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9/11 Memorial goes back on its word, charges reservation fee; victims' families furious
By KATE BRIQUELET
Last Updated: 11:19 AM, April 14, 2013

The 9/11 Memorial foundation, funded to the tune of $830 million, has begun nickel-and-diming visitors for ticket reservations.

Even though the nonprofit has long vowed admission to the sacred site would be free, it is now demanding $2 per ticket for all advance reservations made online or by phone.

Officials quietly rolled out the fee on March 1 — but it did not escape the notice of some outraged families of Sept. 11 victims.

"I don't want the American public to have to pay a dime to pay respects to my son," said Sally Regenhard, whose firefighter son, Christian, died in the World Trade Center attacks.

"They made . . . a vow that no one would ever be charged for going to the memorial, but money is the bottom line here," she fumed.

"They're making money off the people that died. It's disgusting," said Jim Riches, a retired FDNY deputy chief who lost his firefighter son, Jimmy, on 9/11.

"The memorial should be free for everybody to pay their respects. You wouldn't charge money to get into a cemetery."

According to the memorial's Web site, the booking fees are necessary to "safely manage visitor capacity" while surrounding construction projects are completed.
The nonprofit claims on its Web site that it "does not receive city, state or federal funding for its operations."

But from 2006 to 2011, it pulled in about $295 million in taxpayer-funded grants for construction.

It also reaped more than $430 million in private donations after the tragedy, including pennies raised by millions of patriotic American schoolchildren.

"Like other similar institutions, in order to help support the operational needs of the 9/11 Memorial, we have implemented a service fee, solely for advance reservations," foundation CEO Joe Daniels told The Post.

The memorial compares it to the American Museum of Natural History's $2 charge and the Washington Monument's $1.50 reservation fee.

But critics are calling it a two-bit money grab by fat cats hemorrhaging funds. Construction costs are now pegged at $700 million for the museum and memorial — more than it took to build the Empire State Building.

The foundation, chaired by Mayor Bloomberg, says the memorial and museum will cost $60 million a year to operate once complete. Security will cost $12 million a year, and another $5 million will go to operating the waterfall tributes.

Add that to the nonprofit's swanky salaries: Ten of the 12 directors raked in more than $200,000 in 2011. Daniels pulled down $336,224 in salary and benefits, and Museum Director Alice Greenwald made $351,171, tax filings show.

One former employee, Joan Gerner, got a $300,000 severance after leaving the foundation — on top of her $439,463 salary.

The memorial opened in 2011 and has attracted 7 million visitors. It features two enormous reflecting pools set within the footprints of the Twin Towers and takes up half the 16-acre WTC site.

Construction on the underground museum ground to halt in late 2011 after the Port Authority, which owns the land, claimed the nonprofit owed $300 million in cost overruns. Development restarted after both sides reached a deal last September.
How the memorial and museum will foot its bills remains unclear.

Daniels is mulling a $20 mandatory admission or a $25 suggested donation for the museum, similar to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, once it opens in 2014.
Visiting the memorial — a public plaza — will be free, eventually.

Memorial officials also want federal handouts, and are hoping to revive a Senate bill that would force the National Park Service to shell out $20 million a year.

http://m.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/death_toll_F46VkaFcmibFMHQMYgr0qJ

А можеш ли да се појавиш без резервације?

Kako gde. I kako ko.

Quote from: Pareski do on April 15, 2013, 01:05:07 PM
А можеш ли да се појавиш без резервације?

Mozes, ako dodjes avionom.

 xrofl

Speaking of bonuses...

Danas, danas su me ispostovali; malo.

Otezali su 3 nedelje duze sa tim nego lani. Gledali da ukantaju sto vise sveta pre isplate. Jadno, jadno...

Ove godine su otezali do 30. aprila, stoka.

Meanwhile, the Museum (and more):

