BY ALINE REYNOLDS | After years of preparations, nearly all the pieces are in place for the opening of the National September 11th Memorial and Museum.
Such was the message conveyed by Joe Daniels, president and chief executive officer of the memorial and museum, at the City Council’s Committee on Lower Manhattan Redevelopment hearing on June 16.
According to Daniels, the museum, slated to open in September 2012, will likely charge visitors an admissions fee in order to fund maintenance expenses. The institution is contemplating a suggested donation of $25, in line with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or setting a mandatory entrance fee of $20.
“This will be a world-class museum,” said Daniels. “If we end up going down that path, the ticket charge or suggested donation would be in line with world-class institutions in New York City.”
Family members of those who died on 9/11 would be exempt from any such charges, Daniels noted, and students would receive a discount. The memorial, he said, would always be free.
“If it needs to be charged for, so be it. I don’t have a problem with that. People value what they pay for,” said Charles G. Wolf, a Greenwich Village resident who lost his wife and business partner, Katherine Wolf, on 9/11.
Community Board 1 is not taking an official position on the fee until it receives more information about the memorial and museum’s annual maintenance costs — projected to be between $50 and $60 million — and funding sources.
“If tickets could defray the costs of the educational component [of the museum], that’s something to consider,” said C.B. 1 Vice Chairperson Catherine McVay Hughes. “But clearly there needs to be a discussion on what the budget is. We need to find out everything that goes into it.”
Starting July 6, family members will be given first dibs in making advance reservations for their visit to the memorial on opening day on the tenth anniversary and in the days thereafter, Daniels said. They will enter the memorial through a separate entrance than the general public, who will be able to reserve up to nine entry passes each starting on July 11.
All visitors will enter the the 7,500-square-foot memorial plaza at Albany and Greenwich Streets, where they will undergo an orientation and security screening.
“From a public perspective, this is a site that has been attacked twice… in some sense, it’s a legacy of 9/11 and part of the society in which we live,” said Daniels of the security measure.
The only area on the site that won’t be publicly accessible will be the northeast corner of the memorial plaza, where construction of the new PATH station is underway.
The memorial is coordinating special visits for first responders, in collaboration with the New York Police Department and the Fire Department of New York, Daniels said. And, responding to neighborhood residents’ wish for exclusive access to the site, the memorial has created “community evenings,” a resident’s forum held on the first Sunday of each month from October through January. The meetings will be meant for all Downtown residents, not just those who lived there on Sept. 11, 2001, Daniels said.
“Our intention was to recognize both the Lower Manhattan population who was here on 9/11 and obviously went through an incredibly traumatic experience on the day and in the months of being displaced afterwards; [as well as] the 20,000-to-30,000 new residents were not here on 9/11 but have had to put up with construction,” said Daniels.
With identification proving that they live South of Canal St., the residents will be able to obtain up to four evening passes each starting Sept. 19.
C.B. 1 is also concerned about the disruptions the influx of tourists will have on nearby residents, particularly once the street grid surrounding the memorial reopens in the coming years.
“Plans have not yet been presented about how the changes in traffic patterns will be managed,” said C.B. 1 Chairperson Julie Menin, who also testified at the hearing.
While the memorial hasn’t come up with a solution for longterm congestion, the institution is taking steps to mitigate bus-related traffic starting in the fall. It is working closely with eight transportation partners, including the City Department of Transportation, NYC & Company and Water Taxi, to incentivize visitors’ use of mass transit to the site. Water Taxi has offered to shuttle groups by ferry from midtown to Battery Park, Daniels said, while Statue Cruises will transport visitors there from Liberty State Park in New Jersey.
In order to obtain visitor passes for its passengers, partnering non-charter tour buses, Daniels said, will have to prove that they have secured offsite parking somewhere outside of the neighborhood. To discourage congestion, the buses will not be provided passes during rush hour times.
“Buses bring in tourists who spend money, and that’s a good thing, but the question is, how do we manage that to make it least disruptive,” said Daniels.
C.B. 1 is still apprehensive about the lack of restrooms at the memorial. Brooklyn Councilmember Stephen Levin said he was surprised to hear the news that public facilities will not be provided at the site until the opening of the museum next year. “I’m concerned about the first year, [since] businesses are not obliged to allow people to use the restrooms,” he said.
Menin agreed, saying on behalf of the board, “We are not confident that businesses around the site will be able to adequately provide this service; nor do we think it is a fair burden to place upon them.”
Chin said she would follow up with Daniels on the issue.
