NYC Ground Zero on 09/11/11 ?
 

We could have 1 week family trip from Europe to NYC from 06-12 sep next month. I really would like to be at Ground Zero on 09/11/11 for the 10th anniversary. Unfortunately I have realized that for visiting the Memorial and Museum which opens on 12sep all visitor passes are already no longer available. First option would be sep 14 but it is too late for us. So I am wondering whtether to postpone the trip to next year, not necessarely on 09/11 but after having done the visitor pass reservation well in advance, or if maybe it is still worth to be at Ground Zero next month on 09/11 even though it is not possible to visit the Memorial and Museum the next day 12sep. Is there a kind of public and official event and remembering on 09/11 ? If yes we would probably go anyway and visiting the M and M the next time......... thanks for yous suggestions.

There has been an official event at the site on that date every year since the tragedy.
Survivors read the names of those who perished. It is very moving. I imagine this will be done again this year but I am not certain.

thanks, I can imagine..... !! I think I will try to be there !!! We were also very touched by this tragedy and cried despite being more than 4000 miles away.

"EVERY YEAR ON THIS DAY, WE ARE ALL NEW YORKERS"
(Barack Obama)

Visiting on 9/11 is not a realistic option. there are large public ceremonies with extremely strict security. Both President Obama and Bush will be there as well as more than 90,000 members of the families of the fallen. You don;'t have a chance of getting near there on this or any other 9/11 - and frankly don;t belong there on that day. This year it is so crowded that even first responders (fire, police, medical et al) are taking part in a separate ceremony.

Certainly visit the World Trade Center site (saying Ground Zero is VERY offensive to many New Yorkers) on another day if you wish to pay your respects - but not on 9/11.

Wait a year until the visitor center is open and please don't come on Sept 11th. Yes the term Ground Zero is VERY offensive to many New Yorkers.

http://thestarryeye.typepad.com/expl...n-on-wire.html

you can pay your respects any day, why make it 9/11--ive gone back to my hometown the last 3 years and its always very emotional for me--i worked at 222 Broadway,and went thru the WTC every day for 5 years.I agree Ground Zero is very offensive to most real NYers--its still the World Trade Center

There were a long discussion about this on the Lounge. There, were was only NY'er there who was not offended by the term Ground Zero.

And I understand Fabio went well when he wrote:

"EVERY YEAR ON THIS DAY, WE ARE ALL NEW YORKERS"
(Barack Obama)

But just the way Joplin, Missouri and Tuscaloosa, Alabama have to deal with their disasters long after the cameras leave, NY'ers have to live with the threat of terroism and the consequences of the attack on the Trade Center.

The crux of the matter is that Ground Zero is a generic and fabricated name used by the nmedia, including the NY Times, and The Trade Center was the name of the buildings that were attacked.

Fabio.
Please do come to pay your respects, whatever you or others call the area.
Visiting on September 11th will be impossible. The area and many blocks nearby will be blocked off for official events. There will be ceremonies that you can watch on TV that day where they read the names of all the people who died (it takes several hours to read them all) There are 4 moments of silence for when each tower was hit and then when each one fell.

Try to visit The World Trade Center site near the beginning of your trip, see other sights in the following days, and then by the September 11th anniversary you will have a better feeling for the city and its people.

Ground Zero implies that the World Trade Center was a military target. That is correct only from the point of view of the terrorists. I don't want to hear what they thought of it - nor do any of the other people I know who lost family, friends or neighbors.

This is like racist comments. The people who make them don;t get to decide if they're racist - only the people they refer to get to decide. So only New Yorkers get to decide what to call it - and it isn't Ground Zero - unless you want to offend a lot of people.

On 9/11 there will be memorial services all over the City, so if you can't be at the World Trade Center, then you can be a part of one of the other programs that will be taking place.

St. John the Divine, St. Patricks, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and MANY more venues will have something going on that night in the way of music / dance / and more.

Google memorial events in NYC and you will have a large list.

I think if you feel you would like to be here, then come and stand with us all.

I will be singing that evening, at one of the performances and can post the details here, if you would like.

I think it's incredibly insensitive to say "you don't belong there on 9/11". People around the world were traumatized by this event. Acknowledging that fact does not in any way minimize the unique suffering of New Yorkers. Practical issues aside, anyone who wants to pay their respects belongs there.

