Poll: 48% of New Yorkers Support Investigation of WTC 7

NEW YORK CITY — Amid its June 6th launch of 425 advertising spots on New York television, Remember Building 7 – an advocacy campaign calling for a new investigation into the collapse of a third skyscraper on 9/11 – has released findings from a new poll it commissioned on what New Yorkers believe about that day.

The May polling of 643 New Yorkers (including respondents in all of New York City’s five boroughs) by the independent Siena Research Institute shows meaningful levels of doubt and concern regarding the truth about what happened that day, with only 60 percent of New Yorkers ready to “move on”, and 48 percent in favor of the Manhattan District Attorney or New York City Council opening a new investigation into the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7.

The poll finds:

• 1 in 3 New Yorkers were unaware of Building 7’s collapse (the skyscraper was not hit by an airplane; it collapsed seven hours after the Twin Towers), only 25 percent have ever seen video footage of the collapse, and 86 percent were unable to name the building;

• Of those aware of Building 7’s collapse, 24 percent believe it was a controlled demolition that brought the building down, 23 percent are unsure, and 49 percent believe it was caused by fires;

• 36 percent of all respondents are inclined to believe critics who argue against the government’s explanation that the collapse was caused by fires, including a group of 1,500 architects and engineers who say no steel-framed skyscraper has ever succumbed to fire. Forty percent are inclined to believe the government’s account, and 23 percent are unsure;

• 48 percent of those polled are in favor of a new investigation into Building 7’s collapse, compared to 44 percent opposed and 8 percent who don’t know or refused to answer.

• 28 percent — more than 1 in 4 — believe the Twin Towers were brought down with explosives or some other demolition devices in addition to being hit by airplanes.

• In sum, 36 percent say they are “not satisfied that we know the whole truth about that day, and it is time to get to the bottom of what happened,” versus 60 percent who ten years later say they are “satisfied that we understand well enough what happened and it’s time to move on.”

The poll findings can be found at www.siena.edu/sri/research and the Remember Building 7 campaign site, www.RememberBuilding7.org.

The 30-second advertising spots produced for Remember Building 7 feature 9/11 family members, architects and engineers who call for more information about how Building 7 collapsed. Video of the building’s free-fall is shown. (The spot, second in a series that began last September, may be viewed at www.RememberBuilding7.org) The spots are airing in the New York area through June 26 on fifteen different cable channels, including New York 1 News, MSNBC, CNN, Comedy Central, HGTV, Logo, Bio, MSG, YES, VH1, CNBC and Bravo, among others.

$100,000 used to purchase the spots was raised from contributions made through the RememberBuilding7.org site.

“As we approach the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, it is important to note that there are significant numbers of people who still don’t feel their questions have been fully answered,” says Manny Badillo, Director of Outreach for the New York City Coalition for Accountability Now (NYC CAN), a co-sponsor of the Remember Building 7 campaign. The other cosponsor, Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth (AE911Truth), has gathered over 1,500 signatures from architects and engineers who say the government’s 2008 account by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of Building 7’s collapse is physically impossible, and that its fall was due to a controlled demolition.

Badillo, a former member of the U.S. Air Force, lost his uncle on 9/11 and appears in the TV ad. He says that the government has not answered 70 percent of 9/11 families’ questions about what happened that day.

“The story of 9/11 is not complete without the voices of patriotic Americans who question the official account of what happened on 9/11. Our world has never been the same since then – it’s time for more information,” states Badillo.

William Brinnier, a New York architect who also appears in the TV spot, notes, “It’s remarkable that 1 out of 3 people don’t know a third building collapsed on 9/11, but it’s encouraging to see that when they are informed of the 1,500 architects and engineers who question the government’s findings, more people support a new investigation than don’t.”

Brinnier lost a friend, WTC construction manager Frank DeMartini, who was responsible for rescuing people from the Twin Towers before his death there on 9/11.