The National September 11 Memorial Museum was scheduled to open this year on the 11th anniversary of the terror attacks on New York, but work on the museum has stopped and there’s “no chance” of it opening on time, according to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Speaking at a recent press conference, the Mayor said work on the museum had stopped because of a disagreement between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over the project’s financing.
He said: “The Port Authority has to spend money to do the infrastructure that they agreed to … we have a legitimate claim against the Port Authority for delays for roughly $140 million, which has increased our cost."
“There's no chance of it being open on time. Work has basically stopped.”
It was only a matter of days ago that Bloomberg and 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels announced the National September 11 Memorial at the same site had welcomed more than one million visitors since opening to the general public on 12 September 2011.
Daniels said: “For ten years, people were only able to walk the perimeter of the World Trade Center site, stealing glances at the progress through construction fences.
“As of today, more than one million people have returned to this sacred ground to pay their respects, and are able to witness the rebuilding of the World Trade Center all around them. It humbles us to see that the public's will to commemorate the victims of 9/11 is as strong as ever."
Notable US and foreign visitors to the Memorial have included President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, President of Chile Sebastián Piñera, First Lady of Mexico Margarita Zavala, Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco, the Nordic Royals, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, Vice President Joe Biden, and Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer.
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