The traditional blue light tribute, marking the commemoration of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 in New York City, will resume this year after the memorial was formally canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
What We Know:
- Governor Andrew Cuomo indicated that the annual “Tribute in Light” honoring the victims of 9/11 is back on, stating New York health officials are going to supervise this year’s tribute to ensure workers’ safety among concerns associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
- Gov. Cuomo stated that this year it is crucially important that everyone appreciates and commemorates 9/11, the lives lost, and the heroism demonstrated as New Yorkers are once again called upon to face a common enemy.
- The announcement was made days after the National September 11 Memorial & Museum canceled the Tribute in Light over the growing concerns that the coronavirus might spread between crews who create the twin columns of light to illustrate the World Trade Center among the Manhattan skies.
- The museum stated on their website, “With gratitude to our Chairman Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, we will be moving forward with Tribute in Light to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.”
- Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has no authority over the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, was criticized by some for not pushing the organization to hold the event as usual.
- Alice Greenwald, president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, gave thanks to previous New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Gov. Cuomo, and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation for balancing the increased costs related to the health and safety considerations around the tribute this year.
The columns are typically visible for a radius of up to 60 miles. The beams were first projected on March 11, 2002, six months after the attack. This year’s ceremony will also go without having the victims’ family members onstage reading the names of the 2,983 people who died in the September 11 attacks and the 1993 bombing on the World Trade Center. Alternatively, recorded readings of the names will be broadcast.
