State Moves Ahead With 9/11 Memorial
STATE MOVES AHEAD WITH 9/11 MEMORIAL
Friday, August 18, 2006
By JACK HERMANJOURNAL STAFF WRITER
The state has no plans to alter the 9/11 memorial it is building at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, even as local opposition mounts.
On Wednesday night, hundreds of residents, politicians and park enthusiasts gathered in front of the construction site for the memorial, in the northeast corner of the park, saying it will obscure the park's "sacred" view of lower Manhattan.
Jay Watson, deputy commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, which is overseeing the project, told the crowd he was there to listen, but later said the project has been "vetted enough," and the state has no plans to hold a public hearing.
State Assemblyman Lou Manzo, D-Jersey City, said yesterday he has introduced legislation which would require the state to hold a hearing and also wrote a letter to DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson asking questions about the project's funding and construction.
Others, including the Friends of Liberty State Park and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, have written letters asking Gov. Jon Corzine to intervene.
Calls to Corzine's office were not returned yesterday.
Bruce Kane, who lost his 40-year-old son in the World Trade Center attack and was on the committee that picked the memorial, said the idea to build a memorial in Liberty State Park has been in the works since the victims' families met for a candlelight vigil two weeks after Sept. 11, 2001.
A group of artists and architects whittled down 352 selections to 16, which a group of victims' families chose from.
Most of the ideas were impractical, environmentally unsound or too expensive, Kane said. They eventually decided upon two 30-feet tall, 200-feet long stainless steel walls, which will be cut into a gently sloped hill and be perpendicular to the water.
"The twin walls are focused on Ground Zero and provide a powerful, contemplative space for the names," according to the Web site of architect Frederic Schwartz. "The memorial's strength lies in its simplicity and ability to resonate as it honors not only those lost but also New Jersey's witnesses, survivors and volunteers."
Almost everyone attending Wednesday night's three-hour, open-air meeting - including many local politicians - hope to see the memorial moved somewhere else in the park. The Friends of Liberty State Park suggested moving the monument, redesigning it or having a public meeting to discuss it.
"People should not have to walk up or around a 10-foot high hill that is a couple of hundred feet long, or walk through walls that are 30 feet high and 200 feet long just to see the powerful open vistas," said Friends of Liberty State Park President Sam Pesin. "It blocks the sacred view of Ground Zero, lower New York City and the Hudson River."
Pesin also said he objects to the fact that the DEP charged his group the normal $1,000 fee for holding the meeting there.
Newhouse News Services contributed to this report
Friday, August 18, 2006
By JACK HERMANJOURNAL STAFF WRITER
The state has no plans to alter the 9/11 memorial it is building at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, even as local opposition mounts.
On Wednesday night, hundreds of residents, politicians and park enthusiasts gathered in front of the construction site for the memorial, in the northeast corner of the park, saying it will obscure the park's "sacred" view of lower Manhattan.
Jay Watson, deputy commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, which is overseeing the project, told the crowd he was there to listen, but later said the project has been "vetted enough," and the state has no plans to hold a public hearing.
State Assemblyman Lou Manzo, D-Jersey City, said yesterday he has introduced legislation which would require the state to hold a hearing and also wrote a letter to DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson asking questions about the project's funding and construction.
Others, including the Friends of Liberty State Park and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, have written letters asking Gov. Jon Corzine to intervene.
Calls to Corzine's office were not returned yesterday.
Bruce Kane, who lost his 40-year-old son in the World Trade Center attack and was on the committee that picked the memorial, said the idea to build a memorial in Liberty State Park has been in the works since the victims' families met for a candlelight vigil two weeks after Sept. 11, 2001.
A group of artists and architects whittled down 352 selections to 16, which a group of victims' families chose from.
Most of the ideas were impractical, environmentally unsound or too expensive, Kane said. They eventually decided upon two 30-feet tall, 200-feet long stainless steel walls, which will be cut into a gently sloped hill and be perpendicular to the water.
"The twin walls are focused on Ground Zero and provide a powerful, contemplative space for the names," according to the Web site of architect Frederic Schwartz. "The memorial's strength lies in its simplicity and ability to resonate as it honors not only those lost but also New Jersey's witnesses, survivors and volunteers."
Almost everyone attending Wednesday night's three-hour, open-air meeting - including many local politicians - hope to see the memorial moved somewhere else in the park. The Friends of Liberty State Park suggested moving the monument, redesigning it or having a public meeting to discuss it.
"People should not have to walk up or around a 10-foot high hill that is a couple of hundred feet long, or walk through walls that are 30 feet high and 200 feet long just to see the powerful open vistas," said Friends of Liberty State Park President Sam Pesin. "It blocks the sacred view of Ground Zero, lower New York City and the Hudson River."
Pesin also said he objects to the fact that the DEP charged his group the normal $1,000 fee for holding the meeting there.
Newhouse News Services contributed to this report
posted by "Faces of the Brave" at 2:12 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home