Posted on 01/03/2006 9:10:20 AM PST by Wuli
As seen New York Daily News, 1/2/2006 by 9/11 family members Anthony Gardner & Particia Reilly:
New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com Memory lapse By ANTHONY GARDNER and PATRICIA REILLY Monday, January 2nd, 2006
Congress and U.S. taxpayers gave the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. $2.78 billion to redevelop the World Trade Center site, entrusting them with the duty of building a magnificent memorial to the victims of Sept. 11, 2001. Just months before construction of the memorial is slated to begin, the LMDC is offering the American public a bargain basement version of Michael Arad's "Reflecting Absence."
The LMDC's latest iteration of Arad's design is one that is 31% smaller than the original, and the central waterfalls - the most powerful design feature - will only operate nine months out of the year. LMDC continues to shrink the memorial despite the fact the original design was too small to accommodate the estimated millions who will make a pilgrimage to the site. The memorial is being built with only one way in and one way out, putting the safety and security of future visitors in peril.
It is insulting that with all of the financial resources at its disposal the LMDC would try to foist an ever-shrinking memorial on the American people and then ask them to pay for it.
The fact that LMDC failed to consider the extra costs involved with heating the memorial's massive waterfalls so they may flow in the winter months reflects its gross mismanagement of the redevelopment. As reported in the Daily News, LMDC has misspent millions in tax dollars on projects completely unrelated to Sept. 11, such as giving $10 million to SoHo's Drawing Center and funding the pet projects of wealthy elites who serve on the LMDC board as they continue to shrink the memorial and refuse to pay heating bills.
Take Back the Memorial, an alliance of major Sept. 11 family groups, began at a time when LMDC's lack of focus nearly led to the placement of the International Freedom Center on sacred ground. Now, to the detriment of future visitors to the memorial, it appears that money has followed LMDC's misplaced priorities as evidenced by the allocation of $50 million to an unrelated cultural facility. Millions have also been spent on the Snohetta building design and we still don't know what it will contain, if it is even built at all.
We would like to be able to say that the WTC Memorial Foundation should take over, but some changes need to be made first. The foundation has said that the memorial is the priority, but actions speak louder than words. Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg, both members of the foundation's board, have yet to make a personal donation to the memorial.
It seems evident that the cultural facilities, not the memorial, are the true priority of some individuals who have been charged with building the memorial. The majority of Sept. 11 families are withholding donations until America gets a memorial design it deserves, one that preserves our national heritage, provides for the safety of visitors and honors the dead by telling their story without distraction.
We want a memorial that isn't crammed into a basement space, hidden from the light of day. We want public access to the physical remains of the twin tower footprints at bedrock.
The WTC Memorial Foundation must focus its attention on the Sept. 11 memorial. Board members whose priority is not the memorial must be replaced. As long as their focus remains on extraneous cultural matters they will continue to have difficulty raising funds.
LMDC, which must get its priorities straight, would benefit from new leadership. If changes aren't made fast in both the LMDC and the WTC Memorial Foundation, they will not only fail to honor those who died at that site on Sept. 11, 2001, but they will continue to fail us all. ---------------------------- Gardner and Reilly, who lost family members in the World Trade Center attack, are co-organizers of the Take Back the Memorial campaign.
Thanks. I believe www.takebackthememorial.org is still finctioning, and is a good clearing house of info as well.
(Maybe it's mentioned in the article already - I only skimmed it.)
Trying to sneak the International "Freedom" Center in through the back door is what this looks like to me.
Thanks for posting this. I want the memory of those who perished in the attack to be foremost. I would love to see the Twin Towers be rebuilt exactly as they were, but leaving the footprints of the original intact. That is hallowed ground IMHO.
On Dec.30 I had the good fortune to be in NYC riding a subway with some visitors from Manchester, England who had just returned from visiting Ground Zero. They were clearly somber after their experience there, same as I was the last time I was there two years ago. They felt the chill go down their spine, and said it was frightening to them to consider the lives that were snuffed out.
