The moon passes through the Tribute in Light in New York before the 13th anniv. #newyork #newyorkcity @nyc @newyork pic.twitter.com/zSdr5zyoCO
— Gary Hershorn (@GaryHershorn) September 11, 2014
Tribute in Light Before 13th Anniversary Of 9/11
9/11 Museum dedication at World Trade Center site today
After 13 years, the 9/11 Museum will finally open today beginning with a dedication ceremony to be attended by President Obama and the First Lady, Mayor Bill De Blasio, former mayors Rudy Guiliani and Michael Bloomberg, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Gov. Chris Christie, and the Clintons.
From NBC News:
The exhibitions include tens of thousands of photographs, testimonials, audio and video recordings that tell the story of 9/11 and the days that followed through the experiences of survivors, responders, area residents and eyewitnesses. “It is a museum about people and about stories,” said museum director Alice Greenwald. “You can hear from the people who were there, when they were there.”
Some object to the $24 admission price for the public, including 9/11 families who have said it makes the museum a “revenue-generating tourist attraction.” (Victims’ families and several other categories of visitors are allowed to see the exhibit for free.)
Revenue generated by the museum, which has a projected $60 million annual operating budget, allows the Memorial fountains and plaza to remain free and open to the public, museum officials have said. Meanwhile, the museum, a private, not-for-profit institution, is still fighting for federal funding. Efforts to secure federal funding for the 9/11 museum have been blocked in Congress.
The museum directors had hoped to open three years ago, for the 10th anniversary of the attacks, but the project has endured funding disputes, building delays and even a flood caused by Superstorm Sandy. When asked what the most contentious issue has been, museum director Greenwald answered, “Everything.”
Watch below as Patricia Reilly visits the exhibition which includes memorabilia of her sister Lorraine Lee, a 37-year-old administrative assistant, who was working on the 101st floor of the World Trade Center’s South Tower when it was attacked.
September 11
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| Image by Total Concepts |
Bette Midler – Wind Beneath My Wings – Yankee Stadium 2001
Doing what she does best.
So heartfelt, so honest.
One of the strongest memories I have of trying to resolve the horrible event was Bette’s honest and emotional performance here.
Make sure you get to the 4:30 mark.
I’m not a fan of the “Never Forget” campaign. No one will ever forget – of that, I am certain.
But we are here and it’s important everyday that we remember that; and use the time we’re given.
Forward, kids. No fear.
Obama honors first responders & families of 9/11 victims
President Barack Obama visited New York City Thursday to meet quietly with first responders and the families of victims of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and mark the death of its mastermind, Osama bin Laden.
While careful to avoid the appearance of a victory lap, Obama delivered a clear message about his resolve – and the country’s – in pursuing bin Laden.
“What happened on Sunday, because of the courage of our military and the outstanding work of our intelligence, sent a message around the world, but also sent a message here back home that when we say we will never forget, we mean what we say,” he said during his first stop – a visit with firefighters at Engine 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9, which lost 15 men on Sept. 11, 2001.
“It didn’t matter which administration was in,” he added, “it didn’t matter who was in charge, we were going to make sure that the perpetrators of that horrible act — that they received justice.”
The president, in his first trip to the city since the Sunday raid that killed Al Qaeda’s founder, began his visit with a trip to a Midtown Manhattan firehouse, where he shook hands with firefighters. Obama viewed a memorial plaque at the station and lunched privately with about a dozen firefighters.
“For him to come here really meant something… I could see that the president was clearly touched,” said Chief Edward Kilduff of the New York City Fire Department.
Obama then paid a similar visit with policement at the First Precint station in lower Manhattan, several blocks north of the World Trade Center Site.
From there, he traveled to ground zero, where in a solemn ceremony he placed a wreath at a memorial where the twin towers once stood. He is expected to meet later with families of victims.
It took ten years to finish the job. Obama, for his part, has no intention of gloating, telling CBS “We don’t need to spike the football.”
Obama invited Bush to join him at ground zero, but Bush declined.
(via Politico)