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Press Conference On World Trade Center Bombing(First)
Here is the transcript of a news conference in Manhattan Saturday on the World Trade Center Explosion. Participating were:
* First Deputy Mayor of New York City Norman Steisel
* Port Authority Commissioner Stanley Brezenoff
* NYC Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly
* NY Gov Mario Cuomo
* NJ Gov James Florio
NORMAN STEISEL (Deputy Mayor): There were a number of very important questions that had to be addressed about what actually happened within the World Trade Center facility and what the implications are for future use of the facility.
So this morning we're going to present some very brief presentations. I will start by giving an overview of yesterday's events and the activities, the coordinated activities of the various city agencies, to be followed by a presentation by Stan Brezenoff about some of the concerns and questions that have been raised about the Trade Center buildings and what happened during the rescue operations, questions about when the building will be suitable for reuse and the like.
And then finally, since obviously there's an extraordinary amount of interest in the explosion, the cause of it, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly will give an overview presentation on the conduct of the current investigation to determine precisely what happened in that regard.
So if I could start, I will try to go through the information very quickly. I think as everyone by now knows, there was an explosion in the garage area of the complex, immediately in front, underground of the second level, immediately in front of the Vista Hotel, if you were standing outside in front of it. Fire and police department personnel were dispatched immediately. The fire in the area of the explosion was contained very quickly. In fact, with only one fire line, there was not much fire. There was a great deal of smoke that was generated, that was emitted, and went through Towers One and 2, as well as the Vista Hotel.
We immediately commenced evacuation proceedings by sending fire fighters and police officers into the building to help people down because the more than 250 elevators that service the facilities were automatically cut off. Those search procedures continued until midnight last night when we're quite confident that everybody was removed from the building safely.
We were able to confirm that there were 5 people who died, 4 at the site, one subsequently in St Vincent's Hospital. The number of injuries were a 1042 as of 8:00 AM this morning. The number may grow because people continue to walk into various hospitals. Of the 1042, 416 were people who walked in. They left the site under their own efforts and devices and made it one way or another to a public hospital. 450 people were treated on the site by EMS, and we want to thank the Battery Park city officials who made some of their space available so that we could set up emergency examination and treatment facilities. 450 were removed to the hospital.
Included in that 450 were 35 police officers, 34 fire fighters, and one EMS worker, who were injured subsequently. In addition, 176 people were treated on the scene and released. So between the walk-ins, the 450 who were removed and 176 who were treated on the scene and released was the grand total of 1042 people.
Approximately 15 or so were injured as a result of the immediate effects of the explosion. So the vast balance of the people were people who suffered smoke inhalation and exhaustion problems coming down from the towers.
Work continues in the building, largely in the site of the explosion.
I should point out, by the way, that as a result of the explosion, there was a release of asbestos materials. There does not appear to be a release of any other hazardous materials. The Department of Environment personnel, aided by city and state Health Department officials and Environmental Conservation officials, believe that if there was any exposure, it was largely asbestos. The Health and Hospitals Corporation has set up a protocol to advise all people who have been treated in the hospital system of this exposure and has set up a mechanism to provide for any necessary follow-up treatment that may emerge.
Right now the major focus of activity, and I think Stan Brezenoff will comment on it more, is in the area of the explosion itself. The area is about a hundred feet across in diameter, blown through at least 3 levels. It's full of debris, damaged equipment, destroyed cars, and there may be some structural problems that have been caused to the building by the explosion.
What is very important at this juncture is to make a determination about the stability of that area so it can be cleaned out and the heavy debris removed, and the criminal investigation proceed. The criminal investigation to some extent must, or I should say crime scene analysis, must await the ability to get to the actual site of the explosion, and that may take some time. But none of that work can proceed efficiently until determinations are made about the structural integrity of that particular area, and Port Authority and Department of Building personnel are working very closely on that.
The transportation system in the area has been somewhat disrupted. The pass station at the World Trade Center has suffered some damage. We expect to be able to clear it, but as of the moment that station has been closed and is out of service.
Additionally, as of the moment, the IRT 1 and 9 terminals terminate at Chamber Street, and the N and R are bypassing the Cortland Street station. And the E and C train terminate at the West 4th Street station.
Additional details about the transportation system for the balance of the weekend and going into Monday's rush hour will be further announced as it becomes clear whether that service can be restored or not and the Transit Authority will be making periodic advisories, as will the Department of Transportation, about the use of West Street, which had been closed southbound in the immediate vicinity of the Trade Center. But we will have additional information about that later in the day.
