The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 183

Many are still wondering how and why remains are being found at Ground Zero and why the politicians like Bloomberg aren't willing to stop development at the site in order to conduct a more thorough search for remains even though the site has largely been vacant for the past five years.

One problem with this argument is that the remains were discovered in the course of preparing for the new Freedom Tower. However, that counterargument is undermined by the fact that ConEd apparently discovered remains in another underground utility vault back in 2002.

Con Edison found 9/11 debris in a manhole next to Ground Zero four years ago - but didn't launch a systematic search of its underground vaults, the Daily News has learned.
The revelation followed the recent discovery of more than 200 human remains in another manhole at the site.

It also followed Friday's announcement that the city will undertake a block-by-block search of every underground utility space from Barclay to Albany Sts. and from Broadway to west of the World Financial Center.

On Oct. 27, 2002 - just over a year after the attacks - a Con Edison crew working a block north of Ground Zero stumbled on a U.S. Secret Service bulletproof vest, mixed with debris at the bottom of a manhole.

The Secret Service had an office in 7 World Trade Center, a block away from the manhole at Barclay and Greenwich Sts.

Con Ed has had numerous issues over the past few years - from failing to restore power to parts of Queens after a blackout crippled the area for about a week to slow responses to storm damage. None has the emotional or potential economic and political impact of not searching for more remains in similar vaults throughout the Ground Zero area when it first came to light.

This search is long overdue, and someone better be asking questions of Con Ed, Verizon and other utilities that manage the underground utility vaults in the area why they were not systematically searched.

The same questions then need to be asked of the City and State. It is inexcusable.

The Academy of Sciences is heading back to a WTC and joins several other companies and law firms at 7WTC.

For now, the academy shares the 52-story tower with Ameriprise Financial; Silverstein Properties, the developers and owners of the building; and a studio for the architects designing Silverstein’s other trade center buildings. Moody’s Corporation; Mansueto Ventures, a publishing company; and Darby & Darby, a law firm, are to follow next year. The building is the first of what are to be five new trade center office towers, including the Freedom Tower.

The academy’s board was initially reluctant to sell the mansion and move to rented space, but was eventually won over. “Economically, it’s about equal for a space that’s twice as big,” said Thomas J. Kelly, the chief financial officer. Outfitting the new space cost about $9 million. The mansion sold for $31.25 million. Mr. Kelly would not disclose the rent.

With digital recording and projection equipment built into its new home, the academy hopes to broaden its reach beyond anything possible in the warren of cramped, antiquated rooms it occupied uptown.

Those are issues lots of companies and firms are going to wrestle with in coming years. The new office towers that are scheduled to go up at Ground Zero will be the most modern in the city, offering excellent location, favorable rental rates, and access to transportation. The tax breaks offered to lure business downtown aren't going to hurt either.

UPDATE:
The Chief notes that there is some research showing that full-body CT scans might prove beneficial to tracking and identifying ailments at an early stage. The Chief also notes that two unions are calling on a suspension of construction at Ground Zero pending another search of the site.

Meanwhile, 9/11 conspiracy nutjob (who happens to be a university professor of physics) Steven Jones, attended a conference at the University of Colorado where he spewed his nonsensical ravings. Even he had to admit that his claims would have required government intervention - though that doesn't stop the loosers from thinking that the 9/11 attacks were a government conspiracy that didn't involve Islamic terrorists or were otherwise part of a massive coverup of nefarious government actions. This is who is teaching the next generation of college students in this country. Far from being excoriated for his views, he's invited to attend conferences and symposia.

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