More Tapes From 9/11: ‘They Have Exits in There?’
The recordings were released in response to a freedom of information request for a variety of city records made by The New York Times in January 2002. After the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg refused to release the records, citing privacy and law-enforcement concerns, families of Sept. 11 victims joined a lawsuit filed by The Times. The state Court of Appeals ruled more than a year ago that most of the material should be disclosed, but agreed with the city’s position that the voices of callers to the 911 system should not be made public, citing privacy considerations. One batch of records was released in March, but because of what Mayor Bloomberg called a “breakdown” at the Fire Department, many other recordings were not collected until recently.