Diane and Kurt Horning (l.) and Barbara and Paul Kirwin (r.), whose sons died on 9/11, leave the Manhattan Federal Court Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Posted on 12/17/2009 2:15:29 PM PST by BGHater
Relatives of 9/11 victims asked an appeals court Wednesday to force the city to move tons of Ground Zero debris from the Staten Island landfill to a proper burial site.
The families contend the debris includes remains of loved ones, while the city says there is nothing identifiable there - and it would cost too much to move it away from household trash.
"There is no reason for all eternity that my son has to be in the garbage," said Diane Horning, whose 26-year-old son, Matthew, was killed at the World Trade Center.
Seventeen families are seeking the right to sue the city from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
They hope to force the city to move more than 1 million tons of debris - even if it's just across the street.
The three-member appeals panel heard arguments and is reviewing the matter.
"Digging up the landfill simply because somebody's loves ones might be there - that's not a sufficient reason," the city's hired legal gun, James Tyrrell Jr., told the court.
Later, Tyrrell said the city made a Herculean effort to clean the debris before it was sent to the landfill, and the "undifferentiated dirt" left does not need special handling.
"To pick it all up and move it at the costs of hundreds of millions of dollars to taxpayers is not what is called for," he said after the hearing.
But to the families, it's not just dirt, said their lawyer, Norman Siegel.
"It's remains," Siegel told Judge Barrington Parker. "Your loved ones, Judge Parker, on top of household garbage."
Siegel said Matthew Horning's wallet and a bone were found at the landfill in 2002.
Families claim credit cards, identification, and possible bones have been pulled from the dump more recently.
Siegel said witness reported seeing Sanitation employees taking debris off conveyor belts, loading up tractors and using the dirt to "fill pot holes, dips and ruts."
"Pot holes," Siegel said for emphasis.
A lower court judge dismissed the families' claims in August, saying that "not every wrong can be addressed through the judicial process."
Of the nearly 2,800 people who died at the trade center during the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, remains for 1,100 have never been identified.
Diane and Kurt Horning (l.) and Barbara and Paul Kirwin (r.), whose sons died on 9/11, leave the Manhattan Federal Court Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Families of 9/11 victims want Ground Zero debris removed from the landfill.
I side with the 9/11 victims; moreover, send the bill to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq for the cost to exhume the remains and debris to ultimately give the deceased a proper resting place.
Whose bright idea was it to take everything to a landfill, anyway?
Yeah, dunno. I think it was a all hands on deck situation, ad hoc and that was the best ‘place’. Some of it, I thought went to China, inc.
I'm not sure if you have ever been to lower Manhattan, but there's not really anyplace to store such volume of debris. And, the debris had to be removed to look for survivors/victims. Given the traffic on the island, it was apparently more logistically feasible to load the debris onto barges, and move it to the landfill in question.
Right, but they knew there were human remains in the wreckage. It could have been taken to PA or upstate NY or even NJ.
Bad call, but considering the situation, it is easy to see how it was made.
That's right. I think many people have forgotten how dire the situation was for the first few weeks, and perhaps even month or two. The city, and especially the subway system was in real danger of being flooded because of the damage to the "walls" (not sure what the architectural/engineering term is) that were holding back the waters of the Hudson and East Rivers.
I think they had to move as expediently as possible to reinforce all that infrastructure. Hence the need to remove the debris quickly and efficiently.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.