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9/11 Families Speak Out Against Building at Ground Zero

Aired September 03, 2003 - 13:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Emotions are raw for some of those people who lost loved ones on 9/11. And they don't like the way Ground Zero is being developed. They want it protected as holy ground. A small group of them are voicing their frustrations at the entrance to the site.
Our Michael Okwu is there.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, for the better part of a year and a half, or so, 9/11 family members have been threatening to stage some sort of a protest here at Ground Zero.

This is the first time that it actually happened, although it didn't quite work out the way they wanted it to. About 17 family members had planned to block the main entrance leading into Ground Zero, to effectively cut off a truck and personnel traffic. Those people in doing some sort of construction work here at Ground Zero, the plan was to get arrested, but in fact, that did not happen. Authorities got wind of this early, and they closed the gates and then effectively shut down an opportunity to stage some civil disobedience.

Who is the target here? If you're talk to family members, they will say it was Governor George Pataki. They say that he promised them some time ago that there would not be any of the major buildings on this site. But as far as they are concerned, there's way too much building going on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Only the bedrocks shall remain. And so left here last year resolving for not just the families, but all of America should be able to come to this place and experience what we do. No photographs, no monuments will ever replicate the simple act of a hand reaching out and touching what the mind holds sacred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OKWU: Now family members want to preserve roughly nine acre site around what they call the bathtub of the World Trade Center. They are upset at this point that only about five acres have been set aside, according to the plan, to build a memorial.

I'm standing in front of Ground Zero, of course. If you take an overhead view of Ground Zero, you will see exactly what we're talking about. There are two particular areas here. The area where the twin towers used to stand, what is commonly called the footprints. And what they want to do is they'd like to make sure that nothing is built underneath those footprints, but plans call for all kinds of things to built. A subway station, utilities, infrastructure for that general area is all going to be constructed underneath those buildings.

And in fact, the general plan that calls for building what would be the tallest building in the world, that 1776 feet, as well as several other buildings. It would be phased in over the course of 10 years or so, would involve building around what we now call Ground Zero.

Family members say that is way too much building in the area, that this is a sacred site. And it should really be kept at a minimum.

For his part, Governor George Pataki today repeated what he's been saying the past year or so, at a meeting in Albany, essentially saying that he really feels for the families. His heart goes out to them. And that he is committed to not building anything on top of the footprints of the Twin Towers -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Michael Okwu, live from New York. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 3, 2003 - 13:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Emotions are raw for some of those people who lost loved ones on 9/11. And they don't like the way Ground Zero is being developed. They want it protected as holy ground. A small group of them are voicing their frustrations at the entrance to the site.
Our Michael Okwu is there.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, for the better part of a year and a half, or so, 9/11 family members have been threatening to stage some sort of a protest here at Ground Zero.

This is the first time that it actually happened, although it didn't quite work out the way they wanted it to. About 17 family members had planned to block the main entrance leading into Ground Zero, to effectively cut off a truck and personnel traffic. Those people in doing some sort of construction work here at Ground Zero, the plan was to get arrested, but in fact, that did not happen. Authorities got wind of this early, and they closed the gates and then effectively shut down an opportunity to stage some civil disobedience.

Who is the target here? If you're talk to family members, they will say it was Governor George Pataki. They say that he promised them some time ago that there would not be any of the major buildings on this site. But as far as they are concerned, there's way too much building going on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Only the bedrocks shall remain. And so left here last year resolving for not just the families, but all of America should be able to come to this place and experience what we do. No photographs, no monuments will ever replicate the simple act of a hand reaching out and touching what the mind holds sacred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OKWU: Now family members want to preserve roughly nine acre site around what they call the bathtub of the World Trade Center. They are upset at this point that only about five acres have been set aside, according to the plan, to build a memorial.

I'm standing in front of Ground Zero, of course. If you take an overhead view of Ground Zero, you will see exactly what we're talking about. There are two particular areas here. The area where the twin towers used to stand, what is commonly called the footprints. And what they want to do is they'd like to make sure that nothing is built underneath those footprints, but plans call for all kinds of things to built. A subway station, utilities, infrastructure for that general area is all going to be constructed underneath those buildings.

And in fact, the general plan that calls for building what would be the tallest building in the world, that 1776 feet, as well as several other buildings. It would be phased in over the course of 10 years or so, would involve building around what we now call Ground Zero.

Family members say that is way too much building in the area, that this is a sacred site. And it should really be kept at a minimum.

For his part, Governor George Pataki today repeated what he's been saying the past year or so, at a meeting in Albany, essentially saying that he really feels for the families. His heart goes out to them. And that he is committed to not building anything on top of the footprints of the Twin Towers -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Michael Okwu, live from New York. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com