Ground zero museum delay dismays 9/11 families
Source: Agencies |
May 19, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
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THEY were promised a place to mourn their loved ones, display their photographs and educate people about exactly what was lost on 9/11. But today, family members of those killed have no completion date for the museum that is to be built alongside the September 11 memorial at ground zero in Manhattan, New York - and many are upset.
"The memorial is open, but that's only half the tribute to those who were killed," said Patricia Reilly, who lost her sister in the attacks. "The museum is the place where they're going to tell the story about the people - who they were, where they were, what they were doing and what happened to them that day."
Construction of the museum - originally scheduled to open on the 11th anniversary of the attacks - has largely ground to a halt amid a financial dispute between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, and the foundation that controls the memorial and museum. After months of little obvious progress, some family members are worried that the powers that share control of the area are backsliding into the kind of politically driven dysfunction that once paralyzed the site.
"They shouldn't allow disagreement to get in the way," said Reilly, who wants the museum to be completed so she can visit the thousands of fragments of human remains too damaged to identify with DNA testing. No trace of her sister, Lorraine Lee, has been identified.
"We were supposed to get a contemplative area nearby where we could sit and pray, visit. I'm waiting for the remains to find their final resting place."
Work has been slowed since late last year, when the subcontractors at the site stopped getting paid. The Port Authority claimed the September 11 memorial foundation owed it US$300 million for infrastructure and revised project costs, while the foundation argued the port instead owed it money because of project delays. Three powerful political figures have been entangled in the dispute: The governors of New York and New Jersey control the port, while New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the foundation's chairman.
Last month, Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye said there had been "significant progress" toward a resolution, but no deal has yet materialized.
"The memorial is open, but that's only half the tribute to those who were killed," said Patricia Reilly, who lost her sister in the attacks. "The museum is the place where they're going to tell the story about the people - who they were, where they were, what they were doing and what happened to them that day."
Construction of the museum - originally scheduled to open on the 11th anniversary of the attacks - has largely ground to a halt amid a financial dispute between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, and the foundation that controls the memorial and museum. After months of little obvious progress, some family members are worried that the powers that share control of the area are backsliding into the kind of politically driven dysfunction that once paralyzed the site.
"They shouldn't allow disagreement to get in the way," said Reilly, who wants the museum to be completed so she can visit the thousands of fragments of human remains too damaged to identify with DNA testing. No trace of her sister, Lorraine Lee, has been identified.
"We were supposed to get a contemplative area nearby where we could sit and pray, visit. I'm waiting for the remains to find their final resting place."
Work has been slowed since late last year, when the subcontractors at the site stopped getting paid. The Port Authority claimed the September 11 memorial foundation owed it US$300 million for infrastructure and revised project costs, while the foundation argued the port instead owed it money because of project delays. Three powerful political figures have been entangled in the dispute: The governors of New York and New Jersey control the port, while New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the foundation's chairman.
Last month, Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye said there had been "significant progress" toward a resolution, but no deal has yet materialized.
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