It’s Official: 9/11 Museum to Open in May

After years of delays due to funding disputes, engineering challenges and a nearly disastrous flood, a museum dedicated to victims of the 9/11 terror attacks will open to the public in mid-May in a giant cavern beneath the World Trade Center site — with a world-class admissions price of $24.

National 9/11 Memorial and Museum President Joe Daniels said Friday that tickets would go on sale for the museum in March for the spring opening.

That $24 price is in line with other major tourist attractions in New York City. It costs $18 to take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty and $27 to visit the observation deck of the Empire State Building.

But the fee drew protests from critics, including some relatives of 9/11 victims, who said the high price would keep average Americans out. Also, unlike many other big museums, there won’t be the option of paying less than the “suggested donation.”

“I’d like to see them do better,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters Friday. But he also said the best way to lower the admissions charge would be for the federal government to cover a portion of the museum’s operating expenses.

“I think we deserve substantial federal funding at this museum,” de Blasio said. “What could be a more nationally important site than this? It’s a national tragedy and people come from all over the country, all over the world, to see it.”

Under the pricing plan approved by the foundation’s board, there will be no admission charge for relatives of 9/11 victims or for construction workers, police officers, firefighters, and others who assisted in the rescue and cleanup operation at ground zero. Children under age 5 and under will also get in free. Admission will also be free for everyone between 5 p.m. and 8p.m. on Tuesdays.

There will continue to be no charge to enter the World Trade Center memorial plaza, which is already open. About 5.3 million people visited the plaza this year to see the two huge fountains that sit in the original footprints of the twin towers.

The foundation set an annual budget Thursday of $63 million to operate the museum and plaza. As of now, all of that money will have to come from admissions fees and private donations.

Some 9/11 families called the steep fee a disgrace. Retired Deputy Fire Chief Jim Riches and Sally Regenhard, who each lost firefighter sons in the attacks, have lobbied for the site to be turned over to the National Parks Service.

“It was never intended to be a revenue-generating tourist attraction with a prohibitive budget and entrance fee,” they said in a statement.

But Charles Wolf, who lost his wife in the attacks, said he supported it “100 percent,” since he wanted assurances that the museum will still be open in 100 years.

“The only way to do that is to be financially responsible,” he said.

Daniels said that if federal, state or city funding does emerge, the foundation would consider lowering the entrance fee.

This article appeared in print on page 1 of the January 27th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.