About 250 people attended a public hearing and rally Wednesday in Liberty State Park regarding a proposed statewide memorial for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Some feel the project will be too big and block precious views of Lower Manhattan.
The memorial, titled “Empty Sky,” will be made up of two 30-foot high and 200-foot long stainless steel walls on a grassy knoll. A jury of 9/11 victims’ family members chose it out of 320 entries submitted in 2004 as part of the New Jersey Memorial Design Competition initiated by former Gov. James McGreevey.
The memorial will be dedicated to the more than 700 New Jersey residents who died in the attacks.
The nearly $12 million memorial has met with opposition because the 10-foot high knoll portion that is already on the memorial site blocks the Manhattan skyline. The site is located close to the Hudson River near the ferries that transport park visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
It is also the area where survivors of the 9/11 attacks on Lower Manhattan were brought to receive medical care, and where people viewed the World Trade Center crumbling. Wednesday’s meeting was organized by the Friends of Liberty State Park, a Jersey City-based volunteer group that is not opposed to the memorial itself, but to its design and location. They received state permission to hold the meeting.Lost co-workers and friends
Tanya Chauhan, who lives with her husband and her two children in Jersey City’s Bergen-Lafayette section, worked at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
Chauhan looked back on that day when she lost co-workers and friends.
“My feeling upon seeing the hill is one of loss,” said Chauhan. “First the Twin Towers and so many friends were taken away, and now the great view of Downtown New York [is] being taken away.”
Local resident Jean Ward was very blunt about her feelings. She called upon Gov. Jon Corzine to “tear down this mound.” Officials opposed
Officials on city and state levels also weighed in on the negative aspects of the memorial.
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said he used to bring his kids to play on the field near the memorial site and to look out at the Hudson River.
“This has always been a natural attraction, a place to see the Hudson River, the city skyline,” he said. “There’s not a vista like this anyplace on Earth. Put the memorial where no view is obstructed.”
State Assemblyman Louis Manzo (NJ-31st Dist.) said that he has spoken with NJ Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts about fast-tracking a bill through the Assembly and State Senate that would require local hearings prior to any major development for recreation, conservation and construction purposes at any state park. Father of victim supports it
Englewood resident Bruce Kane lost his son Howard, who was the comptroller for the Windows on the World Restaurant on 9/11. Cain exhorted the audience to see the value of the memorial to help him and others families of New Jersey 9/11 victims to cope with the pain and loss of that day. Kane was among the victims’ family members who chose the “Empty Sky” design.
“Please, two things to have in your hearts – compassion and understanding,” said Kane. “This is all that these people have, there are 727 names going up on this memorial. It’s taken roughly five years to get to this point, and it has not been easy.”
John Watson, Deputy Commissioner for the State’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which oversees Liberty State Park and the memorial project, told the crowd that the project would go ahead as planned, prompting considerable booing.
After his speech, he was cornered by two longtime Jersey City residents who disagreed with his stance. Future plans
Sam Pesin, President of the Friends of Liberty State Park, said Thursday that a transcript made of the public meeting will be sent to Gov. Corzine and DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson. He also said that a meeting is being organized for October to update people on this issue.
In the meantime, those who want to know more about the issue can call (201) 792-1993 of visit www.folsp.org.
Pesin also expressed disappointment that the Friends group were billed for nearly $1,000 for the use of the field, two park police officers, and a maintenance person to keep bathrooms in the nearby CRRNJ Railroad Terminal open for the public.
“The DEP told us we had to pay like any other group,” said Pesin. “I would say if we had a meeting to agree with the commissioner, then we would have not had to pay,” Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com