WTC Memorial - by Michael Arad (Architect) and Peter Walker (Landscape)

[Merry]

9/11 Memorial at Center of a Tussle

Two Governors Feud With the Mayor Over Control of Decision Making Related to Attack Anniversaries and the Public Plaza

By JENNIFER MALONEY, TED MANN and MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL

The governors of New York and New Jersey are trying to wrest control from Mayor Michael Bloomberg over events and other decisions at the 9/11 Memorial, including the annual ceremonies marking the terrorist attacks' anniversary, according to people familiar with the discussions between the city and the Port Authority.

The proposal, strongly opposed by Mr. Bloomberg's administration, has derailed an agreement to resume construction on the unfinished 9/11 Museum, which has hung in limbo since September. The tug of war pits the Port Authority—controlled jointly by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie—against Mr. Bloomberg, the chairman of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation, whose administration has choreographed each anniversary ceremony since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

At stake is stewardship over the 9/11 Memorial plaza—a site that is at once a sacred, public space, a piece of property owned by the Port Authority, and a memorial entrusted to a nonprofit organization.

In interviews, multiple Port Authority officials said they weren't seeking to micromanage the museum or the schedule of events at the memorial plaza.

But they expressed a growing frustration: After nearly 11 years, the Port Authority wants greater say over its most famous site. They are proposing an oversight group that includes representatives for the governors, the city and victims' families that would monitor the foundation, including its finances.

A spokesman for Mr. Christie declined to comment, as did the mayor's office. Josh Vlasto, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, said: "No one is trying to take control. This is a financial dispute." He said it is unclear whether the foundation will be able to cover its projected costs. "There are no more big anniversary ceremonies going forward, and the mayor is going to be gone."

Both governors recently asked the National Park Service to help manage and fund the site.

In a statement, Port Authority Chairman David Samson said: "We all hope the federal government will play a role as requested by the governors. But until that happens, I think the board and the Port Authority have a special responsibility to pay attention to the security and the respect that this special site deserves."

A more delicate sticking point, amid a clash of forceful personalities, is the view that Mr. Bloomberg seeks to be the final arbiter of the memorial and its affairs. "Michael Bloomberg doesn't own 9/11," a Port Authority official said.

"Insults and attacks won't get the memorial built," a city official said. "Mayor Bloomberg stepped in when the project had stalled and raised $450 million to build the memorial. Now it's time to put politics aside and get the museum built."

Last year—before the nationally televised 10th anniversary ceremony—Mr. Cuomo pushed for the chance to deliver his own remarks instead of reading a passage, which had been the tradition. Mr. Christie's administration requested the addition of a speaking role for Mr. Samson and criticized Mr. Bloomberg for excluding Donald DiFrancesco, New Jersey's governor at the time of the attacks.

In the end, Mr. Cuomo read a quotation. Mr. Samson didn't speak, and Mr. DiFrancesco was invited to participate.

The anniversary ceremony isn't the only issue in dispute, but it is the most politically sensitive. Already, there is concern among family members that the event will be significantly scaled back now that the 10th anniversary has passed.

Mr. Bloomberg is undecided on whether the recitation of the names of the dead—the most somber portion of the ceremony—will be included in the program this year.

Monica Iken, who lost her husband in the attacks and is a member of the foundation board, said: "The names have to be read. He knows that. He knows that."

Beyond that, no agreement dictates the terms of the foundation's relationship with the agency.

The idea of greater oversight was first raised by the Port Authority at a May 30 meeting attended by officials from that agency, the city and the foundation.

At a June 19 meeting at City Hall, the Port Authority presented more details on its proposal, arguing that this new body should have an advisory role over events on the memorial's public plaza as well as financial oversight of the foundation, according to people familiar with the talks.

Port Authority executives sought a meeting with the full board of the foundation to press their case for a permanent management body for the site but were rebuffed by the foundation's leadership, officials said.

Meanwhile, the tussle has held up completion of the 9/11 Museum, which had been scheduled to open in September. Construction had been delayed because of an argument between the Port Authority and the foundation over the sharing of construction costs.

