News Archives ~

World Trade Center Site to Become Cultural Center

The four cultural centers that are to occupy the World Trade Center site have been announced-- the Freedom Center, The Drawing Center, the Signature Theatre Company Signature Center and the Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. International Dance Center.
The four were chosen by the LDMC from a list of 113 cultural institutions which vied for inclusion in the World Trade Center site. These chosen few are intended to reshape the cultural life of Lower Manhattan, offering a mélange of art, history, dance, and theater.
The Freedom Center will host exhibitions “centered on humankind’s enduring quest for freedom.” The center is designed to evoke institutions such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, showcasing history to provoke contemporary consciousness. The center also hopes to attract world leaders and thinkers to conduct lectures and symposiums.
The Drawing Center will feature exhibits of historical and contemporary drawings within an expansive gallery space. Plans also include an art education program, a bookstore, and a library, all to broaden pubic exposure to drawing as an art form.
The Signature Theater Company’s center will produce season-long explorations of the works of a particular playwright -- past seasons have featured such luminaries as Sam Shepard and Arthur Miller. The center is planned to feature three theaters, a café and a bookstore. The theaters will also hold music performances, film presentations, and community events.
The Joyce Theater International Dance Center will present diverse dance performers, from Savion Glover to the Joffrey Ballet. “The positive impact of the Joyce Center at the World Trade Center site lies in its ability to provide a creative outlet to society – a means by which people can turn their sense of loss into something beautifully constructive,” said WVFA’s own Sharon Estacio, a dancer who has performed at the Joyce Theater. “The center ultimately assists in transforming emotional responses into bodies of inspiration for all to benefit from.
“In a time when arts’ funding is scarcer by the day, the effect of incorporating these four cultural institutions to the site will be massive,” added Estacio. She echoes widespread hopes that the rebuilding will signify a cultural rebirth in Lower Manhattan.

Memorial Foundation Launches Story Builder

The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation formally launched Story Builder- a collection of online stories contributed by individuals from all over the world that will become part of the permanent digital archive at the Memorial Museum- in January 2006. They have posted scores of stories and the archive is still growing.

If you have a September 11, 2001 story to share, please sign up and submit your own reflections. You can also include a photograph. The Memorial Foundation will review your submission and notify you when it has been published on the Web.

To add your story or for more information, visit www.buildthememorial.org.

Former Windows on the World Employees Open Restaurant

Surviving workers from Windows on the World, the famed restaurant atop the World Trade Center, opened a new restaurant this month, Colors, on 417 Lafayette Street in Lower Manhattan.

Colors’ menu will feature dishes cooked from the staff’s family recipes, including dishes from Thailand, Colombia, Morocco, Bangladesh, China, the U.S., Italy and Haiti. The menu, called “new American food” by Colors, will change with the seasons.

Windows on the World lost 73 employees on September 11, 2001. In addition to remembering their fallen co-workers, the members of Colors hope to help all restaurant workers by changing the restaurant industry.

NYC's Unspent September 11th Aid Money in Danger

New York state received approximately $125 million from the federal government that was intended for workers who became ill or were injured in the September 11, 2001 attacks and aftermath. Now Washington wants that money back. New York opposes the government's plan to take back the money. "New York should retain this critical funding," was the word from Gov. George Pataki's spokesman Todd Alhart.

Reclaiming the money has been proposed by the President’s fiscal year 2006 budget. A House committee meeting will be held the week of June 7, 2005 to consider taking the funding back.

New York AFL-CIO president Denis Hughes said the government's plan forgets that people may be in need of compensation for Sept. 11-related injuries in years to come. "They offered New York $20 billion, and now these guys are fighting over $120 million? It's sad," he said. "They have forgotten the magnitude of this tragedy."

The Government Accountability Office’s Director of Health Care – Public Health Issues, Dr. Janet Heinrich, stated in 2004, “There is something ethically wrong when you screen for a disease, find it, and then don’t treat it, and that is what we are finding in this case [response to September 11].”