The area around the World Trade Center is likely going to be a frozen zone. As it is a Sunday that is easier to accomplish with the nearby office buildings closed. I would expect cars will not be allowed below Canal street and subway service to be restricted direct to the WTC. (PATH trains from NJ, as well)

It would not be unusual for the area to become a frozen zone starting Saturday where access is restricted to those who live in the area and those with passes.

If looking to participate in some way that day I might suggest one possible way is to pay respects at some of the numerous firehouses that lost multiple memebers. The firehouse on Great Jones street lost 9 of 14 who responded, the house at 66th and Amsterdam lost 12 of 13, the house on 8th and 48th lost 15 men. Those are three of many north of Houston that had multiple members killed.


If in town on 9/25 the annual Tunnel to Towers run may also be worth seeing as it is a major event for the FDNY. It is a 5K run that starts outside the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and ends at the WTC site. It was the route taken on 9/11 by Stephen Siller who ran that route with his gear that morning.

thanks to all of you.

It was not my intetion to offend anybody with the terms Ground Zero and I apologize for that, I simply did not know it, but now I know it thanks to you.

I will come to pay my respects at WTC site on another day and I can understand that many others belong there more than me on that day. However my feelings are sincere and very very deep for that event. I am not just a curious tourist, going to take pictures only...

NewbE you are right, I am still very traumatized by this event and whenever I see pictures of myself and my wife on top of on the towers taken back in October 1993 I still cry.

My feeling is that NY does not belong only to New Yorkers but somehow to the entire World. Through thousands of movies (books, magazines and whatever else) made in NY almost everybody feels very familiar with every corner of this fantastic city. Of course the tragedy hit and touched first those who died, relatives and friends, but believe me, a lot of people around the world are emotionally involved.

I came to WTC site in December 2008 and was very touched. I will come again when it will be also possible for me to visit the Memorial and Museum, unfortunately not this time !

I don't think the issue is who belongs there--the problem is access will be extremely limited in the area and security will be very tight. Most people will probably be turned back several blocks away by police and barricades.

Fabio has decided to come another time since he does want to visit the museum. That makes sense for him

I am a native New Yorker who was also here in 2001, and I would not think of going to that part of town on that day.

Very very well said, Fabio.

I was three blocks from The Trade Center on 9/11 and for all the months that followed and I too will not be there next month. I have no memory clearer than the orange and black explosion against the perfect blue sky when the second plane hit. I do not need politicians to tell me what to feel and think.

As I stated above, of course, Fabio means well and is earnest but it is the difference between attending a funeral as a family member and one who wants pay their sincerest respect. There ares simply different degrees of emotion and responsibility.

Well - you can't put practical issues aside - there isn;t even room for first responders - who risked their lives on the day and in the weeks afterward.

For people with no connection to try to attend is completely inappropriate. Agree that this is similar to a funeral - which isn't a public event. If people want to go at other times and pay their respects they are more than welcome - but to turn up uninvited would be similar to turning up uninvited at the funeral of a stranger.

B.S. I'm not discounting the fact that as New Yorkers you were there (some closer than others) and we weren't. But this event will certainly be broadcast on television, so there are plenty of people (me included) who believe it is perfectly appropriate for anyone who feels the pull to be there to go (practical aspects aside, and there will be plenty of practical reasons not to even try). If this were only for the people who died and the responders and their families, it would be held in private. This <i>is</i> a public event.

Fabio, there is no need to apologize for using the term "Ground Zero" to describe the WTC site. If you meant no offense, as I'm sure you didn't, none should be taken by anyone, including New Yorkers.

I am a native NY'er and I witnessed the events of 9/11 first hand from the street, and I was traumatized and grief stricken like the rest of the city, and country, for a long, long time afterwards.

But I see no reason to take offense at the use, by non NY'ers, of a term that was universally used by the media in the aftermath of the attacks, and is still used by many, including (regrettably) the NY Times -- even if most NY'ers, including me, don't like it and don't use it.

As I said on the other thread, the term "Ground Zero" is not appropriate or accurate, as the site is being rebuilt and should properly be referred to as the WTC site, which it was and will be again, but most people who don't live here are, understandably, not attuned to that.

I understand that people mean no harm by referring to it as "Ground Zero" and the use of the term is based on lack of awareness, not lack of sensitivity.

