Judges Order City to Release More Records About 9/11

New York Slimes ^ | 1.11.2004 | Michael Brick

[NYC GOP Chick]

Judges Order City to Release More Records About 9/11

By MICHAEL BRICK

state appeals court has ordered New York City to grant expanded public access to records about its response to the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001.

In a ruling issued Thursday by the Supreme Court's Appellate Division in Manhattan, a panel of judges ruled unanimously that personal feelings expressed by firefighters in interviews conducted by the Fire Department must be disclosed.

But the judges upheld a lower court's ruling that several other portions of the records — including opinions of firefighters and 911 operators — could be withheld from the news media under exemptions to the state Freedom of Information Law.

Michael A. Cardozo, corporation counsel for the city, said in a statement issued Friday that "the decision protects the privacy of the victims of the attacks of Sept. 11, as well as the privacy of their families and survivors."

Lawyers for The New York Times and for families of some 9/11 victims are considering appealing aspects of the decision allowing the exemptions.

The case centers on requests by The Times for access to transcripts of calls to the 911 emergency line, radio dispatches and interviews of firefighters.

The city sought to withhold portions of the records based on exemptions to the law including those for law enforcement matters, personal privacy and records of government employees giving advice to superiors.

[NYC GOP Chick]

In a ruling issued Thursday by the Supreme Court's Appellate Division in Manhattan, a panel of judges ruled unanimously that personal feelings expressed by firefighters in interviews conducted by the Fire Department must be disclosed.

Un-freaking-believable! Why would anyone need to know this?! This ruling is going to re-open a LOT of emotional wounds.

[DoughtyOne]

I've got mixed emotions about this. On the one hand you want full disclosure. On the other hand this was such a devistating event that there are going to be moments when it wasn't humanly possible to respond in ways that might have been optimal. Second guessing after this level of an event, must been done very carefully.

[cyborg]

Do I really want to know someone's private feelings about it's like to see people jump from 110 stories???? I don't have to know someone's personal business to feel sympathy, even empathy where you hurt with someone.

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[NYC GOP Chick]

On the one hand you want full disclosure.

Why? What purpose does it serve for the public to know about some poor victims' last words as they made desperate last phone calls for help?

I think that *everything* should be studied by the relevant organizations (FDNY, NYPD, PA, EMS, etc.) and even *some* government oversight, but there absolutely NO NEED whatsoever for the public to read and hear all this.

[NYC GOP Chick]

True! Unfortunately, I can tell you all you want to know about what it's like to watch people in a free fall after jumping or falling from 1/4 of a mile in the sky. Helpless and horrified sum it up for me.

[cyborg]

I didn't know my capacity to utter the F-bomb and get angry when I had people tell me that they were happy about the attack ON THE SAME FRIGGING DAY IT HAPPENED!!! I saved up papers from 9-11 but I had to throw them away. I couldn't look at them. When I heard stories of people surviving falling 110 stories, I absolutely believed them. It was weird.

[NYC GOP Chick]

I didn't know my capacity to utter the F-bomb and get angry when I had people tell me that they were happy about the attack ON THE SAME FRIGGING DAY IT HAPPENED!!!

Probably about the same capacity as I had when I finally made it to my office late that afternoon and when I fired up my browser, the very first images I saw were of the palis dancing in the streets. I was on the phone with my father, and just let loose with a stream of the most obscene words and then just started crying. I couldn't understand how anyone could take any joy from that.

[cyborg]

Masai Mara tribe didn't get the news of 9-11 till a whole year later. Yet they had more sympathy for little American babies than the POS' I had to deal with that day.

[NYC GOP Chick]

Yes, I remember that tribe and their generous offering! What kinds of POS did you have to deal with that day? Virtually all of the leftists in my office knew not to mess with me on this one -- they knew my temper (having heard me yell at the cable company over the phone once) and that as a survivor who also lost people there, it's very personal for me.

[cyborg]

Ummm... let's just say that was the ONLY day they ever crossed me :D They got well acquainted with my dark side.

[NYC GOP Chick]

What did they do???

[cyborg]

I immediately turned on WABC because that's what I have on all the time. My boss put up an American flag in the store window. They thought I put it up since they couldn't imagine my boss did that, so I got reamed for that. What did it for me, was the sheer glee they expressed at the planes flying into the Towers. I think I went blind with rage and kicked one customer out of the store. They said things like America deserves it, America had it coming,etc.

[cyborg]

And you know what's funny? Some of these same people rail against illegal third world types and who do you think were the first ones to put out American flags???

[NYC GOP Chick]

OMG. Words just fail me. Now, which store was this?

[NYC GOP Chick]

I know, I know...

[cyborg]

I manage a small independent health food store. I used to get a lot of customers who come in thinking it's an 'afrocentric' store (read radical commie kwanzaa free-for-all) and they'll find comfort and agreement with their warped views. I'm pretty good friends with most of these people now since they've realized I'll never turn off Rush Limbaugh LOL The people that can't stand me don't shop when I'm there. I know this because when I fill in for my boss, they see me, turn around and leave LOL

[NYC GOP Chick]

At my last job, I used to listen to Rush via my computer -- and only occasionally used headphones. Despite the fact that I was the only known Republican, nobody ever called me a fascist or anything like that to my face, except for the guy who called me a "real right-winger" because I refused to accept a Bob Herbert column as an authoritative source of facts.

They also learned not to mess with me after I wound up in a debate against three of them at one time, and I won. :)

[CFC__VRWC]

Why do I have visions of mangy, unwashed MoveOn types, desperate for anything they can find to smear the president, as well as Armani-clad sharks looking for huge contingencies, rubbing their hands with glee over this news? No surprise that the New York Times is actively helping them. Nothing that rag does can even disgust me anymore - they've blown my disgust fuse.