At this juncture, again I want to thank all the city agencies who participated. I think there was a very swift and effective response, and I think, as the statistics suggest, the injury statistics suggest, it is a credit to the people who were there, fine, dedicated fire fighters and police officers and EMS personnel, that the extent of injuries was not worse, and I think they performed magnificently and deserve a great round of credit and recognition for their activities.
I should also point out that I've been in constant touch with the mayor, advising him of what has been going on at several occasions. He has been in consultation with state officials, and also had a conversation with the president about any follow-up that the federal government may be able to assist us with in terms of damage control, as well as thanking him for the support of various investigative personnel on the scene.
In fact, I last spoke to the mayor as he boarded his plane in Japan. He is en route to New York City and will be here later this afternoon. I spoke to him at about 3:00 in the morning our time to fill him in on what had transpired, and he was very--also wanted to add his strong acknowledgment and gratitude to the members of our city work force that performed so well in this circumstance.
At this juncture, I'm going to turn the presentation over to Stan Brezenoff, who's going to give you a sense of what the Port Authority is doing in the building as well as what was learned during the course of the fire.
STAN BREZENOFF: What I'd like to do is to divide my presentation in 2, talk a bit about yesterday, and then where we stand today.
No doubt you've heard a good deal of this. At about 12:18 yesterday, an explosion knocked out most of the primary power system of the World Trade Center. That primary power system runs elevators throughout the complex, provides light, energy, heat, communications and so on. 3 feeders in that system were still operating at that moment, enough to give us partial lighting in the 2 towers and some communication ability.
Our emergency generator system, because what the primary power system does is so critical, we have a completely redundant second system, independent of the primary system, run through emergency generators. The emergency generators were knocked out because of the severe flooding that resulted from the explosion cracking water pipes throughout the subgrade area, leaving us only the 3 feeders that were retained from the primary power system.
In order to fight the fire, the electrical fire, with lots of water around--or what could have been an electrical fire, with lots of water around and lots of electrical equipment, we had to shut down those 3 feeders in order for the fire fighters to fight the fire. When those 3 feeders were shut down, we were without lights and communication ability in the Trade Center.
We then engaged in a lengthy process of evacuation. The process took several hours, about 3 hours, I guess. Under any circumstances, of course, to evacuate what amounts to 50,000 people from a complex of this kind is going to take an extended period. The major problems we faced as a consequence of both of our systems, our redundant systems, the primary and the backup system, being out was that we could not communicate with the people who were stranded on the floors and in the stairwells, and there was no light, particularly on the stairwells.
In looking at what occurred, we're trying to determine what else we might do in the future, and one thing that seems clear is that the emergency generators ought to be at a higher point so as to reduce the possibility of flooding under circumstances like this, and we will be considering how we might do that.
While one might have assumed that 2 power systems to handle lights independent of one another would be sufficient, obviously they were not, and we will be looking at whether or not battery-powered lights, as in a 3d system for short-term use, might be a good thing to have.
We had a 3d issue. As people were moving down the staircases, there were several doors where there was no access to the floor. Those doors are in fact locked as security measures for the firms, the businesses, tenants who have those floors. There are signs that clearly indicate there is no access to those floors, and where access is available. In the smoke condition, those signs were not always readily visible, and of course there were no lights. So we are going to look at whether we can do something like phosphorus lighting on those signs.
With all of that, the evacuation itself remarkably went very well. People were calm. There was no panic. I can say this pretty authoritatively, being amongst those walking down the stairs and waiting on the floors myself. People helped one another. There were several people in wheelchairs, some pregnant women, asthmatics. Teams worked together to carry wheelchairs down until emergency personnel, uniformed personnel could pick up the effort.
And all in all, we got everyone out of the building from the upper floors. But there was a lot of quiet--there was a great deal of heroism on the part of the uniformed personnel, the emergency personnel, the fire fighters and police officers. They did a remarkable job, Emergency Medical Services, Port Authority Police. But there was a lot of quiet heroism. The people who work in the World Trade Center were truly remarkable in the way that they handled what was going on.
Where do we stand now? Let me divide it up. We actually have 3 or 4 different problem areas. First, the towers themselves, Towers A and B. We brought in structural engineers last night. I think my chief engineer is somewhere here, Gene Fasulo (phonetic). They looked at the columns supporting Towers A and B and concluded that they are structurally sound. The issue for us in Towers A and B is how and when we can get into that garage area, the below- grade area, and begin to remove the debris and do the structural steel work that is necessary.