I'm getting tired of hearing my fellow NY/Fodorites talk about how "offensive" the term is. Frankly, I don't know anyone except people on Fodor's who find the term "offensive". Most people I know simply call it the WTC site and don't take umbrage at what other people call it.

As for attending the memorial event at the WTC site on 9/11/11, I think everyone who wants to go has a right to attend, however, as has been said, it will be a practical impossibility and not a good idea.

But no one has the right to tell other people that it is "inappropriate" for them to attend, or to want to attend.

I work near St. Patrick's Cathedral and I went, uninvited, down to line the streets at every single policeman and fireman's funeral in the months following the attacks. I went, along with thousands of other people, to pay my respects, and I doubt that the families and friends of the deceased were offended by our presence. Quite the contrary.

I agree with sf7307. The memorial service is definitely a public event.

Fabio, that was very well said, and you have no need to apologize for anything. Since going to the WTC site will be impossible on 9/11, I hope you have the opportunity to go and pay your respects some other time.

The Associated Press has put out a "style guide" for journalists relating to 9/11. They are very sensitive to, and often highlight, terms that can be considered offensive. They said that ground zero is acceptable.

http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/08/the...1-anniversary/

The memorial service may be a public event in that it is televised - but attendance is limited for security reasons - and to people with a specific reason for being there. This is not a parade or a celebration and attendance haas been limited by the authorities - so no, everyone who want to attend simply can't.

As for the Associated Press - well they may have a style guide for their journalists. The Times used to have a style guide that called for second and later mentions of a person in an article being called Mr or Ms. They thus ended up with a concert review in which the performer was called Mr Loaf (Meat Loaf). Obviously they can have whatever standard they want - it doesn't make then correct. See note about racists comments - New Yorkers get to decide what is correct and many feel Ground Zero is very disrespectful and offensive. If one decides to offend a lot of people, that is obviously their choice.

As a former New Yorker, I am shocked by the rudeness that some of you have expressed on this board to Fabio. I understand that it not possible that he could get close to the site on 9/11, but some of your responses were totally inappropriate.

"See note about racists comments - New Yorkers get to decide what is correct and many feel Ground Zero is very disrespectful and offensive."

I question the "many" and whether New Yorkers get to decide. There's very little evidence that "many" New Yorkers are offended and find it disrespectful.

New Yorker here. Have never met anyone who thought the term "ground zero" applied to the World Trade Center site offensive. In fact until this thread, I never imagined such a possibility. As such, I think it may be safely relegated to the category which includes such bizarre injunctions as those against eating smelly foods on aircraft and other Oprah-inspired nonsense.

Honest New Yorkers will remember that we originally despised the Towers. We referred to them as "the boxes the Empire State and Chrysler buildings came in."

The tragedy changed all that of course, and it may be that the new incarnation earns its own shorthand to represent a rejuvenated city center. For now, I won't correct anyone who asks directions to ground zero.

The buildings at the Trade Center were monstrosities that severed West Street from the rest of downtown and created severe wind currents even at street level. And on the day before 9/11 I went to a free concert by Mitch Ryder where the acoustics were good as the trucks on Broadway. The elevators rattled on windy days.

Originally, they were not supposed to rent to any governmental agency but when no one moved in the MTA and NYS opened offices that long remained.

Conde Nast has already committed to many floors as has NYC.

But we are not discussing aesthetics or civics.

>>> The memorial service may be a public event in that it is televised - but attendance is limited for security reasons - and to people with a specific reason for being there. This is not a parade or a celebration and attendance haas been limited by the authorities - so no, everyone who want to attend simply can't.
>>>>

It is a public event in that people who want to be there can go and stay in the areas designated for the general public. I think that is implicit in what people have been saying, and anyone who has watched the service year after year is familiar with the drill.

No one has suggested that the general public can go into the area reserved for the families and dignitaries, and I think it is clear that the OP did not expect to do that, as he specifically asked about a "public and official event".

The bottom line is that it is perfectly appropriate for anyone to want to attend without being considered an intruder -- even tho', as has been made very clear, it is probably best to avoid the area that day.

>>> "See note about racists comments - New Yorkers get to decide what is correct and many feel Ground Zero is very disrespectful and offensive." >>

>>> I question the "many" and whether New Yorkers get to decide. There's very little evidence that "many" New Yorkers are offended and find it disrespectful. >>>

I agree, on all counts.

