The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 117

Gretchen Dykstra, who's in charge of the WTC Memorial Foundation, is coming under fire because the foundation hasn't been able to raise the kinds of money needed to make the memorial come to fruition. Some of the problems stem from displeasure over the design, but there are also issues over whether the design will actually be built considering all the discord relating to construction of the Freedom Tower, the other office towers, and how space was allocated.

The Daily News reports that the iconic beams in the shape of a cross that were found at Ground Zero shortly after the collapse will be put into storage because of the construction ensuing at Ground Zero. I think that is a mistake, as the Port Authority could have relocated the cross to a space on the street level near where the PATH station is currently located, but it looks like this is a done deal.

Perhaps more importantly, the City has been working to develop a new radio system that would eliminate many of the problems facing emergency workers as they headed into the unknown on 9/11.

Although the new frequency, known as Channel 16, will be used during day-to-day operations, it could be most valuable when lives are at stake. The September 11 attacks made that clear, according to city documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

"That singular event further crystallized the extreme need for this build out," the city's request for proposals said. "The City cannot save lives and protect property if it cannot communicate to its Public Safety Agencies."

In 2004, the federal government allocated Channel 16 for municipal usage nationwide. The New York City plan will cost $75 million, according to the contract, which was registered by the city's Comptroller, William Thompson Jr.

The system will provide two citywide functions: It will serve as the new frequency for Fire Department dispatch and will be subdivided for various city agencies. In the event of a disaster, it will allow those agencies to better communicate.

Communications problems on 9/11 between firefighters and other emergency responders cost lives, both of the rescue personnel and those needing to be rescued. This new system will hopefully improve interagency communications in the event of major emergencies. It's still in the design phase, but when fully implemented, it will also allow coordination with Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties as well as at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. I would hope that this will also be expanded to Northern New Jersey communities, many of whom assisted in responding on 9/11.

Meanwhile, families relived the horrors of 9/11 as new audiotapes were released in the course of the Moussaoui case. I have more here.

UPDATE:
7WTC is getting its landscaping done, and a few hoodlums are helping out (in a bad way). Is Silverstein sandbagging the PA? Who knows, but New York Metro has a few tidbits. (via Curbed)

UPDATE:
More details on the memorial kerfuffle, and the proposed fee for entering the space.

UPDATE:
A New Jersey coroner has ruled that the death of a 34 year old James Zadroga was directly related to his recovery work at Ground Zero.

The death of a 34-year-old police detective who developed respiratory disease after working at ground zero is ``directly related'' to Sept. 11, 2001, a New Jersey coroner said in the first known ruling positively linking a death to cleanup work at the World Trade Center site.

James Zadroga's family and union released his autopsy results Tuesday, saying they were proof of the first death of a city police officer related to recovery work after the terrorist attacks.

``It is felt with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident,'' wrote Gerard Breton, a pathologist at the Ocean County (N.J.) medical examiner's office in the Feb. 28 autopsy.

Zadroga died on Jan. 6 of respiratory failure and had inflammation in his lung tissue due to ``a history of exposure to toxic fumes and dust,'' Breton wrote.

The detective spent 470 hours after the attacks sifting through the twin towers' smoldering ruins, wearing a paper mask for protection. His breathing became labored within weeks, he developed a cough and he had to use an oxygen tank to breathe. He retired on disability in November 2004.

Zadroga's case will assist other families in trying to receive compensation and additional medical screening and undermines the EPA claims, particularly by former EPA chief Christie Todd Whitman, that the air was within healthy limits.

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center, spitzer, silverstein.