Council To Debate Removal of Human Remains

The city would be responsible for removing human remains from trauma scenes on city property under legislation being debated today at the City Council.

At present, no clear guidelines govern the removal of such remains, said Council Member Michael Nelson, who along with council members John Liu and Vincent Gentile is proposing the bill.

Under the proposal, in cases involving private property, police and fire department workers would be required to help residents and owners find appropriate cleaning services and apply for state money to pay for them.

Mr. Nelson, a Democrat of Brooklyn, said yesterday that he decided to address the removal of remains after seeing violent crime scenes in his borough left unattended.

"I was surprised to hear that if blood was left, if there were any body particles, it was seemingly no one's responsibility to clean it up," he said. "Those images always went through my mind."