WTC remnants to remain at JFK hanger

WTC remnants to remain at JFK hangar

A flattened taxi, scorched fire trucks and part of the TV antenna that had topped the north tower are among the remnants of the World Trade Center's collapse that will remain in safe storage.
The Port Authority's board of commissioners agreed yesterday to spend an additional $4.9 million to house and preserve the more than 1,000 artifacts from the fallen towers in Hangar 17 at Kennedy Airport.
"Eventually, these things will find permanent homes, in places that are more suitable," PA chairman Anthony Coscia said. "But for now, this is necessary to protect these artifacts."
Some of the pieces will be returned to Ground Zero, as part of the interpretive center planned as part of the World Trade Center Memorial.
"We also will be developing a lending plan to allow museums and other institutions to borrow and display certain artifacts for exhibits, should that be advisable," said Anthony Cracchiolo, the PA's director of priority capital programs.
The new outlay will nearly double what the agency has spent since it started transporting material, including a 62-ton support beam, to the former Tower Air hangar in 2001.
Among the initial costs was construction of a decontamination chamber. The new funds will go toward climate-control modifications, roof repairs, bird-proofing and more enclosures.
Paul D. ColfordOriginally published on May 27, 2005