I find the present attitude of those in charge of constructing on the Twin Tower site cruel.
If indeed remains were found decency demands that they be treated with respect. To say that construction will proceed on schedule regardless of whether there are or aren't any further remains to be found is the epitome of materialistic mentality. Of course there will be money lost if further efforts are made to search for more possible remains. But to rush the searchers is what caused this situation to develop in the first place. I'd also like to know who the moron was who sealed that building off without first searching the roof only to now say "Hey! What's this?" Is it my imagination or are IQ's dropping dangerously low these days?

It's like spilling a jar of drink mix on the carpet.

First you scoop up the majority of powder,
Then you vacuum.

Of course, the amount that was recovered will not fill the original jar to the same level. Are you going to steam clean the carpet? That still won't remove all that was spilled.

You could have course remove the carpet and liner down to the bare floors and clean those, but there is still some left from people tracking through the mess.

So, do you remove all the carpets in the house?

The point is, there has to be a level where it is just not reasonable to recover any more and to start rebuilding. I feel this level has been reached. It is not like anyone is forgotten. A monument has been constructed in memories of all that died and any remains that may still exist.

Both points are valid but moving on is more important I think because it shows that we will not be stopped by an attack, we will continue!

Wizbang.

This whole thing about remains has always bothered me. I have never understood it. People are not their bones or other remains. People are what we remember about them. We honor the deceased by how we remember them, not what we do with their remains.

I can't fathom why its such a big deal that some bone fragments might get ground into dust during construction. Heck it just might strengthen the building to have them as part of the foundation!

People who lose loved ones in ANY situation need to move on. This in no way diminishes the contribution of the loved one or that one should remember and even memorialize them. But those people are gone. Honoring them should not interfere with moving on with one's life.

The recovery effort failed to find any more remains but the rebuilding effort is uncovering remains. Why would we stop the rebuilding effort and return to a recovery effort to find more remains?Seems to me the best chance of finding more remains would be to continue the construction project .

Isn't this an irony . The whole idea of a quick clean up of the site was done for the 9-11 families . Mayor Bloomberg said "The families really wanted to get any remains back as quickly as possible. If you think about a family member, they don't know whether their loved one will be found, and we try to work as expeditiously as possible... "I don't know any family member that didn't want to find out whatever they could about the loved one that they lost. And we did it as fast as we could, consistent with safety and completeness."

I agree with his assessment that a massive cleanup of the site was performed and the new remains are being found at non-functioning manholes and service boxes at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. Any new remains will be gathered and I'm sure identified as best as possible . I do not see how this prevents the families from closure .

Europe was rebuilt from the ashes with hundreds of thousands unaccounted for .The farmers of France and Belgium disenter human remains dating back to WWI all the time . Parts of the NYC west side roadway was built on ancient Indian burial grounds .

There are many people who would be content with leaving a big hole at ground zero .I do not particularly like the Freedom Tower concept . I think that there certainly is enough office rental space in the Wall Street area that is vacant . I would prefer the whole site to remain a memorial park with the "Tribute In Light" shining nightly . But I also understand the realities .Port Authority (which owns the site ) rebuilding guidelines required the replacement of all site commercial space and public streets, greatly limiting the possible land-use designs. Enough of the site will be dedicated as a memorial however .

To me the greatest desecration of the site is that it has become a political football.

I really think it's time to let this wound heal. It was a trauma, but the families, the city and the nation need to move on. How long do we wallow in this grief and outrage?

Thank you all for your informative responses.

Yes esp since this is to be a memorial in many ways to them, we all understand that some "parts" will always be in that area in so many ways.

But often workers on bridge or dam projects ended up being part of the project locked forever in the concrete works of the project.

In such a large area with so much destruction, yes it is to be expected that with the clearing of land and the getting ready to build, that many things will be found

Thank you for that mate is cool but is bad for me okay

The site is so massive and deep that it is probable that all the victims' remains present will never be discovered. What will remain are fragments, many of them too small to see with the naked eye and largely unidentifiable even with the most sophisticated equipment. The only sensible, and sensitive, thing to do is to declare the whole site a burial ground and treat it with respect.

In more ancient civilisations than the USA, it is unlikely that a square foot of ground exists that does not hold some fragmentary remains of someon from the past. But life must go on, and adopting an attitude of paralysis instead of rebuilding as quickly as possible only adds to the sense of victory felt by the terrorists.

The dead are dead, and as tragic as the circumstances of their death are, nothjing is gained by continuing to comb through the broken earth centimetre by centimetre. There comes a time when it is fitting and proper to gather up our skirts and press on with life's struggles. More than six years have passed, and if that time is not now, when will it ever be?


M:)