Bloomberg Gives 9/11 Families' Ground Zero Access

Henry Goldman
Fri Aug 10, 12:39 PM ET

Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Families who lost relatives at the World Trade Center persuaded New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to give them access to the site to mark the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

The memorial ceremony will still take place in a lower Manhattan park near Ground Zero, the mayor said. Bloomberg and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, owner of the trade center site, had said construction made it too dangerous to accommodate thousands of people as in past years.

Bloomberg struck a compromise after weeks of demonstrations in which families campaigned to touch the bare bedrock floor of the place where 2,749 died. It could be their last opportunity to do so before commercial development covers the area. The 16- acre site has been described as ``hallowed ground,'' where the names of the dead have been read on each Sept. 11 since 2002.

``We're very grateful,'' said Rosemary Cain of Massapequa, whose son George, a firefighter, was lost on that day. ``This was all we were asking for, just a little access.''

The space in which the families will be permitted is ``only a few hundred square feet,'' said the families' lawyer, Norman Siegel. The rest of the site will be cordoned off, Siegel said.

``You look them in the eye, they lost their loved ones,'' Bloomberg said today during his weekly WABC radio appearance. ``Putting yourself in their position is always difficult, but you do what you can.''

Paying Respects

The mayor decided to give families access to the construction site after a one-hour meeting yesterday in which relatives presented photographs of the area and an analysis by safety experts who said it would pose no risk to descend a ramp down to the bedrock floor, lay flowers in tribute to the fallen and ascend to street level.

``They're going to be able to march single file down, around to a little spot where they can leave a flower and come back up,'' Bloomberg said on the radio program.

Bloomberg said he and other officials ``plan to have a moving and dignified ceremony'' at Zuccotti Park, a 0.74-acre tract at Broadway and Liberty Street, southeast of Ground Zero.

Family members will be permitted access to the trade center location early in the morning and throughout the day, for as long as it takes. ``I think it will take a very long time,'' the mayor said.

Victims' Names

As the mourners walk down the ramp, loudspeakers will let them hear the names of the dead as they are read by representatives of the police, firefighters and emergency medical services who responded to the catastrophe. Past ceremonies have featured the names read by children, parents and siblings of the victims.

``This was democracy at its best,'' said Anthony Gardner, who lost a brother in the attack. ``The city made a decision, we voiced concerns, there was a dialogue, we talked and we worked it out.''

Sally Regenhard of Yonkers, New York, emerged from her meeting with the mayor saying, ``he was really listening with his heart.'' Her son, Christian, 28, a probationary firefighter who perished in the towers, is among more than 1,100 victims whose remains were never found.

Remains Found

Two weeks ago, construction crews discovered more than 150 pieces of bone and other human remains, heightening the sense among families that the site holds special significance and increasing the tension between the families and the city and Port Authority.

``It's so important because my son is there, some remnant of his beautiful life is there,'' Regenhard said yesterday after the meeting. ``And that's why Ground Zero will always be sacred to us.''

Deputy Fire Chief James Riches of Brooklyn, who lost his son Jim, one of 343 firefighters who died in the attack, said, ``It's a relief for the families and solace to know that I can go down to where he drew his last breath and leave a flower.''

Cranes, cables, earthmovers, steel and cement now fill the site as work on a foundation for the project's signature office building, the 1,776-foot high Freedom Tower, is ``well along,'' said Port Authority spokesman Steven Sigmund last week, with the completion of the tower expected in 2011. Work also proceeds on a transportation hub and a memorial and museum, Sigmund said.

The mayor is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Goldman in New York at hgoldman@bloomberg.net .