The thought process of NYC residents is disturbing in itself. I live in New Hampshire and am a Bush supporting for one reason and one reason only: He is waging war which is supposed to happen after we are attacked by enemies. The though process of NYC residents is to bash Bush and vote for the flip-flop guy Kerry advocating 'engagement through peaceful dialogue'. Kerry voted war most of his career but flip-flopped on our troops in Iraq as we all know. That backward thought process of NYC residents is driving the failure of the current memorial. We should assign the design to residents of a different state that feel we should wage war against our enemies and honor our war dead.
"Thanks for posting this. I want the memory of those who perished in the attack to be foremost. I would love to see the Twin Towers be rebuilt exactly as they were, but leaving the footprints of the original intact. That is hallowed ground IMHO."
I feel the same way, but rebuild them two stories higher... That is the message we want to give, defiance that we shall prevail and that our brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers will always be remembered.
I completely agree. 9/11 changed my whole perspective on everything. What we experienced as a nation and as citizens of the world was so intense. The memory of those who perished that day, and the way that they were taken, will never be forgotten.
You want an experience ? Be glad you didn't have mine, or worse still, that of a former co-worker. . .
I was working in Arlington, Virginia on 9/11. We were all gathered around the TV set in the Briefing Room, shocked at what was going on in DC. Then we heard a jet fly by the building, far lower and faster than normal, and 10-15 seconds later the building shook. . .and a few seconds after that . . we heard an explosion.
My boss looked at me (I was the only Veteran in the company) and asked me what I thought it was. . .
I told him it was either the Pentagon or, God Forbid, the White House. About 30 seconds later, the local radio station announced that the Pentagon had been hit.
That, however, was nothing, compared to a former co-worker of mine: she was looking out the window of her office, and SAW the plane hit the Pentagon.
Needless to say, neither of us will be forgetting 9/11 anytime soon. . .
I am grateful that I only watched in horror from afar. I'm sure it was just awful for you and your friend. I can't imagine being right there. Like I said, my perspective of the world and of life has changed since then. Evil became apparent in a new way.
Oh, I knew the Evil was out there. . . I had no idea of its' sheer size and scope until 9/11.
The drive home that day was interesting. I drove in to Pentagon City (just west of the Pentagon Reservation in Arlington) to evac out a friend who lived there.
In the process, I picked up 6-7 GIs who were stranded (they weren't allowed back into the parking lots to get their cars. . .). The ride home was MOST instructive. . .
If Donald Trump was in charge, it would be built back the way it was already.
Who's in charge of this clusterf#@k?
Whoever it is, " You're fired!"
Your comments lead to a point we should advocate - get the U.S. Congress to step in and take over control of the funding and building of the memorial and the 9/11 museum at Ground Zero.
The TakeBackTheMemorial group is still functioning, but when they make new announcements or get mentioned in the news I bring their stuff here so that all Freepers can be informed of the latest Ground Zero memorial developments; and take action when needed.
Great idea!
"Your comments lead to a point we should advocate - get the U.S. Congress to step in and take over control of the funding and building of the memorial and the 9/11 museum at Ground Zero."
I agree. One of the freepers here must have the facts on the missapropriation of funds. This should be made public by providing it to the national media on, such as MSNBC or Fox for special segment. Then once it has aired, hopefully someone here on FR such as Jim Robinson can provide some direction in getting this issue in front of Congress.
I am suggesting this approach to the TakeBackTheMemorial group (www.TakeBackTheMemorial.com).
They are the ones who spearheaded the public drive to get the IFC out of the Ground Zero memorial site (hopefully permanently). I think it is becoming apparent to them that left to the NYCity/State GOP and other NYCity/State politicians, the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero will be either (1)downgraded, (2)imposed on with non-9/11 "memorial" agendas, (3)reduced to insignifigance in size and scope, (4)relegated to a mere afterthought in the former WTC site area.
What must be brought to the publics attention is that the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero is not a NYCity memorial, it is a national memorial for the most horrific national tragedy on US soil since Pearl Harbor.
The memorial, and the related 9/11 museum both need to be given national government prominence and funding spearheded by Congress, along with an act of Congress that takes control of the memorial planning out of NYCity liberal elite hands.
"What must be brought to the publics attention is that the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero is not a NYCity memorial, it is a national memorial for the most horrific national tragedy on US soil since Pearl Harbor."
I can do some national marketing to that effect and help out, but I do not have the contacts I once had in Washington. I am willing to help if I can.
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