In 2001 it was estimated that , if kept open , the landfill would have eventually become the highest point on the East Coast . Under local pressure and with support of the United States Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) , the landfill site was closed on March 22 , 2001 , but it was soon reopened due to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan in 2001 . Virtually all the wreckage and debris , including all remains of the dead that were not detected at the recovery site , had to be sent to the temporarily reopened landfill for examination . Thousands of detectives and forensic evidence specialists worked for over 1.7 million hours at Fresh Kills Landfill to try to recover remnants of the 2,749 people killed in the attacks . A final count of 4,257 human remains were recovered . From those , 300 people were identified ; the City 's Chief Medical Examiner retains custody of all still-unidentified remains at a facility within the National 9/11 Memorial in Manhattan . A memorial is being built to honor those who were not able to be identified in all of the debris from the attack . The debris was then buried in a portion of the landfill ; it is highly likely that this debris still contains undetected , fragmentary human remains . Afterward , the landfill facility was closed permanently , in anticipation of the park on the site
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Freshkills Park