Prognosis: the towers will not be open on Monday. They cannot be open until we can put back in working order the safety systems, communications, fire and so on, and we will be working on those, but at of this moment, I can't tell you when the towers will be ready for use and occupancy.
The Vista Hotel has significant structural issues. We are examining what has to be done to brace it so that full inspection and whatever additional work is required can be done.
The PATH station in the World Trade Center, we now have access to it. It is being structurally inspected. If that goes off as we anticipate, we believe that work that is necessary to get that in working order for early next week, perhaps even Monday, can be done. We do have to test it against the vibrations that it might cause both in the station and in the complex itself, and those things will take place during the balance of the weekend.
The one building that there is a chance we will have open on Monday is 7 World Trade Center. We will try and apprise people as that develops.
That's essentially where we stand. I guess you'll have a shot at questions afterward.
RAYMOND KELLY (NYC Police Commissioner): I first want to read a statement that has been agreed to by the people you see up here. While we do not yet have conclusive forensic evidence from ongoing investigation, it appears that the explosion that occurred yesterday in the World Trade Center was in all likelihood the result of some type of explosive device. Given this belief, prudence requires that we take all reasonable precautions and heighten our sense of security.
Obviously we will vigorously investigate this (inaudible) using the resources of all branches of government. Beyond that, though, in keeping with the spirit of caution, we will institute a number of measures to better safeguard the public.
It is impossible to speculate at this point why any person should have committed such a horrible crime. Nevertheless, the fear it may engender among New Yorkers and others in our nation, for that matter, is very real. We must remember that fear is a type of weapon as well, one to which we should not submit, and we should remember that we are protected by the best law enforcement personnel at the local, state and federal level in the world, professionals with access to the finest resources and with an unwavering determination to prevent such an incident from occurring again.
Now, a major investigation is being conducted by New York City detectives, FBI and the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms organization. We have an ongoing task force organization in New York City, and that's the structure in which we're conducting this investigation.
As I said in the prepared remarks, in all probability, it is a bomb. However, we cannot say that with absolute certitude, and the reason for that is we cannot get into the immediate area where the device was exploded. That's because of the instability of the immediate area, and until that is shored up, we won't be able to get our investigators into that location.
There have been--to the best of our knowledge at this time, there were no telephone calls warning of any explosion or any bomb prior to the explosion at 12:18 yesterday afternoon. We received a total of 19 phone calls after that from people claiming to be members of all sorts of groups and individuals.
We are in the process of meeting with security directors of major buildings in New York City. Last evening we put out a message to both public and private sector entities which stated the possibility exists that the explosion which occurred on Friday, February 26th, at the World Trade Center was a terrorist bombing. An investigation by the FBI, NYPD, ATF task force is ongoing to determine the origin of the explosion. While this investigation is being conducted, prudence dictates that all organizations and personnel be vigilant. We recommend that a heightened sense of security be maintained by all personnel and at all facilities in the event this incident was in fact terrorist- initiated.
I'd like to ask anyone with any information, anything that they saw yesterday that they may think is suspicious or anything that may be helpful, workers in the area, if they have any such information, to call our standard number, which is (212) 577-TIPS. That's a 24-hour hotline that'll be manned by New York City police detectives. Again, that telephone number, (212) 577-TIPS.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: Jim Fox, as you know, is here, and we just are not in a position to make a statement at this time about who the suspects are. They're in the process of gathering information.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: It's impossible to know at this time until we get closer to the immediate scene.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: Some traces of nitrate were found. However, that's not conclusive. It's used in other substances. But it would buttress the--you know, our position that we believe it to be a bomb.
Q: Is there any information (inaudible) the level of planning that this involved, any indication that there might have been devices for some time, or how long it might have been or exactly where it might have been placed?
KELLY: Really not in a position to make a statement along those lines at this time.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: I think there are 3 factors. The magnitude of the explosion, the fact that a significant amount of heat was generated, and the fact that traces of nitrate were found. I think those 3 factors strongly indicate that there was some sort of explosive device detonated.
Q: Can you repeat the question?
KELLY: Yes. The question was, what makes you say now that you think in all probability it was a bomb?
