Glad to see the 9/11 Memorial open. Something so impactful and significant can’t be closed to the public for long especially since this is the worst crisis we’ve faced since 9/11.
As an active duty Sailor aboard the USS John C. Stennis watching the towers come down on TV and having to deploy to Afghanistan shortly after, the memories are still vivid with me and will remain that way as long as I am alive
The curved steel ribbed walls resemble steel beams from the original World Trade Center. They represent the ribs of a big carcass who has come back to life, dancing in the sunlight under the watch of the enormous One World Trade Center. People come and go from the Oculus, a major transportation hub, and when you walk inside, you feel you’re inside a huge whale belly. From a far, the memorial resembles a diving whale’s tale – a symbol of peace and opportunity.
So the Memorial is open – one of the few places to go and reflect in NYC. And with the Financial District and lower Manhattan still desolate, there’s very few people visiting.
Midtown is desolate with very few outdoor dining options. Soon the weather will turn cold and virtually all outdoor dining options will evaporate. The rest of the state has allowed indoor dining – NYC should follow suit.
You can easily rest on the bronze panels surrounding the waterfalls, reflecting on the lives lost in peace and quietude.
Luckily for me, I was staying at the Holiday Inn Financial Square just minutes away.
