While seemingly slipping in under the scope of most American media, work on the memorial honoring the Twin Towers is beginning, despite the reservations of the families of several victims of the 9/11 terrorist devastation.
Without political ceremony, construction began [today] on the memorial to the thousands of people who died in the 9/11 World Trade Centre attacks – even as relatives of some of the victims headed to court to fight plans to build at the site.
Lorries [Edit: lorries? Hey, it’s the Scotsman, a damn fine paper that can call trucks lorries if it chooses] laden with timber and other equipment rolled down a ramp as construction workers began cleaning the memorial area of debris and installing protective wooden coverings over parts of the original foundations of the twin towers.
After six to eight weeks of preliminary work, concrete will be poured to create supports for the “Reflecting Absence” design.
George Pataki, the New York state governor, last week called the event “a very important milestone,” but no ground-breaking ceremony is planned for several weeks.
Officials said they wanted to meet a schedule to build the memorial by 2009.
Some families of 11 September victims who oppose the underground memorial design are trying to stop the construction before the memorial is set in concrete.
The Coalition of 9/11 Families last week filed a lawsuit charging that the memorial would damage the historic “footprints” – the foundations of the two towers. Preservation groups have made similar arguments in letters to rebuilding officials. An initial court hearing was scheduled for yesterday.
The Reflecting Absence design, by the architect Michael Arad, was chosen two years ago out of more than 5,200 competition entries.
It marks the fallen towers with two stone reflecting pools at street level, surrounded by trees.
The pools drop 70ft below ground, where visitors find surrounding each pool the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 2001 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing.
Families have said the memorial would dishonour the dead by placing their names below street level and might be difficult to evacuate quickly.
And what about those concerns of the families, both in terms of dignity and public safety?
Stefan Pryor, the president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency in charge of rebuilding at Ground Zero, said the design would “fulfill the highest standards of both safety and beauty”.
He said the agency would continue to listen to family members’ concerns.
Apparently, Mr. Pryor’s definition of listening equals my definition of ignoring. At least that damned freedom center idea still appears to be dead.