assumption that the vast majority of the site was thoroughly searched.

“it recommends the continued excavations on the haul road where remains have been recovered ”

The city had to be forced to excavate the entire haul road as they were only planning to search where remains had been found. To date 407 remains and two 18 foot steel beams have been recovered.

“the exploratory excavation of the 140 Liberty Street parcel, the former site of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church”

Despite knowing that this location was paved over without ever being searched the city only wanted to do exploratory searches. To date 137 remains have been found at this site.

“and the development of protocols for future construction on the site which would include having the City’s Medical Examiner on site to observe all future construction in areas that have not been excavated since 9/11″

Despite countless requests we have not seen any these protocols and to our knowledge the Medical Examiner is not currently on site overseeing construction

“This work will continue to be coordinated with the Port Authority and no construction delays are anticipated as a result “.

This appears to be the only item that has been faithfully followed.

In addition the press Release tries to logically explain why remains would only have landed on two rooftops and calls for the search of Fiterman Hall which we have not seen.Is it any wonder with a process so full of holes that we are still finding remains todayPut It Above GroundPut It Above Ground

Put It Above Ground

Site shift dishonors memory of Sept. 11 victims

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=38683

 

30 ADDITIONAL REMAINS FOUND AT LIBERTY STREET

READ THE COMMENTARY BELOW ORIGINALLY POSTED ON 12/30/06

TO SHOW HOW LITTLE THINGS HAVE CHANGED

IT’S A MATTER OF TRUST

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=34033

 

On Wednesday, July 25, 2007, thirty (30) potential human remains* were recovered from the Liberty Street section at the WTC site.

Total Remains

1568

785 - Deutsche Bank
209 - Manholes
407- Haul road (including 3 from 39th Street Facility)
137 - Liberty Street
3 - West Street
2 - Rooftop 130 Cedar
13 - DEP Subterranean Structure under the Haul Road
12 - Subterranean outside WTC site

NEW SEARCH

Remains recovered 1568

Remains sent for testing 0

DNA extracted 0

Matches 0

WTC Items Recovered 0

ORIGINAL SEARCH

Remains Recovered Over 20,000

Remains sent for testing NA

DNA extracted NA

Matches 1598

Remains tested with new process NA

DNA Extracted NA

Matches 11

WTC Items Recovered NA

(We have requested this information on numerous occasions with no response. We will keep these as NA until we receive information from the ME’s Office)

Put It Above Ground

For Related Articles Go To

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=23

Dear Dennis,

Thank you so much for all of your time and energy in trying to make this Memorial right. If they are so concerned about the safety at Ground Zero then why are they so determined to put our Memorial so deep in the ground where there will be no fire safety codes or probably no safety codes at all. They just want to bury us. “PUT IT ABOVE GROUND�.

These people are heartless, greedy, and cold. Many Special Blessings to you and all these other groups listed below.

God Bless You Always,

Susanne Ward-Baker (Tim’s Mom)

If this wasn’t so serious it could be made into a bad Verizon wireless commercial.

Diane keeps asking and keeps getting ignored.

So much for full disclosure

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=38675