The Port Authority's claim of $156 million and the foundation's counterclaim of $140 million was resolved in a financial agreement reached weeks ago. Under the terms of the deal, the foundation would pay $20 million up front for the Port Authority to complete the museum, followed by a series of smaller payments tied to the completion of the museum by a deadline, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. It also includes a revenue-sharing agreement.

The deal has now been tabled. More than 200 relatives of Sept. 11 victims signed a scathing letter to Messrs. Cuomo and Christie Wednesday calling the delay "a betrayal."

Mr. Bloomberg, speaking Thursday, said there has been no substantial progress on the museum for nearly a year.

"What we need to do is get this back on track," he said. "Gov. Cuomo and [Gov. Christie] have to get together and say to the Port Authority, 'Come on! Let's get serious…It has to get done for the region and for America.' Let's stop all this shilly shallying and just do it. There's nothing substantive between us left."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...s_newyork_news

[Amanita]

Wow..I just got caught up reading this thread, and sadly, I can't say I'm surprised. A disturbing number of kids these days seem to think that showing any sort of respect for other people, or other people's space just isn't cool.

On a travel forum about NYC, I got soundly raked over the coals by some of the posters, for wanting to pay respects in a manner appropriate to my faith, contrary to the opinions of another poster, who felt that EVERYONE who wanted to pray at the site should be redirected to St Paul's. He just didn't get that such a proposal wouldn't work for the non Christians who visit the site. Overall, I got chewed out for a host of "offenses"- wanting to pray at the site, daring to speak positively of the original WTC towers, and so on. And I wasn't the only one- other people looking to pay respects before the memorial was opened also got chewed on, their motives called into question by locals, with axes to grind about "disrespectful tourists". Some of the posters seem so nasty and hateful of tourists that I wonder why the heck they post on a travel forum at all! Really, if all they're going to do is spew the equivalent of "Get off my lawn", why bother?

So after all that ado over "prurient, rubbernecking tourists", it's a group of local students who show up, act like brats, and disgust the tourists with their antics, not the other way around.
And yes, I would be disgusted if I saw somebody throw their trash on the floor of Grand Central, or on the ground in Times Square or Central Park too. My parents taught me to respect other people and public space, shame that seems to be going out of fashion.

[lofter1]

All sorts of new stuff has been loaded up onto the roof of the Memorial Pavilion.

Shots from the KPI TV cam, from Wednesday 6/27 (top) and Friday 6/29:

[BigMac]

(Joe Woolhead)

[londonlawyer]

This is beautiful. It will be nice when this is fully open to the public.

[IrishInNYC]

(fabi_k on Flickr)

Lifetime ban.

[BigMac]

New York Post
July 4, 2012

Wounded vets visit September 11 Memorial

Associated Press


Army Sgt. Brendan Marrocco of Staten Island, left, Marine Cpl. Todd Love of Atlanta, Ga, center, and Marine Cpl. Juan Dominguez of Deming, N.M., pose for a picture at the 9/11 Memorial in New York today.

Brendan Marrocco was a high school student on Staten Island on Sept. 11, 2001, when the terrorism attack on the World Trade Center set in motion historic events that would define his life in devastating ways.

More than a decade later, Marrocco spent the July 4th holiday visiting the Sept. 11 Memorial — now as a U.S. Army veteran who lost all his limbs fighting in Iraq.

"Being a New Yorker, it's just great to see it," Marrocco said while sitting in a wheelchair at the lip of one of the two mammoth reflecting pools that dominate the site where the twin towers once stood.

Marrocco, 25, was among about a dozen disabled soldiers invited to visit ground zero Wednesday ahead of the usual throng of tourists. The visit was intended to salute servicemen — many of them triple or quadruple amputees — who survived the post-9/11 wars to become miracles of modern medicine, and to promote two charities raising money to reward them with custom-built homes.

It was one of several events across the state marking the nation's 236th birthday with a mixture of pyrotechnics, parades and living history — a celebration capped by the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks show off Manhattan.

In all, 40,000 aerial shells will be launched from five barges beginning at 9:25 p.m. Organizers say preparations began as soon as last year's display ended.

"Nobody really needs to know the behind-the-scenes that goes into play," said Amy Kule, the show's executive producer. "They don't need to know the year of planning. They don't need to know how much (time) we spend out in the sun, packing all of the fireworks. ... The only thing they need to do is enjoy."

