By PHILIP MARCELO
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration stated Friday that it’s exploring whether or not the federal authorities can take management of the 9/11 memorial and museum in New York Metropolis.
The positioning in decrease Manhattan, the place the World Commerce Middle’s twin towers have been destroyed by hijacked jetliners on Sept. 11, 2001, options two memorial swimming pools ringed by waterfalls and parapets with the names of the lifeless, and an underground museum. Since opening to the general public in 2014, the memorial plaza and museum have been run by a public charity, now chaired by former New York Metropolis Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a frequent Trump critic.
The White Home confirmed the administration has had “preliminary exploratory discussions” concerning the thought, however declined to elaborate. The workplace famous the Republican pledged throughout his marketing campaign final yr to make the location a nationwide monument, protected and maintained by the federal authorities.
However officers on the Nationwide September 11 Memorial & Museum say the federal authorities, underneath present legal guidelines, can’t unilaterally take over the location, which is situated on land owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The U.S. authorities shouldering prices and administration of the location additionally “is mindless,” given Trump’s efforts to dramatically pare again the federal forms, stated Beth Hillman, the group’s president and CEO.
“We’re proud that our exhibitions inform tales of bravery and patriotism and are assured that our present working mannequin has served the general public honorably and successfully,” she stated, noting the group has raised $750 million in non-public funds and welcomed some 90 million guests since its opening.
Final yr, the museum generated greater than $93 million in income and spent roughly $84 million on working prices, leaving a virtually $9 million surplus when depreciation is factored in, based on museum officers and its most just lately accessible tax filings.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, in the meantime, voiced her personal issues a few federal takeover, citing the Trump administration’s current efforts to affect how American historical past is advised by way of its nationwide monuments and museums, together with the Smithsonian.
The takeover thought additionally comes simply months after the Trump administration briefly minimize, however then restored, staffing at a federal program that gives well being advantages to individuals with diseases that could be linked to poisonous mud from the destroyed World Commerce Middle.
“The 9/11 Memorial belongs to New Yorkers — the households, survivors, and first responders who’ve carried this legacy for greater than twenty years and ensured we always remember,” Hochul stated in a press release. “Earlier than he meddles with this sacred website, the President ought to begin by honoring survivors and supporting the households of victims.”
Anthoula Katsimatides, a museum board member who misplaced her brother, John, within the assault, stated she didn’t see any cause to alter possession.
“They do an unimaginable job telling the story of that day with out sugarcoating it,” she stated. “It’s being run so effectively, I don’t see why there needs to be a change. I don’t see what profit there could be.”
The memorial and museum, nevertheless, have additionally been the goal of criticism through the years from some members of the big group of 9/11 victims’ households, a few of whom have criticized ticket costs or referred to as for adjustments within the make-up of the museum’s displays.
Trump spokespersons declined to reply to the feedback.
In all, practically 3,000 individuals have been killed when the hijackers crashed jetliners into the World Commerce Middle, the Pentagon and a area in southwest Pennsylvania in the course of the Sept. 11 assaults. Greater than 2,700 of these victims perished within the fiery collapse of the commerce heart’s twin towers.
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