New York Post article on WTC remains, Oct 2006

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

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Officials Try to Identify Sites Where Body Parts Still Lie: By DAVID W. DUNLAP vivors, not bone fragments. When I City and state officials are review­ was there, they were thoughtfully ing all the areas around the World trying to find bodies.” Trade Center site to identify those Despite the popular impression that may yield bones and bone frag­ that the recovery effort was finished ments, with the goal of pre-empting in 2002 — and though it seems almost lurther unexpected discoveries of certain that the 70-foot-deep “bath­ human remains from Sept. 11,2001. tub” forming the concrete foundation Several strong possibilities include of the trade center is clear of re- the entire service road on the west mains — bones and bone fragments edge of the site, where remains have continue to be found around the edges of ground zero. been found in recent days in a man­ hole that had been covered since the will It is all but inevitable that , more road was built in 2002; the block be- tion be discovered as the reconstruc­ ween Liberty and Cedar Streets thoseproject finally reaches many of peripheral vhere St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox around West and Liberty areas, principally Tiurch stood until 9/11, when it was Streets, as lestroyed by the collapse of 2 World well as the rooftops of nearby build­ Trade Center; and Fiterman Hall, ings like 130 Cedar Street and the Millenium Hotel. lorth of ground zero, which was bad­ What makes this an exceptionally ly damaged by the collapse of 7 delicate issue is that more than 40 World Trade Center. percent of the victims’ family mem­ Those three sites were confirmed bers are still awaiting word, five yesterday by two officials who were years later, that something of their granted anonymity because the re­ view is still under way. A report to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is due Ml Friday. Last week, after recognizably hu­ The goal is to prevertt man bones were found in a partly de­ stroyed, abandoned manhole, Deputy further unexpected Mayor Edward Skyler said that the Department of Design and Construc­ discoveries at ground tion and the Lower Manhattan Con­ zero. struction Command Center would “review all underground areas that were searched during the 9/11 recov­ ery effort and identify additional relatives has been recovered- To areas. If any, that weren’t searched date, the chief medical examiner has from which human remains could be been unable to identify the remains recovered.” of 1,151 of the 2,749 victims of Ite at­ The focus Is on subterranean tack. areas. It is unclear, lor example, Family members have calted for what may be found in places where the involvement of the Joint P’G.W.- columns and other structural ele- M.I.A. Accounting Command, which menTsfrom the collapsing twintow-—.recovers anctidentifiesserviceme th-' ers penetrated so deeply into the bers who have been killed in action. ground that they could only be cut off “The issue of the recovery of the — not removed entirely — by recov­ 9/11 human remains will not go away ery workers. It is also unclear what unless New York City conducts a might have been inadvertently over­ comprehensive search initiative.” looked in the rush to find survivors said Norman Siegel, a lawyer for a immediately after the 2001 attack group known as W.T.C. Families for and in the push to clear the trade Proper Burial. “We’re planning to center ruins to ground level by the recommend to the citjz thatttay.ex- end ofthatyear. ~ ' ~pand their current search effort. “There were nothing but dedicat­ This must be done so that the family ed, thoughtful people excavating the members do not have to wake up to site,” said Peter Drakoulias, a board news headlines that scream out, ‘Hu- member of St. Nicholas church, who man remains found at ground was on the scene soon after the at­ zero.'" tack. “I didn’t get a sense that there was an ‘archaeological dig’ type of thor­ oughness,” he recalled, “tat in those r early days, 1 don’t think anyone thought there needed to be. In those .---- ---- .Jr—«—7 n days, they were still looking for sur­ 6

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