The 9/11 museum's absurd gift shop
By Susan Edelman
May 18, 2014 | 4:54am
Modal Trigger
The 9/11 Memorial Museum features a gift shop with
items such as caps, shirts, and FDNY vests for dogs.
Photo: Sue Edelman
MORE ON:
9/11 MEMORIAL
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site
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9/11 Memorial relics an emotional reminder for victims'
families
9/11 museum ticket sales off to a slow start
The museum at Ground Zero tells the dark story of the
9/11 terror attacks with spectacular artifacts and
exhibits. It pays heart-wrenching tribute to the innocents
and heroes killed that day.
It also has a gift shop.
The 9/11 museum's cavernous boutique offers a vast
array of souvenir goods. For example: FDNY, NYPD and
Port Authority Police T-shirts ($22) and caps ($19.95);
earrings molded from leaves and blossoms of downtown
trees ($20 to $68); cop and firefighter charms by
Pandora and other jewelers ($65); "United We Stand"
blankets.
There are bracelets, bowls, buttons, mugs, mousepads,
magnets, key chains, flags, pins, stuffed animals, toy
firetrucks, cellphone cases, tote bags, books and DVDs.
Modal Trigger
You can pick up an assortment of oak leaf jewelry at the
9/11 museum gift shop.
Photo: Sue Edelman
Even FDNY vests for dogs come in all sizes.
After paying $24 admission for adults, $18 for seniors
and students, and $15 for kids 7 to 17, visitors can shop
till they drop.
"To me, it's the crassest, most insensitive thing to have
a commercial enterprise at the place where my son
died," Diane Horning said.
She and husband Kurt never recovered the remains of
their son Matthew, 26, a database administrator for
Marsh & McLennan and aspiring guitarist.
About 8,000 unidentified body parts are now stored out
of sight in a "remains repository" at the museum's
underground home.
"Here is essentially our tomb of the unknown. To sell
baubles I find quite shocking and repugnant," said
Horning, who also objects to the museum cafe.
"I think it's a money-making venture to support inflated
salaries, and they're willing to do it over my son's dead
body."
'I THINK IT'S A MONEY-MAKING VENTURE TO
SUPPORT INFLATED SALARIES, AND THEY'RE
WILLING TO DO IT OVER MY SON'S DEAD BODY.'
- Diane Horning, 9/11 Victim's Mother
Among the museum shop's specially designed items:
- A black and white "Darkness Hoodie" printed with an
image of the Twin Towers. The pullover, like other
"Darkness" items, bears the words "In Darkness We
Shine Brightest." Price: $39.
- Silk scarves printed with 1986 photos by Paula Barr,
including a panoramic view of the Manhattan skyline.
Another depicts "lunchtime on the WTC Plaza." They go
for $95 each.
- "Survivor Tree" earrings, named after a pear tree that
stood in the World Trade Center plaza and survived 9/11.
Made of bronze and freshwater pearls, a pair costs $64.
A leaf ornament molded from the swamp white oaks at
the memorial is said to change from amber to dark
brown "and sometimes pink around the time of the 9/11
anniversary."
- Heart-shaped rocks inscribed with slogans such as
"United in Hope" and "Honor." One rock bears a quote
by Virgil that is emblazoned on a massive blue-tiled wall
in the museum: "No day shall erase you from the
memory of time." It costs $39.
John Feal, a Ground Zero demolition supervisor who runs
the FealGood Foundation for ailing 9/11 responders, said
he understands the need to raise money for costs,
including six-figure salaries for execs like CEO Joe
Daniels, who takes in $378,000.
Modal Trigger
FDNY Toy Vehicle Set: $14.99
Photo: Sue Edelman
But Feal blasted the store's opening Thursday, when only
9/11 relatives, rescuers and recovery workers were
invited to visit. Those free visits will continue through
Tuesday. The museum opens to the public Wednesday.
"These people are suffering, and they don't need to be
reaching into their pockets," Feal said. "The museum
could have gone six days without asking for money."
The museum plans to fund its $63 million operating
budget with admission fees and donations.
"All net proceeds from our sales are dedicated to
developing and sustaining" the museum, reads a notice
at the store and online, where items are also sold.
"Thank you for helping to build a lasting place for
remembrance, reflection, and learning for years to
come."
In a twist, a plaque says the store was "made possible
through the generosity of Paul Napoli and Marc Bern,"
partners in a law firm that reaped $200 million in
taxpayer-funded fees and expenses after suing the city
for nearly 10,000 Ground Zero workers.
The museum Web site lists the firm as having donated $5
million.
"They could have given that $5 million to the sick and
suffering — their former clients," Feal said.

http://nypost.com/2014/05/18/outrage-over-911-museum-gift-shops-crass-souvenirs/

Kako im se isplati da ono kamenje teraju čak iz Kine?
Oh, wait...

They destroyed our evidence, red je...

 :cry:

9/11 Museum Yanks Commemorative Cheese Platter After Outrage

By Colleen Curry
May 29, 2014 12:09pm

The National September 11 Memorial Museum has pulled its controversial commemorative cheese platter from its shelves after an outcry at the museum's opening.

The USA-shaped platter featured hearts over New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, where the planes crashed on 9/11. The item was first reported by Gothamist a week ago and was met with resounding criticism.
HT 911 cheese plate jtm 140529 16x9 608 9/11 Museum Yanks Commemorative Cheese Platter After Outrage



A cheese plate, pictured, depicting the United States with three stars marking the sites of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, was removed from the gift shop of the National September 11 Memorial Museum. (Scott Lynch/Gothamist.com)

The museum opened last week to mixed reactions from the public, many of whom praised the actual museum while criticizing the gift shop and restaurant that were built on the land once known as "Ground Zero."

Many likened it to having a gift shop at a cemetery, noting the many individuals who perished there.

"Once the public starts coming in, you learn so much,"  Joe Daniels, president of the memorial foundation told the Wall Street Journal. "We in no way presume to get everything right. We will accept that criticism, absolutely."

The museum declined to comment on the change to ABC News, but pointed out that family members of 9/11 victims are involved in helping to choose gift shop items.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/05/911-museum-yanks-commemorative-cheese-platter-after-outrage/

Jel' ono napravljeno da mogu da u'vate za Floridu?

Quote from: Toza on May 29, 2014, 06:38:22 PM
Jel' ono napravljeno da mogu da u'vate za Floridu?

:mrgreen:
mora za nesto da se u'vati  :mrgreen:

Cini mi se da sam negde cula/procitala da je to zemljiste je under 99yr lease. Memorial centre ne donosi nikakve pare prema tome tako nesto je kamencic u cipeli onome ko je vlasnik verujem basnoslovno vrednog komada komercijalnog prostora. Mozda je grad NY mogao da se izuje i pokrije troskove, ali ako je i postojala takva neka varijanta ne moze ni to doveka.

Sa druge strane, svet je gusto popunjen beslovesnim individuama koje smatraju da im je svet vecito duzan (za sta?!), da su pare prljave i da su ideali vazniji. Ako neko drugi placa, to jest.

Sve u svemu, zajebato.

Gift shop je moronska ideja.

Ya think??

Oh, wait: pa kako bi onda museum director vukao $378,000 platu?