It’s back on: Official ‘Tribute in Light’ will light
up New York skyline on 9/11 after uproar
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
After public backlash over
its reported cancellation
last Thursday, the Tribute
in Light will once again be illuminated
in Lower Manhattan on the
19th anniversary of the Sept. 11,
2001 attacks next month.
The announcement came two
days later, on Aug. 15, following
conversations between Alice
Greenwald, president of the 9/11
Memorial and Museum, Governor
Andrew Cuomo, former
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and
the Lower Manhattan Development
Corporation.
The twin beams of light, representing
the former Twin Towers
of the World Trade Center, will
return to the New York skyline
after the state provide additional
resources to further protect the
crew responsible for setting up
the light display.
The agreement also offsets the
museum’s costs for additional required
protections for the workers
involved.
On Thursday, the 9/11 Memorial
and Museum canceled the
Tribute in Light, citing logistical
diffi culties in ensuring the safety
of the crew involved during the
The 2016 Tribute in Light, as seen from the ground in Battery Park City.
COVID-19 pandemic. That
sparked an uproar from New
Yorkers who insisted that the
annual tribute continue.
“For the last eight years the
9/11 Memorial & Museum has
produced the Tribute in Light
and we recognize the profound
meaning it has for so many New
Yorkers,” Greenwald said in an
Aug. 15 statement. “This year, its
message of hope, endurance, and
resilience are more important than
ever. In the last 24 hours we’ve
had conversations with many
interested parties and believe we
will be able to stage the tribute in
a safe and appropriate fashion.”
FILE PHOTO/AMNEWYORK METRO
Cuomo said he understood the
museum’s “concern for health and
safety, and appreciate their reconsideration”
of its initial decision.
“This year it is especially important
that we all appreciate and
commemorate 9/11, the lives lost,
and the heroism displayed as New
Yorkers are once again called
upon to face a common enemy,”
the governor said. “The state
will provide health personnel to
supervise to make sure the event
is held safely while at the same
time properly honoring 9/11. We
will never forget.”
Bloomberg, who chairs the
9/11 Memorial and Museum,
also expressed gratitude that the
tribute will return after all.
“Throughout my tenure as
Mayor the Tribute in Light was
a powerful symbol of New York’s
recovery after 9/11,” Bloomberg
said. “I am pleased that once
again it will shine this year as a
beacon of our city’s resilience.”
The Tribute in Light is set up
on the roof of a parking garage in
Battery Park City, a short distance
from the World Trade Center
site. The twin beams have been
illuminated on the New York City
skyline for the past 18 years to
honor the memory of those killed
in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
After reports of the tribute’s
cancellation surfaced this week,
the Stephen Siller Tunnel to
Towers Foundation, a nonprofi t
dedicated to helping families of
9/11 victims and fi rst responders,
spearheaded a campaign to provide
a similar light display tribute.
Fraunces Tavern Museum to hold online lecture on
roles of Black Americans during Revolutionary War
BY FANNI FRANKL
Fraunces Tavern Museum
will hold an online Zoom
lecture this Thursday at
6:30 p.m. on “The Black Presence
at the Battle of Bennington,”
by Vermont writer Phil
Holland.
In the lecture, Holland will
discuss the roles of Black Americans
during the Revolutionary
War, most notably those at the
Battle of Bennington. Topics
such as Sipps Ives, a member of
the Green Mountain Boys who
died in battle and the sources of
wealth funding continental troops
will be explored.
Fraunces Tavern Museum
centers around topics dating back
to the American Revolution era.
Built in 1719 by the De Lancey
family as a private residence,
hotel and signifi cant tavern during
the American Revolution, it
is the oldest standing structure in
Manhattan. They celebrated their
300th anniversary in 2019. The
Museum has since been involved
with different public programs
and exhibitions. Following the
pandemic, they have switched
to online forms of education and
activity.
Anyone interested in the lecture
can register for the lecture
on the Fraunces Tavern Museum
website. Registration ends at 12
p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 20.
PHOTO CREDIT: FRAUNCES TAVERN AND MUSEUM
Fraunces Tavern, which sits at 54 Pearl St., is pictured here in 2016.
4 August 20, 2020 Schneps Media