The Jersey Journal
MEMORIAL CLASH
Gov says 9/11 monument will be built on LSP site
Saturday, October 07, 2006
By ALI WINSTON
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Despite opposition from local lawmakers and residents(and also park users from
outside Hudson County), Gov. Jon Corzine says he wants the state's 9/11 memorial
at Liberty State Park to go ahead as planned.
But the president of the volunteer Friends of Liberty State Park said he(The
Friends) would file a lawsuit to prevent the construction of "Empty
Sky" as planned.
Corzine, who met Wednesday with Hudson County lawmakers to discuss the
controversial project, declared he wholeheartedly supports "Empty Sky"
as it was drawn up.
The memorial will consist of two 30-foot high, 200-foot long stainless steel
walls inscribed with the names of more than 700 state residents killed in the
terrorist attacks. The memorial would sit on a 10-foot high hill on the park's
waterfront next to the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey train terminal.
The proposed memorial has drawn opposition from the Friends of Liberty State
Park and others who say it would block the spectacular views of Manhattan, the
New York harbor and the Statue of Liberty (opponents never said Statue of
Liberty).
Sam Pesin, president of Friends of Liberty State Park, called the memorial a
"massive monstrosity" and said the governor was making a
"colossal mistake" by supporting it despite the opposition of the
park's users.
"This decision shows total disregard for the democratic process, Liberty
State Park, and the people who use it," he said, adding his organization
would file a lawsuit later this month to try to block the project from going
forward.
"I thought that once he read about the sensible reasons for the opposition,
he would realize how right it would be to relocate the memorial. I really am
surprised and extremely disappointed," Pesin said. "This is like a
slap in the face to the Statue of Liberty."
Assemblyman Lou Manzo, D-Jersey City, who has said he's in favor of a 9/11
memorial but in another location so as not to obscure the view, expressed
disappointment with Corzine's endorsement.
The unobstructed views of where the Twin Towers once stood, Manzo said, would be
the "most fitting way to remember the victims of Sept. 11." He (and
The Friends) suggested the memorial be placed alongside the park's Grove of
Remembrance, also dedicated to the state's victims of 9/11, which is along the
cobblestone road (Audrey Zapp Drive).
Manzo, Pesin and others also have complained about the lack of public input in
the process. Though "orientation meetings" were held during the open
submission stage of the memorial design in which 350 proposals were submitted,
once the six final designs were chosen by a jury of 8
("professionals", half of whom were from out of state) and the
committee of 12 family members of 9/11 victims chose the winner, there were no further
public hearings until (before) the final design was announced.
Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental
Protection, which is overseeing the project, welcomed the governor's support.
"It's been five long years and we need to remember the residents of New
Jersey who died on this tragic day," she said. (but not by a memorial that
blocks NYC skyline/river, one of the best and most important panoramic views in
the world from the closest point in LSP toward Ground Zero, and robs the CRRNJ
Terminal's Public Plaza where free concerts, festivals and vista watching took
place).
Asked whether enough public hearings were held to discuss the placement of the
memorial, Makatura said she "didn't want to rehash old issues," but
that "this has been an open process all along." (that's a big,
shameless lie as The Friends' Open Public Record Act response proves
definitively, that there were zero public hearings/public comment once the jury
chose the 6 finalists).
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