NY Judge Rejects 9/11 Remains Lawsuit

NEW YORK (AP)  -- A judge has rejected an effort by some families of Sept. 11 terrorism victims who wanted to reclaim World Trade Center debris from a landfill and create a cemetery for it.


Stan Brooks Reports

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said Monday that not every wrong can be addressed through the courts.

``The grave harm suffered by the plaintiffs in this case is undeniable. But the jurisdiction of a court is limited,'' he said.

He said he will continue to make himself available to the families and the city if they want to settle the issue in a way that might bring relief to the families.

The lawsuit against the city had asked that the debris, which might contain human remains, be moved from the now-closed Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island to land across the street that could be made into a cemetery.

A lawyer for the 17 families that brought the lawsuit, Norman Siegel, said he was ``extremely disappointed'' by the ruling. He said another 1,000 people had signed a petition supporting the lawsuit.

``The 9/11 families sought to rectify an egregious wrong that occurred regarding the disposition of human remains,'' he said. ``We are not prepared to leave hundreds of human remains of 9/11 victims on top of a garbage dump as their final resting place.''

The judge said roughly 1,100 victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks ``perished without leaving a trace, utterly consumed into incorporeality by the intense, raging fires or pulverized into dust by the massive tons of collapsing concrete and steel.''

He noted in his written decision that the city has planned to create a nature preserve and park at the Fresh Kills site, including a memorial at a height that will provide a view of where the 110-story twin towers once stood in downtown Manhattan.

``What better reverence could there be than a memorial that both recalls those who died, even without leaving a trace, and points to the tenacity and beauty of life that must go on?'' he wrote. ``The terrorists sought to destroy our lives and our freedom. They failed, and a memorial in such a beautiful setting can symbolize the vital continuation of our vibrant democracy.''

City attorney Michael A. Cardozo responded to the ruling by saying the city carried out a massive search after the terrorist attacks with ``dignity, care and respect,'' finding thousands of human remains and personal items of the victims.

``It is our hope that the park planned for Fresh Kills, where millions of tons of ground zero materials were carefully sifted and examined, will help us remember those who we lost and forever serve as a tribute to freedom and liberty,'' he said.