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: No, they were all--the question was, is there any indication of motive based on the 19 phone calls that we received? We're in the process of going through all those calls. I can tell you in essence that they were somewhat disjointed and we're still attempting to discern a pattern.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: Well, they made claims of various groups. As a general policy, we don't give out the specifics as far as calls concerning bombs are concerned because that undermines an aspect of the investigation.
BREZENOFF: He said there were no calls prior to the incident.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: Well, we know it did not come into the 911 system, we know it did not come into the Port Authority Police. We believe it did not come into any other law enforcement agency. That's our position now.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: All matters to be looked at during the investigation. I'm not going to speculate now.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: The question is, what's the significance of C4? First of all, we don't know what types of explosives were used, but C4 is a relatively available explosive material in certain circles. There's nothing unusual about C4. It's standard military explosive.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: We believe it to be general parking, but it's hard for us to tell the specific area where the device went off.
Q: Do you believe any of the callers, and if so, why? And what information did they offer to substantiate (inaudible)?
KELLY: Do you believe any of the callers, and if so, why? What information did they offer to substantiate?
We're not in a position to make a statement on that now. We're still examining, going through the verbatim messages that were given.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: Well, there's no other--if you're talking about letters or something along that line, no, not at this time.
Q: (Inaudible) any stepped up security at the World Trade Center buildings or any other skyscraper in Manhattan for the last 2 weeks? And knowing that you don't normally care to comment on bomb threats (inaudible), can you give us a brief description of whether or not there may have been any type of stepped up security, or had you suspected or any of your people suspected that this in fact could have happened in the last few weeks?
KELLY: We have no indication at this time that anything unusual happened in the last 2 weeks as far as security is concerned, stepped up security, or that there had been increased security at the World Trade Center in the last 2 weeks.
Q: (Off mike) we're not used to this kind of thing happening, what actually are you doing?
KELLY: Well, what we're doing is working with the security directors in the private sector. We have a meeting with them today. We'll have additional meetings starting next week, similar to some of the precautions that we took during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. If we're going to err here, we're going to err on the side of caution.
Q: Can you just tell what that is?
KELLY: Well, it depends on the individual buildings, individual complexes. Essentially what it means is obviously heightened sensitivity to security issues, increasing the number of security personnel if you can, perhaps package searches. It depends on the individual facilities that we're talking about.
Q: Are you shifting more police presence? Are there going to be more officers on the streets? Are people going to see more police presence in heavily populated areas?
KELLY: Well, we're still formulating our plans.
Q: Commissioner, can you confirm that the bombs were placed in an area near to the Secret Service area garage? And were any Secret Service vehicles or vehicles used by the president when he's in New York City damaged by the explosion?
KELLY: Well, there were some government vehicles damaged, there were state vehicles, there were federal vehicles, but we don't know, again, the immediate location where this device went off. But yes, both federal, state government cars were significantly damaged.
Q: Any vehicle used by the president?
KELLY: I'm not certain what vehicles are used by the president. But there were federal government vehicles damaged.
KELLY: Apparently a backup vehicle used by the--was damaged.
Q: Do you have information at all about the car that you believe the device was in? Have you seen any evidence-+
KELLY: Any information about the car?
Q: The car itself that (off mike)
KELLY: No, we have nothing to report in that regard.
Q: (Inaudible) down there underneath (inaudible) like it was a pretty big explosion. What size device would it take to do that? What degree, what size?
KELLY: I don't know. I really couldn't speculate. There are some sophisticated things that are out there that could be relatively small. I saw some poundage estimates in the paper. I don't know where they're coming from. It would be very difficult for us to make a determination along those lines.
Q: (Inaudible) dead bodies. Where were they found? Were they all on that level or were they on different levels?
KELLY: They were in an office complex on the B2 level.
Q: Commissioner, when was the first phone call that came in? And if you could supply any sort of chronology of the calls thereafter, it would be helpful.
KELLY: First phone call came in at 1:35 PM, which is over an hour after the explosion. There was then a phone call I believe around 2:15--I may be wrong about that-- concerning the Empire State Building. Then there was a series of calls after 3:00, starting after 3:00, and they continued through the evening hours.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: Well, I think rather than get into specifics, I can just tell you--the question is what have you done or what can we do to heighten security? And rather than get into specifics, I just want to say that many of the things that were done during Desert Shield/Desert Storm are things that we are recommending to private sector and public sector entities.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: Well, we are meeting with the Secret Service. They were present at our meeting today. So we have an ongoing dialogue about all sorts of issues with the Secret Service.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: No, it would be premature to discuss it at this time.
