Mayor Admits First WTC Cleanup Was Fast

October 25, 2006, 5:02 AM EDT

NEW YORK -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg's explanation that the city's cleanup of the World Trade Center site was done quickly out of respect for victims' families did little to quell the anger of some who fear the remains of their loved ones were overlooked.

Bloomberg said Tuesday that city officials who handled the World Trade Center cleanup years ago worked "as fast as we could" but said they were urgently trying to get remains back to the families.

"It had very little to do with the families," said Monica Gabrielle, whose husband Richard was killed and has no identified remains. "This is another spin -- it's a diversion away from the issue, which is that management failed, not the workers, and management needs to be held accountable."

Thirty-six more bone fragments were found Tuesday as workers continued sifting debris from subterranean cavities that were apparently missed during the initial cleanup.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-attacks-remains,0,220163.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines


Why the big hurry? The dead were already dead and they certainly weren't going anywhere but getting the site cleaned up was so much more important it seemed. Funny now that it's 5 years later and there's still just a big hole in the ground. Seems there really was no need to hurry, not unless you needed to make sure to get rid of as much evidence as possible.

Mayor: Family requests rushed WTC recovery

October 25, 2006

Families were anxious for answers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday.

In defending claims that the post-Sept. 11 search for human remains at the World Trade Center site were halted prematurely in 2002, Bloomberg argued the cleanup was rushed because family members were eager to recover remains of loved ones.

"The families really wanted to get any remains back as quickly as possible. If you think about a family member, they don't know whether their loved one will be found, and we try to work as expeditiously as possible," Bloomberg said.

Since Con Edison workers discovered remains believed to be that of victims on Wednesday, family members have called for construction to stop at the site and urged the city to request federal help with the new search. Another 36 bone fragments were recovered yesterday.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nywtc25vr4947221oct25,0,207136.story?coll=ny-nynews-print

Rushing and stopping are two different things. Yes, the families wanted some proof or piece of a loved one so they could grieve and move on, but that doesn't mean after 2 years, you declare Mission Accomplished and then stop looking.

Guiliani left office in Jan 2002.

They didn't want a lot of forensic people snooping around finding stuff that couldn't be easily explained. Hide the evidence, get rid of the loose ends. There, see? Clean as a whistle! Nothing there to remind people of the crime that took place. The steel from the building was immediately sent to Japan for recycling. All the rest was sifted (not very carefully, mind you) and deposited in the Fishkill landfill.
Then the propaganda started. It was just a political tool after that. All nice and tidy. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Or at least, it SHOULD!

families of victims.

how fragments are being found after 5 years, how many years will bodies be found in the Gulf States?? Total negligence and no respect for the dead or life.

Leaving all that rubble and rotting flesh in a major population center was not an option, but there certainly was no attention paid to evidence collection.

Everyone and everything, except the steel, that was inside of the buildings had been pulverized.

It's not too late to do some basic forensic investigation.

all over the country. Even Poppy Bush has one. I bet it would be interesting to do some tests on those too.

try NOT finding two girders stuck together in a "cross" pattern in the rubble of a building made with steel girders ...