Free Republic

Why is there no outcry over the insult to 9/11 families, would be visitors, or to us average U.S. citizens over the NO TOILETS oversight at the soon to be opened Ground Zero Memorial? Only the Australian media are telling us what really is going on. “City Hall officials conceded that bathrooms were left out of the plans for the memorial,” reveal staff writers for the News Queensland, on 28 May, 20ll. N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s spokesman Andrew Brent told the Aussie Press, “Visitors will be provided with information to help plan their visit, including being advised that BATHROOMS WILL...

'INSPIRING' VISIT & MEET WITH BRAVEST Sarah Palin yesterday made an unscheduled tour of a visitors center at Ground Zero dedicated to those who lost their lives in the 9/11 terror attacks. The Republican vice-presidential nominee nodded her head several times and said, "Oh, my goodness," while a retired firefighter showed her pictures of the burning World Trade Center and exhibits that highlighted the moments the hijacked planes struck each tower. PHOTOS: Palin In NYC - Day 3 Her tour guide was Lee Ielpi, whose son Jonathan, a firefighter, died at the World Trade Center. Palin told Ielpi, "My parents...

Did you see what I saw? Obama "threw" his flower at the 9/11 WTC Memorial! Someone please post this to youtube ASAP!

Even with its budget cut nearly in half, to $500 million, the World Trade Center memorial would be by far the most expensive public monument ever conceived. (Illustration by Andre Malok) Commentary Ill-Conceived World Trade Center Memorial Will Leave Visitors Cold BY DAN BISCHOFF Not long after the World Trade Center Memorial competition was announced, architect Michael Arad went to Bed, Bath & Beyond to buy one of those decorative desktop water fountains. He took the little water pump out of the fountain and installed it in a tub on the roof of his East Village apartment building, so...

The names of the dead would be raised to the plaza from the pool level below, as many relatives have demanded. But thundering waterfalls would still cascade into those pools, at the bottom of two enormous voids marking the place where the twin towers stood. The reconceived World Trade Center memorial and museum, unveiled yesterday after weeks of anxious anticipation, tries to solve security problems, placate disaffected family members and, most of all, reduce the project cost from an estimated $672 million. A budget target of $500 million was set last month by Gov. George E. Pataki and Mayor Michael...

Leftists are still trying to degrade/usurp the New York City 9-11 Memorial. There is a short comment period for the public. Go Here to comment.

When the then-34-year-old architect won the ground-zero-memorial competition, he looked like the Maya Lin of 9/11—a bright, shining star out of nowhere who would build a breathtaking new landmark. Two years later, all we’ve got is a pile of dirt, a price estimate nearing $1 billion, and a nasty, behind-the-scenes war of wills. When Michael Arad unveiled his winning design for the World Trade Center Memorial, the last person New York wanted to hear from was another architect. It was January 2004, by which point the ground-zero rebuilding effort had devolved into a grating public spectacle of political bullying and...

NEW YORK -- The foundation in charge of developing ground zero's memorial and museum has pledged to permanently display the two huge pieces of steel left standing in the shape of a cross after the World Trade Center collapsed. The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation agreed Friday to find a place for the artifact at the memorial. They said they will consider placing the artifact within the memorial museum. Officials have yet to decide whether the cross would remain at the site during construction. But they've scrapped plans to temporarily store the cross in a hangar at John F. Kennedy...

...Rebuilding officials concede that the new price tag is breathtaking — "beyond reason" in the words of one member of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation board — and it is sure to set off another battle over development at the 16-acre site, with calls to cut costs, scale back theIt was supposed to be immune to the controversies that had en design or even start over... ...The new estimate, $972 million, would make this the most expensive memorial ever built in the United States. And that figure does not include the $80 million for a visitors' center paid for...

To All 9/11 Families, Friends and Supporters, On January 24, 2006 the LMDC Family Advisory Council (FAC) met with LMDC President Stephan Pryor and WTC Memorial Foundation President Gretchen Dykstra as well as several members of their staff. At this meeting numerous issues were discussed including: the proper listing of the Names; putting Artifacts like the sphere and tower facades at the street level of the WTC site; preserving the Footprint remnants at bedrock; moving the Memorial Museum above ground; and the security and safety of visitors to the site. LMDC President Pryor and his representatives were noncommittal in their...

