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Epic Task of Rebuilding New Orleans; New York Authorities Hold Press Conference on Tour Boat Tragedy

Aired October 03, 2005 - 14:32   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures right now coming to us via Capital 9 News, one of our affiliates there. This is, of course, Lake George in upstate New York. Investigators out there right now, you can even see the divers, they're getting ready to raise that capsized boat. Just that awful story that we've been talking about for the past 48 hours.
And, according to authorities, they suspect now that a wake from another vessel caused this tour boat, carrying that load of senior citizens, to roll over and sink. Twenty people, as you know, were killed when that 40-foot excursion boat, the Ethan Allen had capsized on Lake George. Just about 50 miles north of Albany is where it happened.

And now we're being told we could hear from the NSTB within this hour. We'll bring that to live. But as you can see, divers on the scene getting ready to raise that capsized boat, as the investigation continues into why 20 people had to die when that boat turned over. Once again, investigators saying they believe it was a wake from another vessel that caused that tour boat to overturn. We'll hear more, of course, from the NTSB.

Now, even if you've stood there and seen what's left of New Orleans with your very own eyes, it's impossible to comprehend the epic task of bringing that city back from this disaster. And the biggest question for now, where to even begin?

CNN's chief national correspondent John King visited the Lower Ninth Ward, where residents are very concerned about decisions not yet made.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The water is finally receding in the Lower Ninth Ward, exposing the incomprehensible destruction and offering clues to a neighborhood now in shambles. There was a little girl with a pink bike, a woman in white shoes. If Ophelia Jackson (ph) made it out alive, she left her purse and her car keys behind. It will be a long time before the gospel choirs return. Maybe too long for the elderly who lived in the small, narrow homes.

(on camera): What goes through your mind?

CYNTHIA WILLARD LEWIS, NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL: Oh, it breaks my heart because every house represent as family. And the family is not here and so I pray that they did not lose a loved one.

KING (voice-over): City councilwoman Cynthia Willard Lewis, represents the Lower Ninth Ward and is among those concerned what is rebuilt here will be very different from what stood here just a few weeks ago.

LEWIS: I am not so foolish as to believe that other agendas are not being fashioned. I would imagine that individuals who focus on the wealth of the land, who focus on the fact that perhaps with higher integrity of the levee system, high rise buildings might be fashionable and trendy.

KING: Fashionable and trendy were not used to words to describe the neighborhood of these newspapers warning of what was coming were never delivered. Ninety-eight percent of the ward's population was African-American. The average annual income was $27.500, less than half the national average. And 54 percent of the residents were renters, giving them little say over what happens next here.

(on camera): This is the wreckage of the levee that was designed to protect this neighborhood. When it gave way the waters flooded in, destroying the homes and lives of these people with it. You see it extending for dozens and dozens of feet down the way. Again, a wall designed to protect the community now lying, a very symbol of the destruction here.

But if you lift your eyes above the destruction, you see downtown New Orleans just off in the distance. It is that proximity to the center of the city that has many of the poor people who lived here just a few weeks ago worried that when this is all cleaned up, people with a lot more money than they have will want the land.

(voice-over): This service is 75 miles from New Orleans. Bishop C. Garnett Henning forced to relocate to Baton Rouge because his Union Bethel Ame Church in the Lower Ninth Ward was destroyed in the flooding after Katrina and Rita.

BISHOP C. GARNETT HENNING, UNION BETHEL AME CHURCH: My motto is never ever give up, and that's the way we're approach it. I'm tell that to the people of our churches. If we let it go quietly, we will lose. The poor people will lose, without an advocate.

KING: Willard Lewis wants guarantees...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: I apologize. We'll get back to talking about the Ninth Ward in just a moment.

We want to take you to NTSB news conference taking place right now. You can see Governor Pataki there, also.

Let's listen in.

SHERIFF LARRY CLEVELAND, WARREN COUNTY, NEW YORK: ... We made arrangements to raise the vessel off the floor of Lake George in approximately 70 feet of water. That boat will be brought up, refloated, taken off in the lake and put into a secure location so that the National Transportation Safety Board can take their experts and go in and start their investigation on the boat.

We are continuing the investigation, of course, in conjunction with the New York State Police as a joint investigation with the Warren County Sheriff's Office. As more details become available, we'll try to get them out to you. I'm not sure there's going to be anything else that is going to be newsworthy to call a press conference.

So we'll try to get your questions answered for you here today, if we can do so. So, without bombarding our governor with questions that you want to hit him with, I'd ask that you direct your questions, as they relate to the law enforcement investigation, to myself or the superintendent. And if they get too far away, we'll limit you with a couple numbers. And then I'm going to turn it over to him to let him speak first before you start hitting him with questions.

