By Voices of Lower Manhattan Staff
We asked New Yorkers: Should the City Keep the Name and Signs for the World Trade Center?
Louise French, 51, Queens, Accounting
Should the signs for the W.T.C. stay the same? “I think its fine that it is staying the same, because this way no one will ever forget. Otherwise, as the generations go by people will start to forget.”
What would the public choose to do, if asked? “I think it would stay the same. New Yorkers would want to honor the memory of those who died.”
What does keeping the signs say about New Yorkers? “That we will never forget, and we don’t want to.”
Steve Bromley, 47, Queens, MCI
Should the signs for the W.T.C. stay the same? “I would keep it the same just for nostalgia. I see no negative connation with it. We take it personally down here.”
What would the public choose to do, if asked? “I think most people would want to keep it the same. There’s nothing wrong with it— it’s history now. And everything is too political as it is. No one would be happy if they changed it, because everyone would feel like they didn’t have a say.”
What does keeping the signs say about New Yorkers? “We are traditionalists.”
Dionne Ortega, 33, Bronx, Accounting
Should the signs for the W.T.C. stay the same? “I definitely think it should stay the same because it meant so much. You don’t change a landmark. It’s not a highway.”
What does keeping the signs say about New Yorkers? “That we don’t want to forget, especially for the people who work in this area, who were here that day, watching.”
Maura Casey, 50, Battery Park City, City Habitats
Should the signs for the W.T.C. stay the same? “It’s already on the train, so we should keep it so it saves money. Do we have to be victimized for the rest of our lives? Should everything be a tombstone to all the people here who are still living? Get a life.”
What would the public choose to do, if asked? “It depends on if people were on the right or the left. Realistic people would want it to be the same. The save-the-world-fanatics would want everything down here to be one big tombstone.”
What does keeping the signs say about New Yorkers? “There was a tragedy, but we’re not going to change. They didn’t ruin us.”
J.P., 52, East Village, Manhattan
Should the signs for the W.T.C. stay the same? “I think it should change. It’s not a trade center anymore- there’s no trading going on there. They should call it Never Again.”
What would the public choose to do, if asked? “I think people would vote to change it. It’s not a finance center any longer— it’s a cemetery.”
What does keeping the signs say about New Yorkers? “It shows that New York is totally mercenary. From the day it happened Giuliani told people to go out and go shopping, the emphasis was on finance instead of the sacredness of human life. The priorities are terribly skewed.”
“Super Joe,” 43, Manhattan, Architect
Should the signs for the W.T.C. stay the same? “It should stay as a memory. When you lose your father, do you change your name? It’s a legacy.”
What would the public choose to do, if asked? “I believe they would agree to keep it the same. It’s a second Pearl Harbor. Did they change the name of Peal Harbor?”
What does keeping the signs say about New Yorkers? “It says that the W.T.C. was a main frame of NYC. It’s a symbol of power and of the economy; it’s a symbol of modern America.”
Jennifer Paccione, 31, Manhattan, J.P. Morgan Chase
Should the signs for the W.T.C. stay the same? “It doesn’t bother me. I understand people who want it to be a memorial, but you can’t live life like that. If there’s an accident on the street, do you make a memorial of that street corner?”
What would the public choose to do, if asked? “It depends. People are hurt and they want something to look at, a monument.”
Philippe Steinitz, 36, Battery Park City, Mortgage Banker
What does keeping the signs say about New Yorkers? “Life goes on. They didn’t damage us.”
This article is reprinted with the permission of Voices of Lower Manhattan, a grassroots communications non-profit for Downtown, and was originally published on the group’s Web site, www.volumenyc.org.
Reader Services
