Ground Zero ceremony, ‘Eternal Flame’ in the works
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- After receiving thousands of suggestions, city leaders announced plans that include a solemn ceremony at Ground Zero and tributes around New York to mark the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
TO OBSERVE the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks that felled the city’s tallest skyscrapers, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will begin a reading of the victims’ names at a solemn Ground Zero ceremony.
The day will include a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., one year to the minute after American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Gov. George Pataki will then read the Gettysburg Address.
The ceremony will follow a bagpipe procession to Ground Zero from points in each of the city’s five boroughs, in honor of the hundreds of rescue workers killed.
“Our intent is to have a day of observances that are simple and powerful,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a Tuesday news conference.
City leaders had received thousands of suggestions on how to mark the first anniversary of the attacks, which killed more than 2,800 people.
A group of victims’ families told city officials Monday night they wanted a list of all those who died to be a central part of the commemoration, according to Bill Doyle, who lost his son, Joseph, in the attack.
The day’s events also will include tribute concerts at parks in all five boroughs.
PRIVATE SERVICES
Several firehouses that lost men in the trade center were planning private services for families - many of whom said they would avoid the city’s ceremony. Some companies that suffered losses also have separate plans.
Cantor Fitzgerald, whose offices were located in the top floors of the 110-story north tower, lost 658 employees. Company executives plan to mark Sept. 11 with a private remembrance in Central Park.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which lost 75 employees, is planning an afternoon memorial service.
The White House announced last week that President Bush plans to visit New York City on Sept. 11. The mayor said Bush would light an “eternal flame” in Battery Park.
The city’s ceremony follows a wordless service May 30 that marked the end of the recovery operation at the trade center site. The still-missing victims were symbolically carried from Ground Zero in an empty, flag-draped stretcher.
When planning the service for May 30 - a weekday - city officials drew criticism from some family members, who said the ceremony should have been scheduled for a weekend when more people could attend. THOUSANDS OF IDEAS
The city received 4,500 responses when it solicited ideas from the public last month, said Jonathan Greenspun, commissioner of New York City’s Community Assistance Unit, who described them as “deeply touching, heartfelt and personal.” Solemn services, the tolling of bells and the lighting of candles all were suggested.
Businesses throughout the city have been discussing how, and whether, to mark the day. More than a dozen Broadway theaters will go dark on Sept. 11.