Let me clarify: I agree, on all counts, with the last statement by MikeT.

I am really surprised how much I have learnt from you on these posts ! Thanks again to all of you. As I said, I thought that being there to pay respect on 09/11 could make me feel even more involved than the last time I was there in December 2008.
Logistics makes it almost impossible, therefore I will come another time ! But I have another little question for you. It would be nice to know the reason why this year on 09/11 more and more people are expected at the WTC site compared to all previous years. I mean, the number of relatives and friends of those who died is supposed to be more or less always the same every year. Is it maybe because of the presence of both Obama and Bush this time ? Or maybe just the fact that the 10th anniversary has a stronger meaning than any other anniversary ? Hope not this second option !

The memorial plaza is opening for the first time this year (on the 10-year anniversary) and both President Obama and former president George W. Bush will be at the ceremony. So it's a bigger deal this year than it normally is. But to be honest, I don't think it's ever going to be very logistically likely for someone who's not involved in the private ceremony to visit the site on 9/11 of any year. The families are given priority on this day and will likely be given priority for many many years to come.

Fabio, I do think it's the 10th anniversary part of it that makes it more notable than usual, and the death of Osama Bin Laden this year may also be a factor. Both may be why Obama is attending this year, which then adds to the security issues when having a current president present. It doesn't mean more people are attending events (I would guess the first anniversary had the most) but that it is a little more complicated, even more security conscious that it usually is.

I'm not sure I understand your comment: "Or maybe just the fact that the 10th anniversary has a stronger meaning than any other anniversary ? Hope not this second option !"

People measure time, and round numbers like this one naturally have an impact. There was always a push to have certain things ready by this anniversary. Unfortunately the buildings are not yet finished, but there has been more progress done in the past year as agencies basically said "let's solve this in time for the 10th anniversary". Who knows how long the memorial site access would have taken if not for an "important" anniversary coming up?

Fabio, here is a link to information about observances around the city on and around September 11, 2011.

http://manhattan.about.com/od/fallev...er-11-2001.htm

ok I see.... You all brought good points. I am glad I made this post. You helped me to take a better decision.

I am a native New Yorker. I found this thread as part of a Google search and signed up just so I could reply. There are so many things I find offensive about this thread.

First of all, I have never considered, nor have I heard anyone else say, that "Ground Zero" is offensive. In fact, my Red Cross ID from 2001 says "Full Access - Ground Zero." Perhaps it is time to now refer to it as the WTC again, since it is not the ruins of the former buildings anymore. To equate the term with racism, though, is outrageous.

I agree that the event being help downtown is NOT a public event. There are no areas "designated for the general public." Only relatives of the people killed on 9/11/01 are permitted to attend. Televised events do not equate public access. The analogy to a funeral is perfect. Many of these families do not even have a body to bury, and they are still identifying remains: http://news.yahoo.com/remains-found-...001149585.html

If you were not directly impacted by the events (as in, you were in NYC or the Pentagon on 9/11/01 or lost a loved one that day), the best tribute would be to sign up to volunteer on the Day of Service (9/11/11). There is no way to feel "closer" to the events. Spend some time remembering and reflecting. Think about how you can make the world a better place.

New York is a great place to visit any time of the year, and the city needs tourists. It doesn't need visitors to crowd Manhattan on 9/11/11 just so they can say "I was there."

I do not think that Fabio wanted to go just so he could say "I was there." He specifically said he was very traumatized by the attacks, went in Dec '08, and wants to again pay respects now that he will be there on 9/11. But to say he "does not belong there" is not only rude, but wrong.

NYC does not "own" the events of 9/11. They were not the only victims of these events. It affected all Americans (wars in Afganistan, Iraq, even the way we fly on airplanes are proof of that).

Six thousand miles away in Hawaii, we waited anxiously to hear from our friends and loved ones in NYC at that time, and cried when we heard that several had died.

This attack took place in NYC, but it was an attack on all the United states. You did not have to smell the smoke to deserve the right to go there.

BTW, I do like the idea of doing volunteer work on 9/11.

Agree with lcuy 100%!!!

It is not the same as suffering long-term health effects, including post-traumatic stress syndrome. I stand by my comments.