Local residents took a bus trip, sponsored by the Hopewell Township Recreation Department
By Ruth Luse, Managing Editor
The National Sept. 11 Memorial, in New York City, is part of the World Trade Center redevelopment master plan, designed by Daniel Libeskind.
According to a website, construction will near completion around 2014 at which time all four sides of the Memorial will be accessible to the public.
But, for now, there is plenty to see. Just ask Mike Chipowsky, of Hopewell Township.
”It was one of those perfect blue sky days that we get about four times a year,” Mr. Chipowsky said. It was a perfect day to visit the 9/11 Memorial in New York City.
Mr. Chipowsky and other local residents took a bus trip, sponsored by the Hopewell Township Recreation Department.
”Judy Niederer (recreation director) said she will continue to schedule these trips until everyone who wants to go goes,” said Mr. Chipowsky.
”It is a very special place,” he added.
This was the second trip, sponsored by the Recreation Department, to the National Sept. 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, Ms. Niederer said. “Both trips have sold out and we have another one scheduled for Sept. 24.” The cost is $31 ($28 for Hopewell Township residents) and includes round-trip motor coach transportation and admission to the memorial.
”We make a quick stop at the Chelsea Market upon arrival for lunch on-your-own, restrooms, etc., then we have timed entry to the memorial in the afternoon. Participants have approximately an hour and a half to view the memorial area,” Ms. Niederer noted.
WHAT IS KNOWN as the 9/11 Memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The memorial’s twin reflecting pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest man-made waterfalls in North America. The 9/11 Memorial Visitor Center is located nearby and allows visitors an opportunity to learn about the memorial through genuine artifacts and exhibits.
On the memorial grounds is a tree, Mr. Chipowsky explained. It is surrounded by a small fence. This is the “Survivor Tree,” which “was left standing after the attacks and has been nursed back to health. It is a Pear tree.”
According to a website, “One World Trade Center . . . is a 104-story supertall skyscraper that stands on the northwest corner of the World Trade Center site, occupying the location of what used to be the original 6 World Trade Center. The building is bordered to the west by West Street, to the north by Vesey Street, to the south by Fulton Street, and to the east by Washington Street.
”Construction on below-ground utility relocations, footings and foundations for the building began on April 27, 2006. The tower’s steel structure topped out on Aug. 30, 2012.
”On May 10, 2013, the final component of the antenna was installed atop the skyscraper, making One World Trade Center tentatively the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the third-tallest building in the world by pinnacle height, with its antenna reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet in reference to the year of the United States Declaration of Independence.
”It has been the tallest building in New York City since April 30, 2012, when its height surpassed the Empire State Building.
”On March 30, 2009, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the building would be known by its legal name, One World Trade Center, rather than the colloquial name, Freedom Tower.
”The new World Trade Center complex also will also feature three other high-rise office buildings, located along Greenwich Street, in addition to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, located just south of One World Trade Center, where the Twin Towers once stood.
”The construction is part of an effort to memorialize and rebuild following the destruction of the original World Trade Center complex during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.”