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FF's deliver Memorial Petition
NEW YORK (AP) - Firefighters who want rescue workers' names
listed together on a World Trade Center memorial site delivered a
petition to Gov. George E. Pataki with more than 65,000 signatures
Tuesday, saying they hope he will influence the decision of
memorial designers to give rescuers special recognition.
The Advocates for a 9-11 Fallen Heroes Memorial has lobbied for
months to separately list the names of the more than 400
firefighters, police officers and other rescue workers killed in
the line of duty on Sept. 11.
"One hundred years from now, people should know what went on
that day," said Fire Lt. Jim McCaffrey, whose brother-in-law,
Battalion Chief Orio Palmer, was killed at the trade center.
McCaffrey said the group doesn't want a separate memorial, but
wants the rescue workers' names, units and badge numbers to listed
next to their names, and wants the workers' names to be grouped
together on any memorial
The firefighters collected several final signatures outside
Pataki's Manhattan offices Tuesday, then delivered the petition.
"The governor has made clear that the creation of a memorial
befitting the heroes who died that tragic day is his top priority
and the decisions regarding the memorial are now in the hands of a
distinguished jury which has been entrusted with the important
responsibility of selecting the winning memorial design," Pataki
spokeswoman Mollie Fullington said Tuesday.
Next month, the 13-person jury is expected to disclose the names
of finalists selected to design a memorial at the site. A record
5,200 groups and individuals submitted design proposals for the
memorial to the Feb. 26, 1993 bombing of the trade center as well
as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in
Pennsylvania.
The firefighters' group has been backed by former New York City
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who has said the rescue workers deserve
some form of special recognition, while victims' relatives have
said that no victims should be separated into a special class.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. has adopted guidelines
saying any design should "honor the loss of life equally and the
contributions of all without establishing any hierarchies."
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
listed together on a World Trade Center memorial site delivered a
petition to Gov. George E. Pataki with more than 65,000 signatures
Tuesday, saying they hope he will influence the decision of
memorial designers to give rescuers special recognition.
The Advocates for a 9-11 Fallen Heroes Memorial has lobbied for
months to separately list the names of the more than 400
firefighters, police officers and other rescue workers killed in
the line of duty on Sept. 11.
"One hundred years from now, people should know what went on
that day," said Fire Lt. Jim McCaffrey, whose brother-in-law,
Battalion Chief Orio Palmer, was killed at the trade center.
McCaffrey said the group doesn't want a separate memorial, but
wants the rescue workers' names, units and badge numbers to listed
next to their names, and wants the workers' names to be grouped
together on any memorial
The firefighters collected several final signatures outside
Pataki's Manhattan offices Tuesday, then delivered the petition.
"The governor has made clear that the creation of a memorial
befitting the heroes who died that tragic day is his top priority
and the decisions regarding the memorial are now in the hands of a
distinguished jury which has been entrusted with the important
responsibility of selecting the winning memorial design," Pataki
spokeswoman Mollie Fullington said Tuesday.
Next month, the 13-person jury is expected to disclose the names
of finalists selected to design a memorial at the site. A record
5,200 groups and individuals submitted design proposals for the
memorial to the Feb. 26, 1993 bombing of the trade center as well
as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in
Pennsylvania.
The firefighters' group has been backed by former New York City
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who has said the rescue workers deserve
some form of special recognition, while victims' relatives have
said that no victims should be separated into a special class.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. has adopted guidelines
saying any design should "honor the loss of life equally and the
contributions of all without establishing any hierarchies."
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)