The federal government promised to give more than $20 billion to help New York after September 11, 2001. According to Congress’s Government Accountability Office (GAO), New York has used only $49 million through 2004.

"Right now we are able to provide treatment with philanthropic funding, but are troubled that there's no other resource," said Dr. Robin Herbert, who has examined more than 9,000 patients through Mt. Sinai’s World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program.

Mt. Sinai Reopens World Trade Center Screening Enrollment

Mt. Sinai Hospital will again accept new patients into the World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening program. The program ended last year but has been saved by a federal grant. Many recovery workers have been diagnosed with illnesses. If you qualify, call 888-702-0630.

Exams will be given in Manhattan, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and New Jersey. If you qualify, but have left the area, call the number above and you will be contacted.
Examinations take approximately three hours and test for the most common September 11th related illnesses. You will not be tested for heavy metal exposure (which needs to be done within 90 days of exposure) or for asbestos, cancer or long-term problems (it is too soon for that). What will be tested for: breathing (pulmonary function testing), persistent or chronic sinusitis or rhinitis; reactive airways disease (asthma); laryngitis, tracheitis and bronchitis; gastro-esophageal reflux; emotional distress; and persistent problems related to injuries sustained at the recovery site. You’ll also be tested for heart problems.

For more information, or to download eligibility forms, go to: www.wtcexams.org

Planting of the Remember Me Rose Test Gardens

Remember Me Rose is hoping to find interested 9/11 family members who love roses to help with the planting in New York.

Remember Me Rose will be planting two test plots of roses in NYC in late April, 2006. They will also be unveiling this year's new rose named in honor of the heroes of Flight 93. There are already roses called "We Salute You," a rose named for all those who died in the Pentagon; "Soaring Spirits," to honor those workers who lost their lives in the World Trade Center towers; and "Firefighter," to pay tribute to the members of the FDNY killed on September 11, 2001.

The new rose will be unveiled and named on April 27, 2006. Five more roses will be named over the next five years. There will be a rose in honor of those aboard Flight 11, Flight 175, Flight 77, and for the members of the New York Police Department and the Port Authority Police Department who died on September 11, 2001.

If you are interested in attending the New York plantings, please email Kimberly at kgrieger@911families.org. For more information about Remember Me Rose, please visit www.remember-me-rose.org.

Senator Clinton Visits the September 11th Families Association

The September 11th Families' Association was honored to host Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton at our office in March. She was presented with the initial concept of the Tribute Visitors’ Center by the Association staff and BKSK Architects. By the end of the meeting, the Senator was eager to lend her services in any way to help with the Tribute Visitors’ Center.

“The Senator has always supported the September 11th community, and her enthusiasm for the Tribute Center is indicative of how much she cares about this city and the victims of that tragic day." said Marian Fontana, the Association’s President.

The Association is excited to have the Senator's support behind Tribute. We look forward to building a partnership together. For more information on the Tribute Visitors’ Center, please click here.

Reclaiming Photographs Lost in New York on September 11th

If you haven’t already received it, families of those killed on September 11th in New York should soon receive letters giving the access code and instructions for the Port Authority’s new website. The website contains more than 8,000 photographs that were retrieved from the WTC site and carefully restored by volunteers from the Eastman Kodak Company. The access code will ensure that these private mementoes remain private.

Every photo is assigned a number that you can use to claim the ones you own. The restored originals will be returned to you. Originals are currently in the care of the NYPD.

“This is an opportunity that could help the families who lost loved ones and survivors to deal with their grief,” said Kenneth Ringler, Executive Director of the Port Authority.

FAQ's Regarding the Release of 911 Calls

Statement from Jonathan Greenspun, Commissioner, Mayor's Community Assistance Unit

The New York Times and many other media outlets are releasing a recording of a call made to 911 Emergency Services on September 11, 2001. This call has caused some deep concern and confusion about what the City of New York is releasing to the media on March 31, 2006.

