The remains of unidentified victims of 9/11 to be interred at the World Trade Center memorial site will be safe from flooding and other disasters, city attorneys argued today in state appellate court in Manhattan.
“There’s no evidence in the record that there is a problem with flooding,” argued Ellen Ravitch, of the city’s Law Department.
But a group of families disagree saying flooding during Hurricane Sandy proved the site isn’t safe from storms.
The group had sued the city under the Freedom of Information Law for the release of a master list of all registered family members so they can poll them about whether they’d like to see the unidentified remains buried in a capsule under the memorial, as is planned now, or in above-ground memorial.
The city, however, has refused citing privacy concerns, even though it did provide the list to the 9/11 Memorial, a privately-run non-profit.
The five-judge appellate panel said it would announce it’s decision at a later date.
Family members said if others knew where the remains will be located they would also object.
“This is going to flood again. There will be human remains floating all over Lower Manhattan. I was down there after Sept. 11 picking up body parts, and I’m afraid that’s going to happen again,” said retired FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches, who lost his son, Jimmy, also a firefighter, on 9/11.