Q: (Off mike)
KELLY: The question is can we say whether it was intentionally at that particular location?
Q: Yeah. I mean the fact that (inaudible).
KELLY: Well, it depends on where--it also went up and down as well. You know, it'd be too early to speculate on that issue. You know, concerning intentional or not.
Q: You mentioned that security is being tightened in New York City, Chicago, other large metropolitan areas. Has there been any communication, either on the federal level or the state, to federal officers in the other large metropolitan areas to increase security in those areas (inaudible) Chicago, Los Angeles?
KELLY: Perhaps Jim Fox might be able to answer that question, but we've put that notice out to federal, state and local agencies, and as I say, to major private sector employers here.
Q: Is there anything in that building that could have caused the explosion besides a bomb? Could it possibly have been anything else besides a bomb?
KELLY: We still don't know with absolute certainty, but the feeling is that nothing of a utility nature could cause that magnitude of explosion.
Q: The 19 telephone calls, did they all come into 911?
KELLY: Yes. The calls that we're talking about came into the 911 system.
Q: (Inaudible) the telephone calls, there was a report this morning that one of those calls at least specifically identified the site of the explosion. Can you comment on that? One of the 19 calls specifically identified the (inaudible) of the explosion (inaudible).
KELLY: The question is that one of the calls specifically identified the location of the explosion. I have no knowledge of that, but I want to again re-emphasize the fact that all of the calls came in after the device was detonated.
Q: Any identification on the dead people?
KELLY: We have identification on the dead people, yes. You can get that from our public information office. We release names based on notification to next-of-kin. I'm not certain where that stands.
Q: Can I direct a question to Mr Fox of the FBI, please?
JAMES FOX (FBI): Yes.
Q: Mr Fox, terrorist bombings are very unusual in New York City. Can you tell me the extent of the FBI involvement in the case?
FOX: We have not of course formally declared this a terrorist-related bombing or even a bombing. Our best guess is there's a high probability it is a bombing, it may be terrorist-related. Until we make that determination, it is being investigated by the New York City Police Dept and the other agencies indicated by Commissioner Kelly. If we make the determination it's terrorist-related, then the memorandum of understanding between the FBI and the police comes into effect and it will be handled by the joint terrorist task force composed of FBI agents and New York City detectives.
Q: (Off mike)
FOX: To my knowledge, we received no advance warning of this bombing.
Q: (Off mike)
FOX: I don't really have enough knowledge to tell if this bomb was strategically placed to do exactly what it did. I think the building engineers and other people would have to confer before we could make that determination.
Q: There are 3 people still missing?
KELLY: There are reports that there are 2 people who are unaccounted for.
Q: Who might they be?
KELLY: They are employees of the Port Authority.
STEISEL: We should point out, by the way, that of the 5 known fatalities, 4 were employees of the Port Authority who were in the vicinity and obviously we're very concerned about--have very strong feelings of condolence to their families that they were obviously caught up in this terrible situation.
There were still some missing employees. I think the Port Authority is still trying to confirm if they can find those employees. But that remains to be the case.
Can I come down here again trying to take people who have not yet had an opportunity to ask a question, out of fairness?
Q: (inaudible)
KELLY: The question is do we know how long the car was parked there. We're not in a position to say that a car was involved at this point in time. We don't have that-- certainly there's not enough information to out to the public with.
Q: (inaudible) led you to believe it was a bomb? Could you tell us where they were, how much, and what about that finding would lead you to believe it might have been a bomb?
KELLY: I didn't hear the first part of your question.
Q: You said traces of nitrate found led you to believe that it was a bomb. How much? Where was it found? And what about that finding would lead you to believe it was a bomb?
KELLY: Yes, it was found in some of the rubble. And, as I said before, in and of itself, it would not--and still not conclusive--but when you couple it with the size and the magnitude of the explosion and the amount of heat generated, that's what leads us to believe, in all probability, that it was an explosive device.
Q: Were there security cameras in the basement that might have captured any vehicles or people on film?
KELLY: The question was, were there security cameras in the basement that may have captured some of the people or vehicles. The answer is no, to the best of my knowledge.
Q: Commissioner, is it part of your investigation whether the Vista Hotel or any guest there might have the target of this, rather than the World Trade Center?
