A firefighter stands on the 9/11 Memorial on Sept. 11, 2024. The FDNY misplaced 343 members within the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist assaults on the World Commerce Heart.
Photograph by Dean Moses
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum rests upon probably the most hallowed grounds of this metropolis and nation, and serves not solely to honor the legacy of these killed on that day of infamy 24 years in the past this Thursday, however to teach future generations on the date’s significance.
This memorial and museum is apolitical, and has been from its inception. It displays the sense of nationwide unity, satisfaction, and resolve that developed within the hours and days after terrorists struck down the World Commerce Heart and attacked the Pentagon with 4 hijacked plane.
And whereas the 9/11 Memorial and Museum shows numerous artifacts and relics, it is usually a resting place for the stays of greater than 1,000 individuals who died within the assaults, nonetheless unidentified almost a quarter-century after their homicide. Right here, victims’ households who by no means bought the closure of a correct funeral for his or her family members have a spot to recollect and grieve.
The generosity of New Yorkers and philanthropists like billionaire and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the museum’s board chair, has ensured that the 9/11 Memorial and Museum thrives and continues its necessary mission. In accordance with the museum’s CEO, Beth Hillman, greater than $750 million has been raised lately, and the museum has welcomed greater than 90 million guests and counting since its opening.
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum all the time wants monetary assist from New Yorkers, however it doesn’t want federal intervention.
With stories that the Trump administration is considering imposing federal control over the 9/11 Memorial and Museum — citing alleged considerations over government compensation and admission prices — each the establishment and Gov. Kathy Hochul pushed again.
A federal takeover would put the 9/11 Memorial and Museum on the mercy of federal forms, authorities purple tape, and the whims of presidents and Congress members who could swing the funds ax at any time, for any variety of causes, virtually all the time political.
All one must do is take into account what number of instances New York’s first responders have needed to battle Congress tooth and nail over 24 years to persuade Washington to fund the World Commerce Heart Well being Program.
These are women and men who are actually severely or terminally unwell from their months of labor at Floor Zero, and repeatedly, Washington has consistently wavered in its dedication to totally fund their care; earlier this yr, Trump himself cut funding for the program.
New York can’t take an identical probability with regards to preserving the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. It should stay unbiased to serve its mission of preserving probably the most sacred locations in America, telling the necessary tales of Sept. 11, 2001.
The state, which has enough oversight constructions, can deal with any considerations in regards to the museum’s operations or government compensation.
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum is just too necessary and too cherished a spot in these United States to ever be put beneath the thumbs of Washington politicians.