This may have been asked before, but it's becoming more of an issue as time goes on - I was recently in Manhattan, and though I hadn't thought about it in a while, the former WTC site is still a gaping hole. Nothing has been rebuilt. Now, almost five years after the attack, that is getting kind of inexcusable. What, exactly, is holding up reconstruction? Is there not enough demand for office space? Too many "me-too!" groups demanding a say in the project? What, exactly, is hamstringing the reconstruction? As each year passess, it is becoming a bigger and bigger...

NEW YORK - Families of people killed in the World Trade Center attack demanded Monday that officials redesign the memorial, saying the current plan is unsafe and disrespects victims by placing their names below street level. Police and fire union leaders joined victims' families at ground zero to seek a new design, although construction on the "Reflecting Absence" memorial is set to begin in March. "We're asking that the memorial see the light of day," Pat Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, told about 150 people. The design, chosen two years ago by a panel of artists, civic and...

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...

Manhattan rebuilding officials opened the bidding for a construction contract for the World Trade Center memorial on Monday, three months before a planned groundbreaking. The trade center site's owner repeated an offer to build the memorial but said it wouldn't formally apply for the job. The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. put out a request for proposals for a construction manager to oversee building of the memorial to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and a memorial museum. Late last month, the LMDC said it would cost $490 million to build both facilities. The...

You may recall that leftist groups have been attempting to usurp memorials being planned to remember, with honor and with reverence, the 3000 souls who perished at the murderous hands of Islamic terrorists on 9/11. The New York memorial was in the process of turning into a blame-America monstrosity that essentially blamed the victims for this despicable act at the World Trade Center. Fortunately, enough pressure was brought to bear by the families that Governor Pataki courageously called a halt to the unfolding design. Even worse, the architect commissioned to design the memorial planned to honor the victims of Flight...

9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America Friday, Mark Levin spoke with Tim Sumner who informed us that the battle to take back the memorial is not over! These Libs are hell bent on disgracing our nation! We can’t let our guard down for a moment! Check out Tim’s web site! www.911familiesforamerica.org From: http://marklevinfan.com/?p=617 - Levin Show audio link is near top of page. Nov. 11 -- 9/11 Memorial or Cultural Arts Center? This is a crucial time. It now appears that the desires of New York's cultural elite may be competing head-to-head with the 9/11 Memorial & Memorial...

This is a crucial time. It now appears that the desires of New York's cultural elite may be competing head-to-head with the 9/11 Memorial & Memorial Museum for a very limited amount of funds. While the LMDC has repeatedly said that the Memorial will take fund raising precedence, it is hard to believe that is what will happen when they are handing out $35 million federal dollars (your money) in the form of grants "to existing and new cultural institutions downtown." We invite you to vote in our on-line poll which asks the question: "If given a choice between...

New York, N.Y.—October 26, 2005—The alliance of 15 major 9/11 family groups calls upon the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and its chairman, John Whitehead, to move forward with Governor George E. Pataki’s historic mandate that the World Trade Center Memorial and memorial quadrant be solely devoted to honoring the victims and heroes of September 11, 2001 and telling the story of that day and of those who came to our aid, as well as the story of the first attack on the Trade Center in 1993. It has been one month since the governor took the decisive step of removing...

The alliance of 15 major 9/11 family groups calls upon the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and its chairman, John Whitehead, to move forward with Governor George E. Pataki’s historic mandate that the World Trade Center Memorial and memorial quadrant be solely devoted to honoring the victims and heroes of September 11, 2001 and telling the story of that day and of those who came to our aid, as well as the story of the first attack on the Trade Center in 1993. It has been one month since the governor took the decisive step of removing the International Freedom Center...

NEW YORK -- Visitors to a Sept. 11 memorial museum could relive the 2001 terrorist attacks in an "immersive" area that surrounds them with pictures of the falling towers, the sounds of police sirens and the last words of some of the people who died at the World Trade Center. The first piece of steel in the trade center's north tower to be hit by a hijacked jet _ as well as lottery tickets and keys pulled from ground zero, and a contemplative area where visitors can leave personal messages _ are among other proposed exhibits for the memorial museum.The...