GOV. GEORGE PATAKI, NEW YORK: Larry, why don't I say a few words before -- before the sheriff responds to the questions, let me just say a few words. This is a tragedy of immense proportions and our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of the 20 loved ones who lost their lives yesterday. And our support and help is necessary, too, for the 27 survivors. Some of whom are still here, some of whom are still hospitalized.

It is just unthinkable that on a beautiful fall day such as today, people could come to New York, come to Lake George, one of the most beautiful places in America, looking just to enjoy the beauty and have a wonderful day, and have it turn into tragedy. And we have an obligation to make sure that every stone is turned over, every nook and cranny is looked at, to make sure we determine why this happened, and take any action we can possibly take to prevent it from happening again.

I want to thank the first responders here in Warren County and in Lake George. The reports I have received are that whether it was the volunteer firefighters, the EMTs, the sheriff's department or state police, or just people on the shores of Lake George or boaters, they responded immediately and appropriately and professionally and, in the process, saved lives.

And we just have to thank those ordinary New Yorkers, those citizens and our first responders who responded so well and in the process helped to limit the magnitude of this tragedy. I've spoken with Governor Granholm, who obviously has expressed her concern since this -- as the sheriff indicated.

All 47 of the people out on the boat yesterday afternoon were from Michigan. The 20 who died were from Michigan. And we will continue to in touch with the Michigan authorities to make sure that everything that can be done is done to comfort the families of those who lost their lives, and to provide the support, the counseling, the help, to the 27 others who will be returning to Michgian. One of the things I've learned throughout my time as governor is that you have to, yes, do everything you can immediately to help protect the people and make sure they are safe and healthy as possible. But we also have to provide support to those who have survived and to the families of those who have lost loved ones. And our mental health counselors, our family support teams, are here. They've been here since yesterday. They will continue to be here to provide the understanding and the professional help that families or survivors might need.

Again, to everyone here, to the people who have responded so strongly and professionally and in the best, best tradition of American patriotism, thank you for saving lives. And to the families of those who have lost their lives, it is a deep tragedy. We are thinking of you, we are praying for you, we will do everything we can to help you get through this horrible tragedy.

Thank you very much.

Sheriff, you want to...

QUESTION: Sheriff Cleveland, can you tell us about any discussions that you had with Captain Paris, what his demeanor is? Is he culpable in any way?

CLEVELAND: The captain of the vessel was interviewed. Actually, within about 45 minutes of the accident I, myself, spoke to him on the lake. I had a brief conversation. He was then completely debriefed and statements were taken from him. And we're continuing to gather the rest of the information we need to try to come up with a cause of the accident.

I have said on numerous occasions that we handle these as a criminal matter as a normal course of business, not something to alarm you. And we will continue to do so until we have ruled every potential avenue out. As I speak to you now, I do not believe that there is any criminal culpability involved on any of the parties that we have spoken to.

QUESTION: Can you just talk about his demeanor when you spoke to him? What was his reaction, his words, perhaps?

CLEVELAND: Dick Paris, number one, is a retired state trooper. He had an outstanding career with the state police when he was there. I hate to admit that I actually knew him when he was in uniform, because he's been out of there about 20 years. And he has been a pilot on Lake George for many, many years. We all know him and we know him and we see him. He is known to be a friendly, gregarious person. He's always helpful. And in this case, I've got to tell you, he's always been safe.

Yesterday he was destroyed. It really hit him hard. He is having a really difficult time with it. And we're trying to help him get through that, as well.

QUESTION: Sheriff, how are people describing the actually tipping of the boat? Is there any discussion about how it actually happened in your conversations with some of the survivors?

CLEVELAND: Yes, we've -- I'm going to let the superintendent answer that question, because he has a little more background on it than I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The early indication...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait, wait, put the mike on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The early indication that we have received from the people who have been interviewed is that, at one particular point, they felt the boat shift and, at that point, the people who I believe you've already read some accounts, slid from one side of the boat towards the other because the seating was not fixed seating. It is portable seating. And that, of course, would automatically mean an even bigger shift of weight.

The obvious question which the NTSB will provide us with the answer is, what, in their opinion, you know, could have caused the initial listing, if you will, that these people describe forced them to the opposite side of the ship.

QUESTION: Are you saying the seating wasn't anchored?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct.

QUESTION: Was the seating park benches or folding chairs?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's my understanding they were plastic chairs.

