NEW ORLEANS — Like a gravesite, they came to pay their respects. Angela Magrette's family managed to lay her brother, Anthony, to rest, but the bodies of the two other men who died in the Hard Rock collapse in October are still in the rubble.
"This hurts my family, every day, knowing that building is still there. I don't understand why they don't take it down. Take it down! Get them out, and take it down," Angela Magrette said.
The planned take down of the Hard Rock is supposed to start next month, but in the roughly four months since the deadly disaster, the damage is more than just physical.
Political friction has developed between the mayor and the city council over the response and the respective investigations of the collapse. The owner of the site is claiming it's not responsible for what happened.
There's also the financial toll. So far, it’s cost the city north of 11-million dollars to maintain and secure the Hard Rock. The list can go on, but the families of Quinnyon Wimberly and Jose Ponce Arreola cannot.
Their remains are still on site.
"Don't forget about Quinn. Don't forget about Jose. I want to know how people put their head to the pillow at night knowing that things like that happen,” said Rubia Garcia, an activist.
Family and advocates of the victims say each passing day brings more insult to already grievous injury.
"There were seven Segway tours that stopped here, and then when they're giving these tours, they're profiting off this. In a couple of weeks, there will be millions of people walking through the streets of New Orleans," said Garcia.
In demolishing what's left, there is, of course, concern for the safety and the integrity of what surrounds the area. For the families, they demand concern for the integrity of their loved ones.
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