NEW YORK (AP) – President Donald Trump’s administration said Friday it is investigating whether the federal government can control New York City’s 9/11 Memorial Museum.
Lower Manhattan site where World Trade Center twin towers were destroyed by hijacked jet liners September 11, 2001two memorial pools surrounded by waterfalls and balustrades, and an underground museum with the name of the dead. Since its opening to the public in 2014, the Memorial Square and the museum have been run by public charities and is now chaired by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Trump critic.
The White House confirmed that the administration was conducting a “preliminary exploratory discussion” on the idea, but refused to elaborate. The office focused on Republicans. I pledged during his campaign Last year, the site was made a national monument protected and maintained by the federal government.
However, officials at the National Memorial Museum on September 11th say the federal government cannot unilaterally take over the property on land owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey under current law.
Given Trump’s efforts, the US government’s fees and site management “doesn’t make sense either.” Dramatically palais in the back The federal bureaucracy, said Beth Hillman, the organization’s president and CEO.
“Our exhibition tells a story of courage and patriotism and I am confident that the current operating model has honored the public and has served them effectively,” she said.
Last year, the museum generated more than $93 million in revenue and spent about $84 million on operating expenses. Most recently, available tax returns.
Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has expressed her own concerns about the federal takeover, citing the Trump administration’s recent efforts to influence how American history is told through national memorials and museums. Includes Smithsonian.
The idea of a buyout comes just a few months after the Trump administration It was cut easily, but was later restored and staffed under federal programs This provides health benefits for people with illnesses that may be associated with toxic dust from the destroyed World Trade Center.
“The 9/11 Memorial belongs to New Yorkers, families, survivors and the first responder who has been carrying this legacy for over 20 years and has ensured that they will never forget it,” Hochul said in a statement. “Before he interferes in this sacred place, the president must begin by honouring the survivors and supporting the families of the victims.”
Anthoula Katsimatides, a museum board member who lost his brother John in the attack, said there was no reason to change ownership.
“They do an incredible job of talking about the day without sugarcoating it,” she said. “It runs really well. I don’t know why there must be changes. I don’t know what is there.”
However, the memorial museum has long been a target of criticism from some members of the large community of families of the 9/11 victims, some of which have criticised ticket prices or are calling for a change in the structure of the museum’s exhibits.
A Trump spokesperson declined to respond to comments.
Overall, around 3,000 people were killed when hijackers crashed the jetliner into a field in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and southwest Pennsylvania. On September 11th attack. More than 2,700 of these victims died in the severe collapse of the Twin Towers of the Trade Center.
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