BY JOHN BAYLES | When the tenth anniversary of 9/11 occurs a little less than two months from now, only family members of victims will be allowed to participate in the official ceremony. Such has been the case for the previous nine years.
Residents of Lower Manhattan who did not lose a loved one on that day have often felt left out when it comes to the annual commemoration. This year, Community Board 1 is organizing its own event for not only Lower Manhattan residents, but for anyone who wishes to participate. The event has been dubbed “Hands Across Lower Manhattan.”
“I’ve been thinking about this for some time,” said Julie Menin, C.B. 1 chair and co-chair of the task force. “Obviously the ten-year anniversary is a very solemn occasion both for family members and members of the Lower Manhattan community.”
The community board created a special 9/11 Tenth Anniversary Task Force to contemplate ways to involve its constituents as well as its neighbors in marking this year’s anniversary. The event will consist of three aspects, all of which have a significant and symbolic meaning.
“We thought about what the community board and the community at large could do,” said Menin. “It struck me that one of the experiences that came out of 9/11 was the way our community unified. We spent years rebuilding our neighborhood. We wanted an event to show how unified and cohesive our community was then, and is today.”
The first component of the event will take place on Sat., Sept. 10 and will consist of people linking hands, forming a human chain along the waterfront in historic Battery Park. The Battery Park City Conservancy has agreed to co-sponsor the event with C.B. 1.
“We embraced it as soon as we heard about it and said, ‘how can we help,’” said Warrie Price, founder and president of the Conservancy. “It’s part of the process of all of us remembering, certainly those of us who were here years before and those of us will be here years after.”
“It’s not to detract anything from the other events, but it’s a different approach and it’s totally inclusive,” said C.B. 1 member and co-chair of the task force Roger Byrom. “We would hope as many people that want to participate will participate.”
The second component of the event will be a tree planting, which also take place in Battery Park. The specific type of tree has yet to be identified, but the symbolism is crystal clear.
“In many respects, the tree planting is similar to the renewal and rebirth our community has undergone,” said Menin.
The third component will be a week of community service. Menin, together with Price, are in the initial phases of determining which organizations will be involved. The point, however, is to have people participate in the rebuilding of the Lower Manhattan community.
“We want people to give something back to the community and we will have a number of options to make sure they touch all the right areas,” said Byrom.
Menin said the service opportunities would range from the education sector to the green sector to the senior services sector.
Price and Menin both noted the significance of the entire initiative. In lieu of the official ceremony, reserved for family members only, their goal is to allow any and everyone the chance to celebrate the unity that came as a result of the attacks and to allow people to do their part to ensure that that unity is not forgotten but is instead celebrated.