KELLY: The question is, as part of the investigation, would that involve the guests who were at the Vista Hotel? Obviously, that might be an aspect of the investigation.
Q: (inaudible) All day long yesterday, we heard it was a bomb. Now today you're telling us it's a bomb. But you keep backing away and putting qualifiers.
Mr Cuomo last night said it was definitely a bomb on--and you keep backing away. What does it take to formally declare that it was a terrorist attack?
KELLY: There is a forensic process that we go through to look at the components of a bomb, look at the substance that--you usually have to analyze it in the lab. And that's why we can't say with absolute certitude. And the reason for that again is, we're unable to get into the immediate location where the bomb was detonated or the device was detonated.
Q: But how does knowing that tell you that it was a terrorist attack? I mean, okay, we find out it was a bomb. What does it take to then carry it the next step--
KELLY: It does not. That's an aspect of the investigation.
Q: So how do you get that information? From the phone calls? I mean, which way are you going on that one?
KELLY: Many, many investigative techniques, the gathering of intelligence information. Obviously we're going to look to some sources. We're going to analyze the calls that were made. There's a whole series of things that will be done to conduct the investigation.
Q: (inaudible)
KELLY: All indications are, as we said, in all probability, it's an explosive device.
Q: (inaudible)
KELLY: Well, there's a possibility of some sort of utility involvement. But most people who are familiar with these types of things say that the size, the magnitude, the force of the explosion, would make that unlikely.
Q: (inaudible question about emotions produced by the incident in the aftermath) People are ticked off that this could happen. How would you address those feelings among the people?
NEW YORK GOVERNOR MARIO CUOMO: First of all, you recall accurately I said yesterday, last night I think, in a couple of places, that from all the information I had, I believed that it was a bomb. I said nothing about terrorist attacks, although that might a pretty good guess as well.
I also said let's wait until tomorrow over the press conference to hear from the experts, including the commissioner of police for the state of New York and the FBI. And that's what you're heard.
And just to sum it up in my own layman language, what the police commissioners told you is what I was told yesterday and what I saw for myself today. There is an immense crater. It's very difficult to imagine what else could have done it, other than a bomb. But you cannot now prove that it's a bomb because you don't have fragments; you haven't had time to do it.
And so these, the best law enforcement people in the world perhaps, are telling you that we'll give you a certain conclusion when we can prove it. It looks like a bomb; it smells like a bomb; it's probably a bomb. And they're said that to you. And that's what I said yesterday.
As far as apprehension is concerned, we all have that feeling, that feeling of being violated. It is still true that this is the safest place in the world, that you have the best law enforcement people, the best fire service people, the best public employees, the best federal investigative unit in the whole world--all of them working together. You will have now heightened security in every way that it can be heightened. You will have on the state side-- I assume this will happen with other governments as well-- all state officials working harder to enforce codes, working more diligently at every security measure that you can take. All of that will be done. And so what used to be the safest place in the world will be safer still.
And what do you say? You say thank God that, although there are a lot of tragedies, 5 lost lives, there were only 5 lost lives. And if this were some mad terrorist attack in a building with 55,000 people, that still only the 5 people who were right next to the explosion were killed, and we're grateful for that.
The significant part of the statement that the commissioner read that I would underscore for you specifically with regard to your question: fear is another weapon that is used against you. And that's what terrorists are all about, if these were terrorists. And what they're trying to do is deny you normalcy. And what we must do in this safest and greatest city and state and nation in the world is return as quickly as we can to normalcy. Take every precaution you can possibly take--and no one can do more than the people up here who have spoken to you already. Be as safe and secure as you can be and get back to normalcy as soon as possible.
Q: Governor, I also say that not only is there a sense of apprehension but also some anger that--
GOVERNOR CUOMO: The answer to the anger, first of all, there were questions about the Port Authority. And Governor Florio and I have had those answered and I thought Stan Brezenoff did a good job of answering those questions. There were concerns. You know, why wasn't there communication, et cetera?
As to a power or person or force externally killing Americans here in New York and the anger that that brings is the anger that you have when anyone is killed by anyone. And the answer to it is to find out who did it, apprehend the people who did it and punish them as your law allows you to. And that's essential. it is absolutely essential that we discover the person that did it--or persons--and that they be punished--not out of vindictiveness to relieve the anger but out of deterrence to let people know you cannot do this with impunity in this place. And that's the best response I think to the anger.
