A group representing the families of 9/11 victims is criticizing construction within the footprint of the World Trade Center and has submitted a request to the governor and to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation that the area be preserved.
The Coalition of 9/11 Families is comprised of 9/11 family organizations and represents thousands of family members, survivors and rescue workers, according to the group's website.
Coalition members did not return Firehouse.com's calls Monday through Wednesday, but told the New York Post last week that Governor Pataki has broken his promise to protect the WTC site by allowing the Port Authority to build four emergency exits including walkways and stairwells for a temporary WTC PATH station due to open in November.
The coalition is also asking New York senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton to sponsor a federal law barring further construction on the footprints, according to the Post.
The coalition's goal is to preserve the interior of the slurry walls for a future memorial, their website says.
"The Memorial Complex should be encased in the slurry wall from bedrock to surface level and above ground where the greatest concentration of human remains were recovered," the site says.
The website also states that, "The Coalition has taken the position that the PATH Tunnel and tracks which existed prior to 9/11/01 will be the only infringement on the Footprint area for transportation. All other transportation should be moved east of Greenwich Street. Infrastructure components within the slurry walls should be related soley to memorial components selected by the WTC memorial jury pannel."
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