The FAQ below answers many of the questions about what EXACTLY is being released and, more importantly, what is NOT being released. It is crucial that all family members understand that the calls that will be released by the City on Friday will be redacted calls that do not contain the words of their loved ones. Entire calls (including the words of the caller) of anyone who perished in the attack will be released only if we receive specific written authorization from the victim's next of kin. The call that was the subject of today's Times article and that the paper placed online was released by the City to the to the victim's parents who then made a personal decision to share it with the New York Times.

Below are some questions and answers that cover the release of these calls. Should you have any more questions, contact Ada Rehnberg at the
Mayor's Community Assistance Unit. Ada can be reached at 212-788-7410 or by email at arehnberg@cityhall.nyc.gov

Q - What records concerning Sept. 11th will be released on Fri., March 31, 2006?
A -- The City is releasing portions of the calls made to the 911 emergency response system on Sept. 11, 2001, concerning the attack on the World Trade Center.

Q - Are these being released pursuant to a legal decision?
A -- Yes. In 2002, The New York Times and nine family members sought to obtain the records under the State's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL)
against the New York City Fire Department. The Times and the other petitioners had argued that disclosure was in the public's best interest. The City had argued that privacy needs of the callers should be paramount given the intensely emotional and private nature of the calls and the related communications. Seeking to balance the need for an historical record versus the privacy of anguished victims of Sept. 11, 2001, the New York Court of Appeals -the state's highest court - ruled in March 2005 that portions of Fire Department radio dispatch communications, "oral history" interviews with
firefighters, and emergency calls made to the City's 911 system were subject to public disclosure under New York State's Freedom of Information Law, but with certain permissible eliminations ("redactions") intended to protect the individuals' privacy. The New York Times had also made a request, under the State's Freedom of Information Law, to the Police Department, for their records of 911 calls from the World Trade Center on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The Police Department is producing its records in accordance with the guidelines established by the Court in the Fire Department's case.

Q - Have the Fire Department's internal dispatch recordings and "oral histories" already been released?
A - Yes. The New York City Fire Department issued these on Aug. 12, 2005.

Q - So the 911 calls being released this Friday are different, right?
A - Yes. The previously-released dispatch recordings were of internal
Fire Department communications. The oral histories were interviews of
firefighters and EMS workers conducted after the tragedy about the
events of that day. The 911 calls being released on Fri., March 31st
represent emergency calls placed on Sept. 11th.

Q - Will 911 calls made FROM the Twin Towers on Sept. 11th be released?
A - Yes.

Q - How many calls were received from the Twin Towers that day?
A - There were about 130 calls logged.

Q - The number seems low; is that it?
A - Yes. In many cases, people were in large groups, and one person initiated the call.

Q - How many of the callers have you identified?
A - We have identified 28 persons in the World Trade Center who spoke to
911. Since a number of these persons made more than one call to 911,
these callers made or participated in 40 of the approximate 130 calls.

Q - How many of these 28 persons died in the World Trade Center?
A - 27 of these people tragically died in the World Trade Center. One person survived.

Q - Are there any other calls from the Twin Towers that you have identified?
A - Yes. One 911 call from one caller (not among 28 aforementioned persons) and parts of two calls from another caller (among the 28) have not been produced in accordance with governmental law enforcement interests. These calls will be produced in the future. Their families have been notified by either the Law Department or appropriate government agencies.

Q - You said earlier that the court allowed some redactions. Could you elaborate?
A - The words of the 911 operators, at the New York City Police and Fire Departments, are being released. The words of persons who called 911
(other than government employees, like firefighters who called from outside the building) have been redacted in accordance with the decision by the New York Court of Appeals, which - as mentioned - held that the callers to 911 had a privacy interest in their words. In addition, where the 911 operators repeated identifying information about the caller, such as the callers' name or telephone number, that identifying information has been redacted to protect the callers' privacy.

