Changes Announced for New York 9/11 Memorial
Changes Announced for New York 9/11 Memorial
Updated: December 14th, 2006 09:16 AM EDT
By AMY WESTFELDTAssociated Press Writer
The Sept. 11 memorial will list the names of the dead according to the World Trade Center tower where they died, their company or the plane they were on, a change from the random listing envisioned two years ago by the memorial's designer, officials said Wednesday.
The new arrangement, announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was supported by the memorial architect but outraged relatives who wanted to list their loved ones' ages, the floor they worked on at the trade center, and the ranks of fire and police officials who rushed into the buildings.
"The question of how the names are listed evokes strong feeling and convictions from relatives, colleagues and friends of those we lost," said Bloomberg, the chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. "I have spent a lot of time listening to everyone's views on the subject and there is no 'right' answer. Nevertheless, it is time to move forward."
Michael Arad, the designer of the "Reflecting Absence" memorial who originally proposed listing the names of the nearly 3,000 victims in random order to reflect the chaos of Sept. 11, said the new proposal "preserves the equality of all victims while honoring the selfless sacrifice of the first responders."
"This allows us to place the names of those who died that day next to each other in a meaningful way, marking the names of family and friends together, as they had lived and died."
Edie Lutnick, who has led a group of families and fire and police unions that pushed to group victims and list details including their age and employer, said the new arrangement is unacceptable and shouldn't be decided by the mayor.
"Why is it his decision? It shouldn't be his decision to make. It should be the decision of the families ... how the names of their loved ones are listed in their final resting place," said Lutnick, whose brother, Gary, was one of 658 people killed from the Cantor Fitzgerald bond brokerage.
The new arrangement includes 10 groupings of names of the 2,979 people killed on Sept. 11, 2001, and in the 1993 trade center bombing.
The names of civilians who died in the north tower and aboard the hijacked jetliner that crashed into it will be listed on a parapet surrounding a reflecting pool marking the north tower's footprint.
The names of rescue workers killed in both towers, those killed on the flights that crashed into the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa., in the 1993 bombing and in the south tower will be listed around the south tower's footprint.
The names of the four flights, the 1993 bombing and different fire engine companies will be included. And while trade center workers will be listed by employer, the name of the company will not be included.
The names will still be listed randomly within their categories, although foundation president Joseph Daniels said families could request that family members who died together on a plane or in a building be listed together.
The foundation also announced that it had privately raised $202 million of a $300 million goal to help build the memorial, which has been under construction since the spring. In October, Bloomberg was named chairman of the foundation, which had been struggling to raise money.
Updated: December 14th, 2006 09:16 AM EDT
By AMY WESTFELDTAssociated Press Writer
The Sept. 11 memorial will list the names of the dead according to the World Trade Center tower where they died, their company or the plane they were on, a change from the random listing envisioned two years ago by the memorial's designer, officials said Wednesday.
The new arrangement, announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was supported by the memorial architect but outraged relatives who wanted to list their loved ones' ages, the floor they worked on at the trade center, and the ranks of fire and police officials who rushed into the buildings.
"The question of how the names are listed evokes strong feeling and convictions from relatives, colleagues and friends of those we lost," said Bloomberg, the chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. "I have spent a lot of time listening to everyone's views on the subject and there is no 'right' answer. Nevertheless, it is time to move forward."
Michael Arad, the designer of the "Reflecting Absence" memorial who originally proposed listing the names of the nearly 3,000 victims in random order to reflect the chaos of Sept. 11, said the new proposal "preserves the equality of all victims while honoring the selfless sacrifice of the first responders."
"This allows us to place the names of those who died that day next to each other in a meaningful way, marking the names of family and friends together, as they had lived and died."
Edie Lutnick, who has led a group of families and fire and police unions that pushed to group victims and list details including their age and employer, said the new arrangement is unacceptable and shouldn't be decided by the mayor.
"Why is it his decision? It shouldn't be his decision to make. It should be the decision of the families ... how the names of their loved ones are listed in their final resting place," said Lutnick, whose brother, Gary, was one of 658 people killed from the Cantor Fitzgerald bond brokerage.
The new arrangement includes 10 groupings of names of the 2,979 people killed on Sept. 11, 2001, and in the 1993 trade center bombing.
The names of civilians who died in the north tower and aboard the hijacked jetliner that crashed into it will be listed on a parapet surrounding a reflecting pool marking the north tower's footprint.
The names of rescue workers killed in both towers, those killed on the flights that crashed into the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa., in the 1993 bombing and in the south tower will be listed around the south tower's footprint.
The names of the four flights, the 1993 bombing and different fire engine companies will be included. And while trade center workers will be listed by employer, the name of the company will not be included.
The names will still be listed randomly within their categories, although foundation president Joseph Daniels said families could request that family members who died together on a plane or in a building be listed together.
The foundation also announced that it had privately raised $202 million of a $300 million goal to help build the memorial, which has been under construction since the spring. In October, Bloomberg was named chairman of the foundation, which had been struggling to raise money.
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