Chief Leader

The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation last week came to a resolution over how to list the names of Sept. 11 victims on the long-awaited lower Manhattan structure, putting an end to a bitter debate among family members, city officials and leaders of various uniformed unions.

Mayor Bloomberg Dec. 13 revealed that victims will be grouped according to the World Trade Center tower where they died, their company, or the flight they were on. First-responders who died will be grouped by department and broken down by units.

Cassidy Satisfied
It's a significant departure from the random listings that were originally envisioned by the memorial's architect two years ago.

"The two most important things to me are that the 343 Fire Department members are listed together, and alongside the company of guys they worked with and the brothers that they died with that day," said Stephen J. Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters' Association, during a Dec. 14 phone interview.

"That's what we really wanted, and we are pleased with the Mayor's changes. We staked out our position more than two years ago and I give the Mayor credit for doing the right thing," he added.

Peter L. Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers' Association, was appreciative of the fact that Fire Department casualties would be listed together, but he expressed some disappointment overall.

'Public Won't Know'
"Would it spoil some vast eternal plan if the rank of those members appears before their names? The names will be etched in stone long after we are all gone, and people reading a list of names wouldn't know that [former Chief of Department] Peter Ganci was the highest-ranking uniformed member of the FDNY. They wouldn't know William Feehan was First Deputy Commissioner. They wouldn't know Mychal Judge was the Catholic chaplain of the FDNY," he said in a written statement last week.

'Should Give Their Ranks'
He continued: "And they wouldn't know that the culture of the Fire Department demands that fire officers lead their firefighters into the buildings, with a responsibility for the safe return of the men and women they command. The names on the WTC Memorial should mirror the way the Wall of Honor at FDNY headquarters lists the names of all those who died in the line of duty - by rank and command," he continued.

The new arrangement also rebuffed the request by Sept. 11 families to include the victims' ages and the floors where they worked in the Twin Towers.

"The question of how the names are listed evokes strong feeling and convictions from relatives, colleagues and friends of those we lost," said Mayor Bloomberg, who is also the chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. "I have spent a lot of time listening to everyone's views on the subject and there is no 'right' answer. Nevertheless, it is time to move forward."

Frank Gribbon, an FDNY spokesman, said the department's first choice would have been to list departmental names "as we list them - which is by rank and includes unit identification."

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta had requested that in a written letter to the Foundation when it first announced plans for the memorial.

"But, recognizing what had been agreed to previously - a random listing of all names - and now the members of our department and other first responders are going to be together and listed by unit, this can only be viewed as a positive change," said Mr. Gribbon.

Insists It's Families' Right
But Edie Lutnick, whose brother Gary was one of the many Cantor Fitzgerald employees who died on 9/11, rejected the compromise decision made by the Mayor. She said it was the right of the families to decide how the names should be arranged.

The latest plans call for the 2,979 names of people killed on Sept. 11 and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing to be grouped in 10 locations around the memorial site.

Engraved around the reflecting pool that marks the North Tower's footprint will be the names of the 1,431 people who died there, as well as the 87 passengers and crew aboard American Airlines Flight 11. This group will include the 658 people in the Cantor Fitzgerald offices who were trapped on the floors above where the plane hit.

Postings Near Pool
The other eight groupings will be posted around the South Tower reflecting pool, including the more-than 400 firefighters and police who perished on the scene.

World Trade Center workers will be listed by employer, but company names won't be included. Names will be listed randomly within their categories, but officials said family members could request that certain names be placed together.

The foundation has raised $202 million toward its $300 million goal, with more than 28,000 contributions from all 50 states and 18 foreign countries. The memorial, museum, and visitors center, will occupy half of the 16-acre site. The tallest building in North America, the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, will rise next to it. Groundbreaking for both projects got under way this summer. The memorial is due to be completed first, in 2009.

Mr. Cassidy said his organization had not contributed any money to the foundation yet.

"We aren't in a position to make a particularly significant donation - although we may consider giving an amount as a symbolic gesture," he commented. "We certainly are now in a position to do more to help fund-raise for the memorial, however."