Q - I heard there was a legal ruling late on Wed., March 29, 2006, that might affect the information to be released. Can you explain this to me?
A - Yes. In preparing the CDs and transcripts, the City - to comply with the March 2005 Court of Appeals' ruling - redacted information that
identified the callers, such as names and phone numbers, that the 911 operators repeated back. In other words, these references were removed
from the 911 operators' tapes and transcripts. However, The New York Times and its legal petitioners made a motion on Tues., March 28, 2006,
to have the City release this information as well.

Late on Wed., March 29, 2006, Justice Richard Braun of the State Supreme Court of Manhattan signed an order saying that this information should be released. However, the City plans to file an immediate appeal on Thurs., March 30, 2006. The City believes that releasing this information would violate the privacy interests and rights of the callers to 911, and that it would directly contradict the Court of Appeals' ruling.

Q - What materials were prepared for the families whose loved ones' calls were identified? Why are the records being released now?
A -- Pursuant to the court ruling, individual, un-redacted recordings were made of the telephone conversations of any callers whom we were able to identify, so that the next-of-kin could obtain a copy of the entire call of their family member. Given previous experience, the City decided not to release any individual recordings until it had completed the process of identifying all possible persons. This was to avoid issuing lingering, prolonged updates which could have further pained families or given them ongoing false hope that a call from their loved one might yet been identified. The City's full process has recently been completed, which is why the CDs are being issued now.

Q - Why do both the Fire and Police Departments have 911 records?
A - When someone calls 911, the call is generally first answered by a Police Department 911operator. Depending on the nature of the emergency, the call is either fully handled by the Police Department operator, or is transferred to an employee of the Fire Department or the EMS (which, as previously noted, is also part of the Fire Department). Generally, the Police Department remains on the call, and continues to record the call, when it is transferred to the Fire Department or EMS. The Police Department generally tapes the entire call; the Fire Department tapes the part of the conversation that follows the transfer to the Fire Department or EMS. Also, independent calls may be made directly to the Fire Department.

Q - In what form are the records being released? Can you give me information on how long they run and what technical information I might
need to know?
A - The Police Department's 911 records are audio recordings, and the Fire Department's 911 records are in both audio recording and written
transcript form.

Q - Currently, are the written transcripts and the audio recordings of the FDNY records the same?
A - Not quite. In most cases, the transcripts do contain the same words, to the best of the transcriber's ability. However, the transcripts contain some words or sentences that are not on the Fire Department audio recordings. This is because - as previously noted - the Court of Appeals required that the voices of the callers to 911 be redacted There are instances where the caller and the 911 operator were speaking at the same time; in order to redact the caller's words, the 911 operator's words had to be redacted as well. However, where the operator's words were audible and understandable, the operator's words were included in the transcript, even where they had to be redacted from the audio recording.

Q - But doesn't Judge Braun's legal ruling from Wed., March 29, 2006, affect this?
A - As noted, the Law Department will be immediately appealing the ruling. If any changes to the process are made, the families will be
informed promptly.

Q - What about the callers' voices? Does anybody have a right to make their conversations public?
A - The caller (or if the caller is deceased, the caller's next-of-kin) has the "right of privacy" to the caller's words. So only they can choose to make the words public.

Q - Has the City contacted the families of the identified callers and the surviving caller? Do they get the full conversations?
A - Yes to both questions. The City has sent correspondence within the last week offering to provide these persons with the complete, un-redacted audio record of the call or calls made by the caller. The City has also advised the next-of-kin and the surviving caller that they may authorize the City to publicly release the entire un-redacted call or calls, if they choose to do so. The City has also informed the next-of-kin and surviving caller that they are free to provide the un-redacted call to whomever they choose on their own.

Q - Do the families and the survivor get ALL of the 911 calls - or just the one relating to them?
A - Just the one call relating to them (unless a family lost more than one person...then they would get the calls of each of their loved ones).

Q - How can we get their names?
A - In light of the Court of Appeals' opinion recognizing the callers' right of privacy, the City cannot release the names of families (or the survivor who made a 911 call) without permission. The City also cannot release the full CDs - with both the operators' and the callers' words - without permission, either.