QUESTION: Because on the other boats that they have (INAUDIBLE) fleet, they are park benches, green park benches.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That I don't know.

QUESTION: I understand at one point there were benches that were secured on the vessel and they were removed. Is that accurate?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know that to be certain. I'm not familiar with that at all.

QUESTION: I also understand that the deck was built up on the vessel, therefore making it more unstable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I also don't know the answer to that, because I have not personally examined the boat. And, of course, it won't be available for examination. But that's another issue the NTSB will certainly address.

QUESTION: Governor, this was a case of a 74-year-old guiding mostly senior citizens. Does it have you thinking about implementing any protections under law?

PATAKI: Well, we do have, I believe, if not the, certainly among the toughest, boating safety laws in America. But whenever there's an incident tragedy such as this, you have to take another look and see if there are things we should be doing that haven't been done yet. And we're not going to do that today. We're going to wait to see what the NTSB determines was the cause of this accident, and then look to see if there are measures that should be taken to do everything we can and prevent it from happening again.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

CLEVELAND: That's a good question. It's been asked and raised several times. So I'm going to give you a lengthy answer so we can educate everyone to understand. This is a state body of water. It's under state jurisdiction. It follows the state regulations of the parks and recreation for the licensing of the vessel, as well as for the issuance of the pilot certificate for the operation, which was being used by this captain.

As such, in New York, you must have a reasonable cause to believe that there has been some type of alcohol or drug involvement before you can direct that that person submit to a test. As we had no indication of any type of activity like that, and I personally can tell you I was there and spoke to him and sat with him on a pontoon boat, we were not able, under New York state law, to do that, nor did we have any need to want to do that. So, while the law was not there, it wasn't needed, anyway.

Under the federal statutes, if you're on a navigable -- federal navigable waterway or you hold a Coast Guard pilot's license and you're involved in a mishap, they can direct you take that test without meeting the reasonable standard that we have to in New York. He did not hold a Coast Guard license. Therefore, he did not fall under the federal guidelines and could not have been directed to do so.

But I stress again, we were not trying to get one. We did not feel there was a need to have one. If we did, the New York state law was there to provide us with the means to do that.

QUESTION: Sheriff, now that the next of kin been identified, will you release the names of the victims?

CLEVELAND: Superintendent, go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't classify it as a theory. I'm just giving you the facts as we have been given so far. The indication was that from the people who survived through the interviews that, at one point, the boat seemed to tilt and, at that point, seated in their chairs, they were either thrown or slid to that side of the boat which, of course, shifted even more weight, which would, obviously, play some kind of a role in what course of action the boat was going to take. But, again, that's an NTSB issue. I'm sure they will be covering it and they will let us know what their conclusion is regarding that.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

CLEVELAND: Sure. It's the matter of using what are called lift bags that displace the water weight of the vessel itself. They bring it to the surface. Once the gunnel (ph) of the boat breaks the surface, they can then put pumps on board. The pumps take the water out, bring it back up to a floating ship again, then it will be towed to shore, put on to a custom-made trailer for a boat as large as this. And then we'll pull it out of the water.

QUESTION: Sheriff, now that you've notified the next of kin, will you be releasing the identities of the victims and their ages?

CLEVELAND: We're going to release the names of the victims as soon as I have spoken with SP Michigan to make sure that they are ready for that to be done. Because it's obviously going to travel very quickly and we want to brace that community first.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) can they go back out on the water tomorrow?

CLEVELAND: There is no provision for that, is there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To my knowledge, there's been no administrative action taken against his New York state license.

QUESTION: Regarding the shifting of the chairs and the non- anchored seating, is there any regulation (INAUDIBLE) in state law or regulation, and from the NTSB point of view, is that something that you're going to be taking a look at, regarding non-anchored seating arrangements?

CLEVELAND: I'm not aware of any New York state regulation that would apply to the method or manner of the seating or the standing arrangement on any type of cruise vessel. But we have the director here with the NTSB, right here to my left, and he has assured me that this that is something the NTSB will be looking at along with loading and capacity and weight and the distribution of that weight on the vessel.

PHILLIPS: Sheriff Larry Cleveland, also Governor George Pataki there, holding a news conference with regard to that tour boat that capsized. Twenty people dead. Bottom line, right now the sheriff saying no criminal culpability. But you saw the divers out there. They're getting ready to pull the boat up and begin the investigation on that boat, as they continue to interview those that survived that tragedy that took place on Lake George in upstate New York.

