GROUND ZERO: ABOVE GROUND MOSQUE AND UNDERGROUND MEMORIAL

As plans are underway to build a huge mosque AT Ground Zero remains are still being found.

Just today another 4 potential human remains were uncovered bringing the total to 1831 since the second recovery effort was started in 2006.

While you may not think that these have anything in common they certainly do.

Shortly after 9/11 in an effort to bring business back to Lower Manhattan the process began to remove the stigma of 9/11 from Ground Zero.

The mayor rushed to convert the site from a recovery area to a construction zone and the search for any additional remains was called off.

They couldn’t have remains being found because that would remind people of what happened on 9/11 and keep business away.

If not for an accidental discovery in 2006 the new search that turned up nearly 2,000 remains would have never even taken place.

At the same time the site was turned into a construction zone plans began on what type of memorial would honor those who died on 9/11.

Once again the concerns of the community and economic factors cast the deciding vote,

An above ground memorial would make Ground Zero too much like a cemetery and they couldn’t have that.

9/11 family members were pretty much eliminated from any planning sessions and any design that contained an above ground memorial structure was immediately eliminated.

So the 9/11 Memorial (I will not call it the WTC Memorial because it should be honoring all who died on 9/11) will be entirely underground.

Visitors will have to travel between four to seven stories underground to get to the memorial and museum.

They even wanted to list the names of those who died at the bottom of the two waterfalls and would have if we didn’t fight them tooth and nail to bring them above ground.

And who are the people who pushed for this underground memorial?

The same people who are pushing for a huge mosque to be built a block away.

The members of Community Board One and our local elected officials, that’s who.

They have and will continue to try to remove any reminders of 9/11 from the site.

The mayor has already stated that this is not the 9/11 families’ memorial but that it belongs to everyone.

So they continue to bury everything related to 9/11.

The memorial………….. underground.

Human remains ………..underground at the site.

Human remains ………..underground at Fresh Kills.

And unfortunately we continue to bury loved ones still dying from 9/11 illnesses because the city would rather fight claims than save the lives of 9/11 victims.

They even changed the name of the Freedom Tower because they didn’t want to offend anyone.

But that is how it has always been and will continue to be at Ground Zero.

And when family members come to the site to pay their respects they will have to walk by a huge mosque before they begin their long journey underground to visit the 9/11 memorial or museum.

But why would we expect anything different.

If it were up to them there would be no memorial at all.