Q - Do you anticipate anyone giving permission?
A - One family has already given the City permission. The initial choice to request and listen to the 911 call is a personal and emotional one. Thus far, only a small handful of families have contacted the Law Department asking to acquire the CDs.

Q - What if I hear a call on the news or the Internet?
A - The families and the survivor will have access to the CDs once they have requested them and taken receipt. If they decide to provide the CDs to a news organization or web site, that is their individual choice.

However, the Law Department itself cannot release the callers' words (even if the families or the survivor have elected to give it out on their own) until permission is formally granted through our office, and the Law Department has consulted with the family about the nature and extent of the release.

Street May Be Renamed for Flight 93

SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) - A section of Route 219 in Somerset County may be renamed "Flight 93 Memorial Highway" to commemorate the passengers and crew of the flight who died in the area on Sept. 11, 2001.

Sen. Richard Kasunic, D-Dunbar, has proposed a bill to rename the route, which runs through Pennsylvania from western New York to the Maryland border. It is one of the main routes to the temporary Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville.

The state Senate Transportation Committee unanimously passed the bill on 22 March, 2006. The entire Senate could vote on the renaming next week.

"This is a fitting tribute to passengers and crew on Flight 93, who courageously fought terrorist hijackers and prevented the plane from reaching its target and killing even more people in Washington, D.C.," he said.

Flight 93 was en route from Newark, NJ, to San Francisco when it was hijacked and crashed. The official 9/11 Commission report said the hijackers crashed it as passengers tried to gain control of the cockpit.

The Kasunic legislation (Senate Bill 1088) now goes before the full Senate for consideration.

Tribute Center

The September 11th Information & Community Center

The September 11th Families’ Association has embarked on an exciting new endeavor. Recognizing that an estimated eight million people visit the World Trade Center site annually, the Association has launched an initiative to develop Tribute, a visitors’ center dedicated to educating the public about September 11th. Tribute will be located directly across the street from the WTC site. While the WTC memorial is being built over the next five years, the center will serve as an interim place for millions of visitors. There people can learn about our loved ones, the events of September 11th and the ensuing rescue and recovery efforts through firsthand accounts. The 9/11 community - which includes family members, survivors, residents, recovery workers and volunteers - will be able to share their stories and experiences with visitors through a variety of programs.

Two distinct missions are encompassed in the Tribute Visitors’ Center project. The first expands upon the parent organization - the September 11th Families’ Association’s - core mission to unite families of victims of terrorism and provide support. By broadening the constituency to the entire 9/11 community, the Tribute Center builds a stronger base of peer support. The second mission within the center uniquely utilizes the knowledge base and experience from within the 9/11 community to relate to visitors seeking a better understanding of the WTC site and September 11th. The first-hand connection of conveying history through those who lived it creates a powerful method to deliver the program. Program components provide sensitive reception and hospitality to men, women and children from all over the world.

For visitors to encounter those who experienced the events of September 11th at the site of the disaster will be an unforgettable way to preserve the history of this extraordinary time.
With the assistance of a formal training program, Tribute volunteers will be able to help visitors understand the events of September 11th while forming a personal connection with those who experienced it. Programming will be carefully reviewed and approved by Tribute’s design and program committees. Our primary goal for the center is to create a powerful and memorable connection between the 9/11 community and visitors looking for information.

Programs will remember the events of February 26, 1993 at the World Trade Center and the six lives lost. The events of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, PA will be represented through programs that convey the events and lives lost. Tribute will also be a vehicle for the 9/11 community to express appreciation for the overwhelming support extended by individuals from around the world. Construction and day-to-day operations will depend upon individual, foundation and corporate donations. As we look upon tomorrow, we must remember September 11th as a turning point for humanity. By sharing its living history, we will have a profound impact upon visitors. We are called on to pass on the memories of our loved ones and to communicate the lessons we’ve learned. We work today so that future generations may understand the magnitude of events that changed our nation’s history.

To visit Tribute Center's website, click here.

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