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Names Will Be Organized on World Trade Center Memorial
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 14, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 14, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Officials announced that victims names will be arranged at the World Trade Center Memorial, instead of being placed randomly. WTC Memorial designer Michael Arad's original plan was for a random listing of victims. From his winning submission:
The names of the deceased will be arranged in no particular order around the pools. After carefully considering different arrangements, I have found that any arrangement that tries to impose meaning through physical adjacency will cause grief and anguish to people who might be excluded from that process, furthering the sense of loss that they are already suffering.
The haphazard brutality of the attacks is reflected in the arrangement of names, and no attempt is made to impose order upon this suffering. The selfless sacrifices of rescue workers could be acknowledged with their agency's insignia next to their names. Visitors to the site, including family members and friends of the deceased, would be guided by on-site staff or a printed directory to the specific location of each name. For those whose deceased were never physically identified, the location of the name marks a spot that is their own.
Arad did approve the change. Now, firefighters' and police officers' would be grouped by precinct/command/company, but not by rank, while employees at company may be grouped together. Here's how the names will be placed, via the Post:
Names placed at the North Pool will include two groupings: those who worked at or were visiting Tower 1 and individuals who lost their lives on Flight 11, which crashed into Tower 1. A total of 1,518 names will be placed at the North Pool.
The South Pool will include eight groupings: victims who worked at or were visiting Tower 2; victims aboard Flight 175, which hit Tower 2; those who died in the Flight 93 crash in Shanksville, Pa.; those who died on Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon; those who died in the Pentagon; those killed in the 1993 WTC bombing; the first responders; and those who died in unknown locations.
A total of 1,461 names will be arranged around the South Pool.
While the Uniformed Firefighters Association hails the plan, Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund's Edith Lutnick criticized the plan. The Times reports her questioning why civilians didn't "deserve the same respect and remembrance"?
Mayor Bloomberg, who is now the chairman of the WTC Memorial Foundation, said, "I have spent a lot of time listening to everyone's views on the subject and there is no right answer...Nevertheless, it is time to move forward."
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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