Right after the break, we're going to get back to our discussion about the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana, and what's at stake for the people that used to live there. Should it be rebuilt and will those residents be coming back? We'll talk to the councilwoman. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're going to get back it our discussion on what will the future hold for New Orleans' Ninth Ward. Cynthia Willard-Lewis, the New Orleans city council member that you saw in John King's piece just a few moments ago is a passionate advocate for rebuilding the flood vulnerable area. She joins me now live from New Orleans. Councilwoman, good to see you.

CYNTHIA WILLARD-LEWIS, NINTH WARD REPRESENTATIVE: Thank you. Thank you for having us.

PHILLIPS: Let me start out with a little history combined with to a recent quote from the HUD secretary. If we were to go back to 1927 and the flood that struck Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas. So many black farmers and their families had to flee to Chicago, Detroit and other cities for a better life, I want to ask you, do you think New Orleans will see the same black migration, even as HUD secretary Alfonso Jackson comes forward and says, quote, "New Orleans is not going to be as black as it once was for a long time, if ever again." What are your thoughts when you look at history and then hear the HUD secretary say something like that?

WILLARD-LEWIS: You know, I would look at recent time, which was Hurricane Betsy and the fact that many of our families left, but they returned. They returned because of their sense of connectivity to the great city of New Orleans, which is the heart and soul of the people that have populated it.

And we have a plan. We have a plan that will build upon their dreams and their hopes, not just for what was, but what will be, which will be a better New Orleans with stronger neighborhoods, more inclusive and dynamic neighborhoods. That is our vision.

PHILLIPS: Councilwoman, I want you to tell me about that plan because, you know, if you think about the Ninth Ward, the low lying land, the poverty within your district you know, this was an area that, a city that was really tough on residents even before that hurricane came through. A lot of renters, a lot of people that don't even have things to come back to. How do you encourage them to come back and live a better life than what they dealt with before?

WILLARD-LEWIS: The fact is they are encouraging me to continue to fight and to create in fashion a plan that identifies resources and focuses firstly on their right to return. And that is the heart and the soul of every redevelopment strategy, the right of New Orleanians to return. Because New Orleans is people. It is not land, it is not buildings, it is not systems nor is it institutions.

The problems that you spoke of are historic and systemic problems, not just for the Lower Ninth Ward, but for the city of New Orleans and for the state of Louisiana, where, in our great state, one out of every three children lives in poverty, but in our city it is more concentrated. And, yes, we must use the redevelopment as an economic opportunity to say that every one has an opportunity to grow and go and build the dream that they have for their future.

PHILLIPS: Congresswoman, you hit it on the button. You know, you hit it on the button because you're right. I mean, what happened in this natural disaster really laid out, you know, this underbelly of our nation that we don't deal with poverty and we saw all these people become displaced. We saw people dying on the streets in front of the convention center. It was ridiculous what we saw. And it was sad. And it was pathetic. So, you hit it right there that the issue of poverty needs to be dealt with.

So let me ask you, the Congressional Black Caucus has laid out an eight-point plan. Part of that plan, ensuring that local residents have first choice at reconstruction jobs and contracts. For example, establishing, you know, a timeline to rebuild the colleges and universities, including historically black schools and universities like Xavier and Dillard. That 50 percent residency target goal for all contracts. Set 40 percent minority vendor target for all reconstruction.

It's about giving those that had nothing the opportunity to come back and get these contracts and get these jobs. How can you do that as council councilwoman? How can you make that happen?

WILLARD-LEWIS: Well, there are many dialogues at are being engaged in right now. The federal discussion with the Black Caucus on our national level is critical, but also our president himself who is sensitive to the needs of the people who has visited this area and we're asking for greater sensitivity and a greater depth of capacity building.

You indicated the people who had nothing, but we had many great families who had ample resources. The problem is, all of our families have been displaced and all of our families are in great need.

The storm has been a tremendous equalizer. All families, regardless of economic strata, regardless of which side of the geography they were, they have all been displaced by the waters of Katrina. They knew no distinction. Those waters flooded Chalmette, they flooded Mississippi, they flooded New Orleans and they just equalized and caused need among all of our people.

So, what we are saying is address the human issue. Address the human issue, but, also, with great depth. So that those who have not been able to reach the economic margin...

PHILLIPS: Oh, I apologize. What a shame. We lost our connection there to councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis who represents the Ninth Ward there in New Orleans. We apologize for that. And I'll tell you what, we will either try to bring her back -- do you think we will be able to do that? No, we won't.

All right. We apologize. I think we lost our satellite connection. We will bring her back and we'll continue our discussion. We'll take a quick break and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, that wraps up this Monday addition of LIVE FROM... I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN center in Atlanta. We'll be back here tomorrow. Wolf Blitzer now live in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

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