A Ground Zero Scenario I Hope Never Happens

Today I received an email from Dennis McKeon of http://where-to-turn.org, a crisis relief network that helps the victims of tragedies. In it he lays out a scenario about the future of Ground Zero over six years from now that I hope never happens. But knowing the LMDC and our fearless elected officials, it is not beyond the realm of possibility. It is very interesting reading.

My thanks to Dennis for sending the email to me.

As you all know yesterday was the 11th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, although you would never have known it with the limited press coverage. The good thing though was that the people in Oklahoma City had a place to go to remember those who were lost. A simple above ground memorial with a chair representing each of the victims. A memorial that they were able to visit at any hour of the day yesterday. A memorial where the names of those killed can be easily accessed in the light of day.

Let’s fast forward to the eleventh anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. Let’s assume that the LMDC gets it way and builds to the current plans. This is a bit of a fantasy so we will also imagine that they raise the 1.2 Billion they will need to build and maintain it.

A 9/11 family member decides to go to Ground Zero to honor their lost loved one. As they approach the site the only thing they see are two huge voids filled with water. A little confused they ask for directions from someone walking by. For this story we will call him Stefan. Stefan explains that first they will need to buy a ticket and points to a line of people, mostly tourists, that stretches almost as long as the original towers. Stefan continues, after you get your ticket you will have to wait on that other line, which happens to be longer than the first. Stefan explains that the line is so long because everyone needs to pass through a metal detector before they will be allowed to travel down one ramp 3.5 stories underground into a confined space. If they are able to get to the chart on the wall which indicates where the name appears they might be able to get a glimpse of the name before they are ushered out with the hundreds of other people in order to allow the thousands waiting on line to get in.

After thanking Stefan for all of his help the family member calculates that even if they waited on both lines they probably would not even get close to the memorial before it closes. Even if it were opened 24 hours, which it is not, by the time they got to the actual memorial it would already be 9/12. Feeling disgusted and betrayed that this memorial was allowed to be built the family member hops back on the Staten Island Ferry and visits Angel's Circle to say a little prayer at a memorial that was built out of love and compassion. Something they could not find at Ground Zero.