‘How could we build over dead bodies?’ Some Surfside families want a memorial
Before Saturday’s official remembrance of the 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse, some relatives of the 98 who died at that Surfside spot expressed their anger at all levels and angles of the government response:
Recovery. Investigation. A memorial and future use of the site.
An hour before the official remembrance and half a block south, Martin Langesfeld — whose sister Nicole Langesfeld and brother-in-law Luis Sadovnic died in the collapse — spoke the displeasure felt by some families. Langesfeld was joined by members of September’s Mission, a nonprofit formed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 for helping natural and civil disasters victims.
And National Institute for Standards and Technology’s June 15 release of its collapse investigation’s preliminary findings didn’t necessarily help mollify their anger.
“How is it possible that a building collapses in the middle of the night in 12 seconds, where you feel the safest in your own home and ends up like this?” Langesfeld said. “How is it possible that after NIST gets allocated over $22 million the only answers they give us is a hypothesis is the reason for this collapse is there are violations in place from Day 1?”
Developer Damac International has submitted plans to the city for buidling a 57-unit, 12-story building on the site.
“How could we build over dead bodies in America?” Langesfeld said while standing in a grassy area across Collins Avenue from where his sister died. “It’s not public information, but we received 33% of my sister Nicky’s body. Where is the rest? Simply vanished in the hole behind me. And, Surfside calls it respect to add another luxurious building? That is not respect.
“It’s hard to accept the fact that there’s going to be a another building on that site, but we’re not trying to stop that building from going up,” he continued. “What we’re trying to do is incorporate a memorial on the site of the collapse and work with the developer in a respectful way, where the city of Surfside and the developer can look out for his profit holders. And, we, the families, can look for our respect.”