Maloney Visits New York’s Ground Zero
Washington – Rep. James Maloney spent Wednesday morning surrounded by what he called “a pile of debris eight stories high” and “a strange odor” permeating the air. Maloney toured New York City’s Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center had towered over the city’s landscape. The scene, he said, was “horrifying” and yet “inspirational.”
“Its horrifying to think of the force and the weight of the millions of pounds that came crashing down and killed so many many people,” Maloney said in a telephone interview.
“What everyone comments on, and I experienced it myself in the relief work, is the very strange odor,” he said. I’ve never quite smelled anything like it. What it appears to be is a combination of concrete dust and smoke. It’s quite a horrific smell that goes with the horrific vision of this pile of metal girders that have collapsed.”
Maloney said his reaction was one of inspiration and gratitude for the thousands of people, rescue personnel and volunteers, who were working around the clock in the rescue and recovery process.
“The atrocity is horrific, but at the same time, you cannot help being moved and inspired by the tremendous hard work that’s going on by these many thousands of people that are trying to help out,” he said.
Maloney said he went to New York City to pay his personal respects to victims, families and rescue workers affected by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. He estimated that 20 to 30 people from his district were missing or killed.
Maloney said he had spoken to the victims of several families and that his office had responded to everyone who had a family member missing in the World Trade Center attacks.
“Hope was fading among most of the families, “who had not heard anything about their missing members for over two weeks, Maloney said. “We have families that are in immense pain as a result of these atrocities.”
He said the story that remained foremost in his mind was that of a New York rescue worker who unhesitatingly ran into the burning World Trade Center tower to rescue people trapped inside. Maloney said he spoke with the rescue worker’s family, who lives in Connecticut.
“Mixed with the pain that any family would have, there is a tremendous pride in this man who literally sacrificed his own life in attempting to save the life of others,” he said.
Maloney said that the mood of many in Ground Zero was of determination and anger. “They were furious with what had happened to them. That anger had cooled into a very hard and steady determination to do the recovery, to do the rescue if possible, to rebuild that city and find and hold the people who did this responsible.”
Maloney estimated that it would take about six months to clear the World Trade Center site of debris and for authorities to conduct on-site forensic investigations. A decision would then be made on what to build in its place. Maloney said the city was committed to rebuilding the World Trade Center site but the form of the buildings and the size of the memorials honoring those who lost their lives would be decided later.
