Supreme Court declines to hear Sept. 11 debris case

In a prelude to the opening of its new session, the U.S. Supreme Court Monday dashed the hopes of Sept. 11 families seeking to have sifted debris from the World Trade Center moved to a cemetery instead of its current repository in a garbage dump.

The high court, without issuing an opinion, declined to review a lower federal court ruling earlier this year upholding the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by some families against New York City. By denying review, the court effectively ended the lawsuit.

Rosemary Cain of Massapequa, who lost her son George, 35, in the attack, called the Supreme Court's terse order "indifferent" and a display of a "cavalier attitude."

"How do I dismiss the remains of my son, how do families dismiss remains of their loved ones?," asked Cain, who buried small remains of her son.

"It is very disappointing for sure," said firefighter Lt. Jim McCaffrey, whose brother-in-law, Orio Palmer of Valley Stream, a battalion chief, died in the attack. No remains of Palmer were ever found.

"As the City has maintained throughout this litigation, the plaintiffs' allegations criticizing the efforts of the men and women who worked tirelessly at Fresh Kills to identify human remains, personal effects and evidence were unfounded," said city attorney Peter Wies in a statement Monday.

Norman Siegel, the attorney for the families, said the group may try to talk with newly elected political leaders to get redress.

The lawsuit stems from the yearlong sifting and sorting of trade center debris in the search for remains and personal effects of the 2,752 people missing in the attack. Only 292 full bodies were found and the city took debris from the collapsed towers to the Fresh Kills landfill for sorting.

Partial remains were found at the time of 1,357 victims, a number that has increased in recent years to 1,626. Some 1,123 victims remain missing or unidentified.

Several victims' families filed a federal lawsuit in 2005 seeking to force the city to take the sifted landfill debris, which they believe still contains microscopic human remains, and place it in an appropriate memorial area.

In 2009, Judge Alvin Hellerstein said the city didn't act recklessly or indifferently in the way it handled the debris and dismissed the case. A federal appeals court upheld Hellerstein in March.

Wies said the city plans to build a memorial park at Fresh Kills.

"It strikes me as a lot of hogwash," said Cain about the park idea. "By the time they put a park there we will all be dead and buried."