NEW YORK â The annual light display honoring victims of 9/11 is back on, officials announced Saturday, saying New York health officials will supervise this yearâs tribute to ensure workersâ safety amid concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.
âThis year it is especially important that we all appreciate and commemorate 9/11, the lives lost and the heroism displayed âas New Yorkers are once again called upon to face a common enemy,â Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
The announcement came days after the National September 11 Memorial & Museum canceled the Tribute in Light over concerns the coronavirus might spread among crews creating twin columns of light to represent the World Trade Center in the Manhattan sky.
Alice Greenwald, president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, thanked former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Cuomo and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation âfor their assistance in offsetting the increased costs associated with the health and safety considerations around the tribute this year.â
âThis year, its message of hope, endurance and resilience are more important than ever,â Greenwald said in a statement.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation recently decided to hold an alternative 9/11 Never Forget ceremony after the National September 11 Memorial & Museum announced family members wonât read the names of the nearly 3,000 victims this year because of the pandemic.
The foundationâs tribute will be held just south of the memorial plaza and relatives will read the victimsâ names, with mask-wearing enforced and podiums being sanitized after each speaker.