The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 237

We're nearly six years past the 9/11 attacks, and we're still identifying remains. The wait is agonizing for those who get the news that their loved ones have been positively identified, but it just as surely rips open old wounds. It also reawakens old concerns over how to properly treat the thousands of tons of wreckage and debris that was carted to Fresh Kills. Family groups are still calling for proper burial for all that debris, even as the costs to do so would run in the hundreds of millions of dollars. One more person was identified today, and more bone fragments have been discovered in the ongoing search and construction around the bustling Ground Zero site.

The latest Sept. 11 victim to be identified, Edward Ryan, of Scarsdale, N.Y., was a vice president of Carr Futures with an office on the 92nd floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center.

His remains were found while sifting materials from a ramp once used to get to ground zero, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the city's medical examiner. The ramp was dismantled several months ago as construction at the site progresses.

Ryan died along with 68 co-workers after apparently being trapped by debris that clogged stairwells in the burning tower that was hit by American Airlines Flight 11.

The families of 13 other Carr employees are still hoping the remains of their loved ones might be identified.

The office of the medical examiner is working with the Bode Technology Group, a DNA testing laboratory, to identify as many victims as possible.

Bode has patented a new methodology of DNA extraction that enables the creation of a DNA profile from much less sample material than was required only five years ago.

Following the discovery of human remains in an abandoned Con Edison manhole at the trade center site last October, more materials were collected from the access ramp and from another area bordering ground zero.

On Tuesday, 35 "potential" human remains were recovered, said Borakove, explaining that the term "potential" is used until DNA experts verify the exact nature of the remains. The human fragments are from a half inch to 4 inches long.

As construction proceeds, it is likely that more remains may be discovered, especially as access points and nearby roads are excavated for utilities and other related work.

Meanwhile, one of the many rescue dogs that worked at Ground Zero in the recovery efforts, has died after a battle with cancer.

No one can say whether the dog would have gotten sick if he hadn’t been exposed to the smoky air at ground zero, but cancer in dogs Jake’s age – he was 12 – is quite common.

Some rescue dog owners who worked at the World Trade Center site claim their animals have died because of their work at ground zero. But scientists who have spent years studying the health of Sept. 11 search-and-rescue have found no sign of major illness in the animals.

The results of an autopsy on Jake’s cancer-riddled body will be part of a University of Pennsylvania medical study of Sept. 11 search-and-rescue dogs.

Some workers who were involved in the Windows on the World restaurant have sued a restaurant, claiming that the former Windows employees are being forced out and that claims that former Windows workers were owners is a sham. Colors was established after 9/11 by former Windows workers, but the lawsuit claims that a group of Italian investors and ROC-NY are the only owners.

Also on the legal front, the dismissal of a subrogation suit involving 7WTC and the insurance company IRI and Citibank was upheld by an appeals court.

The lawsuit alleged that the New York-based financial services company chose to design, construct and install a diesel fuel powered generator that aggravated the fire damage caused by the terrorist attacks on the nearby Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, and the ultimate collapse of the building.

IRI sued Citigroup as a subrogee of Silverstein Properties, but a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the lawsuit in 2005, finding that New York's "subrogation waiver" doctrine precluded IRI from asserting a claim of gross negligence against Citigroup.

As far as actual construction is concerned, work is progressing on the permanent transit hub designed by Santiago Calatrava and steel is continuing to go in for the sublevels of the Freedom Tower. Even Deutsche Bank is finally coming down after many delays. And the cranes are outnumbering the delis. That's a good thing - it's a sign that construction is progressing, though I hope for the day when the number of delis significantly outnumbers the cranes in the area since that means that construction is done and businesses are moving in. That day can't come fast enough. Downtown Express has more on the ongoing construction around Lower Manhattan and Ground Zero.

However, the hulking remain of Fiterman Hall remains an eyesore. A plan that would have moved the Signature/Joyce theater to where Fiterman stands has gone nowhere.