The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 178

The search for remains continues, as more remains continue to be uncovered from areas that were not previously searched. For those who are not sure how or why this could be the case five years after 9/11, recall that a decision was made at the outset to set aside a section of the site to enable cranes and other heavy equipment access to the site. The remains appear to have come from that particular section, the western access road.

The underground pockets are located along the western edge of the 16-acre lower Manhattan site, underneath a service road that was built in March of 2002 as the excavation was ongoing. Building the road freed up a major thruway that had been closed since the Sept. 11 attack six months earlier.

When the service road was built, some below-ground cavities that had been used for utility and infrastructure purposes were paved over without being searched for remains. Days ago, crews doing routine work at the site opened one of those manholes and discovered human bones inside, setting off an expedition for other remains.

Families of the victims, 40 percent of whom still have no identifiable remains, have been outraged by the discovery of the underground tombs. They are calling for federal intervention and have demanded answers about why the search was incomplete.

Michelle Malkin links to a story about one such family, whose son was killed in the attacks and some of the remains and personal effects were recovered from areas adjacent to where the new remains were recovered.

The Mayor's Office has said that construction would not stop as a result of the renewed search, despite calls by some families to stop all construction while further investigations and searches for remains resumes. The focus of the new searches at Ground Zero are in 12 underground utility vaults:

Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler said most of the 12 subterranean locations being searched had not been entered since the attacks.

"They will go through every grain, every piece of material carefully and sift through it," he promised.

Searchers expect to burrow into at least 12 subterranean areas in coming days, according to The Associated Press. About five have been excavated, AP reported.

The underground pockets are located along the western edge of the 16-acre lower Manhattan site, underneath a service road built in March of 2002 to free up traffic on a major thruway that had been closed since the attacks. according to AP.

However, some below-ground cavities that had been used for utility and infrastructure purposes were paved over without being searched for remains, AP reported.

While there should be a prompt investigation into why those areas were not searched as soon as practicable after traffic was resumed on West Street and other alternative access points into Ground Zero were established, this should not affect the construction timetables.

The Post reports that the City is rebuffing efforts to bring in federal search teams that would assist in the search for additional remains:

The Oct. 21 memo - sent from the city's Community Assistance Unit, the liaison between Mayor Bloomberg and the families - says the Defense Department specialists are not qualified to search for remains.

"We have two former members of that command on the staff of the Medical Examiner's Office who have advised us that the command's expertise is searching for missing soldiers, not bone fragments," wrote the assistant unit's boss, Patrick Brennan.

"We have the best possible people working through the weekend on this effort, many of whom worked at the site and Fresh Kills after 9/11. It is being done with the greatest care and respect."

But the command's Web site says, "Every inch of soil that comes out of [a] site is screened for any potential remains, any life support equipment, or personal effects."

Earlier this month, the command identified a bone fragment found in Vietnam as belonging to an Air Force pilot killed in a crash in 1971.

The city's memo has many of the family members up in arms - especially after Con Ed workers digging in a manhole at the WTC site last week found victims' remains.

UPDATE:
There's going to be a rally against the heinous 9/11 pc claptrap memorial in Arizona. Flopping Aces has the details of the rally which will be held on October 28 at noon.

UPDATE:
Take Back the Memorial is highly critical of the Mayor's office and Skyler. They note the failure to properly search Fiterman Hall, Deutsche Bank building, and the Fresh Kills site where the nearly 2 million tons of debris was taken so that Ground Zero could be cleared.

Queer Conservative also notes the finds.

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center, spitzer, silverstein, mount sinai, respiratory ailment, wtc cough, bloomberg.