New York City plans to start sifting through earth and debris recovered from the World Trade Center site on Monday to look for the remains of victims from the attacks of September 11, 2001, officials said on Friday.

The city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Friday advised families of the dead about the new sifting operation, the first since 2010, a spokeswoman said in a statement.

The Medical Examiner’s office has identified remains of 1,634 people out of 2,752 killed when suicide hijackers crashed into the twin towers, leaving more than 1,000 families without any physical remains of those who died.

After the initial cleanup of the site, the city scaled back operations to search for remains, drawing criticism from families of the dead, who said they could not properly grieve. The city widened its search again in 2006.

The next search will comb through 590 cubic yards (451 cubic meters) of excavated material taken from and near the World Trade Center site, said Caswell Halloway, deputy mayor for operations, in a memo to Mayor Michael Bloomberg made public by the Medical Examiner’s office.

Much of the site known as Ground Zero is a construction zone for new skyscrapers and a memorial where the twin towers once stood.

The building under construction known as One World Trade Center has surpassed the Empire State Building as the tallest in New York and, when completed, would be the tallest in the Western Hemisphere at 1,776 feet.

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A 34-year-old Brooklyn man has been charged with murder in connection with two bodies that were found in a fire in Howard Beach last week, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.

Rogelio Rodriguez of Brooklyn is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with evidence.

The bodies of Gary Lopez and Rudy Superville, both of Brooklyn, were found in a fire in a grassy area off the Belt Parkway in Howard Beach on March 6 after firefighters had responded to a call about a fire. The Medical Examiner said both men sustained blunt force trauma as well as gunshot wounds. Superville also sustained stab wounds to the back and neck.

Police said they believe the victims were trying to steal drugs from Rodriguez’ apartment when they were attacked, according to The New York Times.

Sometime after midnight on March 7, Rodriguez dumped seven firearms in Newton Creek in Maspeth, Queens, including two weapons that were used in the murders of Lopez and Superville, according to the District Attorney’s office.

Police are still searching for at least three other suspects who were involved in the murders.

The post Man charged in connection with bodies found in Howard Beach fire appeared first on Metro.us.

Police are searching for the occupants of three separate vehicles spotted near the location where cops discovered two dead bodies in a fire in Howard Beach early Wednesday.

Upon putting out a fire in a grassy area near 159th Avenue and 78th Street, responders discovered the burned bodies of Rudy Superville, 22, and Gary Lopez, 25, both of Brooklyn.

The individuals inside a two-toned dark-colored custom van, a light-colored sedan and a dark-colored sedan are being sought for questioning in the investigation. Images of the vehicles were obtained near 157th Avenue and 83rd Street.

The post Police search for possible suspects seen near Howard Beach fire appeared first on Metro.us.

Police are investigating after two burned bodies were discovered as responders put out a brush fire in Queens.

Two adults were found around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday in a grassy area off the Belt Parkway in Howard Beach, police said today.

According to police, officials responded to a 911 call near 159th Avenue and 78th Street, where they discovered a brush fire in an undeveloped grassy area.

In the grass, they found the bodies of two black men, cops said.

The medical examiner is determining the cause of death.

Police are investigating

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