Redevelopment Officials Favor a Single Memorial at Ground Zero

March 14, 2003 -- Top redevelopment officials said yesterday they favor a single memorial at Ground Zero - striking a blow against a push to erect a separate tribute to the firefighters who died on 9/11. "The memorial working group feels strongly that what will be called for is one memorial with no hierarchies of the victims," said Tom Johnson, a board member of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., who sits on a committee that oversees the creation of a tribute.

"There is a lot of conversation from various groups about there being separate memorials for various constituencies . . . I think it's the role of this board to do what we think is right," said Johnson, whose son Scott was killed on 9/11.

At its monthly meeting, the board discussed a set of revised design competition guidelines. Several people who helped draft the guidelines said their intent is for a listing of names without distinguishing between rescuers and office workers, CEOs and busboys.

"You can't distinguish in death who was more of a hero, who was more of a victim. They all were together in death," board member Paul Crotty told The Post. He said the role of rescuers on Sept. 11 will be treated fully in a museum on the site.

"Every life that was lost was equally important but these emergency service people, what they did was special and they deserve to be acknowledged," said John Finucane, a retired FDNY lieutenant who is leading the firefighters memorial campaign.

* One name was added yesterday to the medical examiner's list of confirmed dead in the World Trade Center attack: Manuel John Da Mota, 43.