Q: (inaudible) all of you are gathered here, and the probability is that this was a bomb. Isn't this a new day, a new world (inaudible) in America was bombed?
GOVERNOR CUOMO: This is a new problem, John. I will grant you that it's a new problem. But this is a place that has faced every conceivable problem that there was--depressions, attacks. We have built a whole country from New York. We ought to be capable of dealing with this new problem as well.
NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR FLORIO: I guess the only thing I would add is that, first and foremost, I am tremendously impressed with the professionalism that's been brought to the task of attempting to start the process of the investigation, not only to find out who it is that's responsible, what it is that's happened; but also to start thinking through the remedial measures that are required so as to prevent and to protect people in the future from this type of thing.
I think in difficult times, we see the best come out, and we're seeing that in the law enforcement people, the health people and everyone else.
On your point about whether there's something that's new that's happening. I don't know. But I think all of us have a responsibility to make sure that we find out because if we are entering into a new chapter in American society's being- -I mean, one that we've been free from in the past--we've not had to experience these types of things--if it turns out to be that it is what are some are speculating about--and if it is, as a society, we're going to have to start thinking about things like access to weapons and explosives and guns and things of that sort with more focused attention than perhaps we have in the past.
But I guess that I just want to caution that all of us make sure that we provide to the professionals the opportunity to find out exactly what it is that we're dealing with. There's nothing worse than speculation on a short period of time. We ought to find out and then deal with it in a very vigorous and a very vigilant way.
Q: (inaudible) the possibility that this was before. If you're looking at this, isn't this a compound that is generally used by terrorists where someone, for example, someone bent on anger, may have used a lead pipe, a lead bomb? Can you explain the significance of the type of explosive that you believe you discovered at the site?
FOX: I don't think anyone has suggested officially that C-4 was the explosive device used. C-4 is readily available. It's frequently used by terrorists. But in this case, we're not saying that at all. We're not coming close to even hinting it was C-4.
Q: (inaudible)
FOX: I am saying I cannot confirm that at all, no.
Q: (inaudible) or Commissioner Kelly--whichever is best able to answer this question--I'm wondering what the process is now, once the forensic people can get access to where this device is or was. Do they try to put it back together? Do they try to reassemble a car, if that's what it was in? What's the process.
KELLY: Well, that's probably one of the aspects of the investigations where you would try to reconstruct. You find evidence. You find perhaps what chemicals, what explosives were used, if it shows trends used by groups or individuals- -that sort of thing, It all helps in the investigative process.
Q: Are the nitrates that were found generally purchased in the form in which they were found or are they derivatives of some other things that are purchased and then turned into nitrates after an explosion? (inaudible)
KELLY: I'm not able to--I don't have the knowledge to discuss that. We can find out some more information for you.
Q: (inaudible question about Port Authority) It also operates some of the most vulnerable facilities around here- -airports, for example--and it is immune, by statute at least of New York--to certain local laws. Is there now going to be a push on your part to make it subject to local regulation, fire codes and police (inaudible)?
GOVERNOR CUOMO: The question is whether or not you need to be subject to local regulation in order to make the building safer, and that hasn't been established for me. We're still looking at the building. We don't have a report on exactly how it fared in all of this, whether or not there was anything about compliance with current codes. If it's not in compliance, that would have made a difference. So I can't add to that question for you until we know more about the situation.
I am confident that the Port Authority will now do everything it can, number one, to correct the situation at the Towers, to do what it has to do to deal with the emergency problem that it obviously had. And at the same time, we will, as Commissioner Kelly suggested, take prudent steps now to intensify security measures at all Port at the Port Authority to handle.
GOVERNOR FLORIO: And I would just add that common sense would dictate that whatever we have to do, upon the federal investigation that I know will take place, we will do. If it entails greater effort to heighten the Port Authority's activities, we will do that. If there's a need to supplement that with state or local responsibilities, even by changing the compact, there isn't anyone who's not going to do everything that is possible to be able to correct anything that needs to be corrected or to take the precautions necessary for common sense and public safety.
Thank you.
STEISEL: I want to thank you all. I think most of the questions have been covered and all of the people here have a lot of work to do in various activities that they're involved in, and we appreciate your attendance.
I want to say I was remiss in not acknowledging the contribution of Consolidated Edison and their chairman and chief executive officer. Gene McGrath (phonetic) joined us today. They were very important in helping restore power to the facilities. Thank you very much.
(END NEWS CONFERENCE)