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Sept. 11 Families, Unions: Change Memorial
By AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 5 minutes ago
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.
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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 cultural leaders, and one Sept. 11 family member, marks the outlines of the twin towers with reflecting pools surrounded by the names of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed.
A tree-lined memorial plaza is planned for above ground, but the museum to commemorate the 2001 terrorist attacks and part of the memorial where the names are listed will be as much as 70 feet below street level.
"It is all wrong in its symbolism," said Rosaleen Tallon, whose firefighter brother was killed at the trade center. "I look up to the sky to remember him. I will never go down."
Tallon also said the underground design was a "death trap" for tourists in case of a fire or a terrorist attack. Families have said there should be four main ramps in and out of the memorial instead of two.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which is overseeing the design and appointed the 13-member panel that chose it, said the memorial and museum would have 15 exits, including emergency stairwells.
The company's spokesman, John Gallagher, said police, fire and security teams would make certain the memorial was built to safely accommodate the millions of visitors who are expected. "The memorial will be a magnificent tribute to those we lost," he added.
Gallagher also said the decision to list the names of the dead randomly around the two reflecting pools "remains our plan."
Emergency workers and family members have asked that the dead be listed according to the battalion or precinct they worked for or the tower they worked in.
"They must be recognized together," said Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, who wants firefighters listed by their units, ranks and badge numbers.
Fundraising experts have said controversy over the memorial could hurt the effort to raise the $500 million needed to build and operate it. A private foundation has raised more than $100 million so far. The memorial is scheduled to open in 2009.
By AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 5 minutes ago
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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 cultural leaders, and one Sept. 11 family member, marks the outlines of the twin towers with reflecting pools surrounded by the names of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed.
A tree-lined memorial plaza is planned for above ground, but the museum to commemorate the 2001 terrorist attacks and part of the memorial where the names are listed will be as much as 70 feet below street level.
"It is all wrong in its symbolism," said Rosaleen Tallon, whose firefighter brother was killed at the trade center. "I look up to the sky to remember him. I will never go down."
Tallon also said the underground design was a "death trap" for tourists in case of a fire or a terrorist attack. Families have said there should be four main ramps in and out of the memorial instead of two.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which is overseeing the design and appointed the 13-member panel that chose it, said the memorial and museum would have 15 exits, including emergency stairwells.
The company's spokesman, John Gallagher, said police, fire and security teams would make certain the memorial was built to safely accommodate the millions of visitors who are expected. "The memorial will be a magnificent tribute to those we lost," he added.
Gallagher also said the decision to list the names of the dead randomly around the two reflecting pools "remains our plan."
Emergency workers and family members have asked that the dead be listed according to the battalion or precinct they worked for or the tower they worked in.
"They must be recognized together," said Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, who wants firefighters listed by their units, ranks and badge numbers.
Fundraising experts have said controversy over the memorial could hurt the effort to raise the $500 million needed to build and operate it. A private foundation has raised more than $100 million so far. The memorial is scheduled to open in 2009.
I guess the Vietnam Memorial is disrespectful too since it dives below-grade. "Ha ha, all these soldiers are dead and underground. Let's make fun of them by making their memorial go underground like them!" What utter, attention-whoring nonsense. At this rate, the victims will be lucky to get ANY sort of memorial in their memory seeing as nothing short of raising them from the dead will satisfy their survivors...As far as being a "death trap" let's see: Explosions might be contained underground, explosive-laden vehicles might be kept out and away from an underground memorial, any kind of chemical or biological agent released might also be contained underground instead of spreading through the city, assailants might be trapped from exiting and escaping from underground, additional planes crashing into the site are far more likely to hit the buildings above ground giving people underground some cover and time to escape, and fire is a problem no matter what you do. I suppose these people are the ones that were terrified of their children using the playground equipment of yesteryear that was actually fun to use, instead opting for this plastic crap entertaining only to the smallest of children and the slowest of the mentally disabled.
I wish these folks would just kill themselves already, join their loved ones in the afterlife, and let the rest of us move on with our lives.
I demand a footnote! Or possibly an endnote!
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