The disabled soldiers' visit to ground zero was organized by the Gary Sinise Foundation — started by the actor who played the amputee character Lieutenant Dan in the film "Forrest Gump" — and by The Stephen Stiller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, named after a New York City firefighter who died responding to the 9/11 attack. The charities are working together to build so-called "smart homes" that allow the wounded veterans to lead more independent lives.

Marrocco recently moved into one of the homes on Staten Island with his brother.

"It's just a relief to not have to rely on other people so much," said Marrocco, whose arms and legs were blown off by a roadside bomb in April 2009.

John Peck, a 25-year-old Marine from Chicago who lost all his limbs in Afghanistan in 2010, is waiting for a home to be completed in Virginia. Though still in constant pain after weaning himself off painkillers, he said he took comfort on Wednesday in being around veterans who share the same challenges — away from the "rude weird stares" he often gets when out in public.

"I sometimes don't like hanging out with people who aren't missing anything," he said.

Still, both Peck and Marrocco said they have no regrets.

"If I was only minus one leg, I'd try to go back," Peck said of his experience.

Said Marrocco: "I wouldn't change it in any way. ... I feel great. I'm still the same person."

Marrocco "totally rejects that hero stuff," said his father, Alex. "In his mind, he was just doing his job."

Copyright 2012 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.

[mariab]

Puts some of my normal bs problems way in the back where they belong.

[BigMac]

(Elziangate on deviantART)

[Sherpa]

.

[Sherpa]

.

[londonlawyer]

Does one still need reservations to access this?

[lofter1]

Yep. Timed entry only, with full security scan.

[londonlawyer]

That stinks. I can't wait for the day when one can simply walk there at lunchtime and enjoy it.

[BigMac]

New York Post
July 8, 2012

9/11 families say National Park Service should take over memorial and museum

By KATE BRIQUELET


RIFT:The projected costs of running the World Trade Center Memorial have split the families of 9/11 victims.

Divided they stand.

Families of 9/11 victims are demanding a federal takeover of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum — clashing with others who support the mayor’s vision for the site.

Retired FDNY Deputy Fire Chief Jim Riches says the National Park Service must take control of the monument to keep it running in the long term.

“This is not the New York City 9/11 memorial. This is the American national memorial,” said Riches, head of the 9/11 Parents & Families of Firefighters and WTC Victims. “Let’s go with the guys who know what they’re doing.”

The museum’s construction was halted last year over a financial dispute between the Port Authority, which owns the site, and the foundation that runs the museum and memorial. The foundation is chaired by Mayor Bloomberg.

Riches is calling for the PA to sidestep the mayor and work with the feds directly. He said this would allow the Park Service to take over once the foundation’s operating license expires in September 2013.

Gov. Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are trying to get funding and technical help from the agency, but Riches said it’s not enough.

His group is pushing for the foundation to become strictly a fund-raising arm.

He blasted the monument’s projected $60 million annual operating cost and the $400,000 salary of the foundation’s board president, Joe Daniels.

“We want transparency and accountability,” said Riches, whose son, Jimmy, a firefighter, died in the World Trade Center attack. “We don’t want people getting rich off this.”

But Debra Burlingame, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America, said a takeover would be an insult to the foundation, which raised $450 million for the memorial.

“For the Park Service to come in now doesn’t make sense,” said Burlingame, a foundation board member whose brother was the pilot aboard the jet that struck the Pentagon.

Julie Wood, a Bloomberg spokeswoman, said a handover would mire the site in political infighting.

“The majority of family members just want the museum open already,” Wood said.

Other activists hope the Park Service would better honor 9/11 victims.

Sally Regenhard, whose son, Christian, a firefighter, died at the WTC, is outraged at plans to put the remains of unidentified victims in the museum walls instead of an above-ground tomb.

“There’s no honor for my son, who remains missing,” said Regenhard, a member of 9/11 Parents & Families of Firefighters. “It’s so dysfunctional and so horrific.

“We need the National Park Service to not only operate it and manage it in a fiscally responsible manner but to bring respect and dignity.”

Copyright 2012 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.