NEW YORK — The 9/11 Memorial featuring two massive reflecting pools and waterfalls set within the footprints of the original twin towers at the site of the former World Trade Center will be dedicated on Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Meanwhile, NYC and Company, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, has launched a global campaign to encourage visitors to come to Lower Manhattan, which has experienced a rebirth in the decade since the attacks.
Elizabeth Berger, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York, said $30 billon in public and private investment has been made in the area in the last decade, creating new apartments, parks, retailers, five new ferry landings, two European-style restaurant rows and triple the number of hotels.
The campaign, Get More NYC: Lower Manhattan, encourages visitors to stay in Lower Manhattan’s hotels, eat in its restaurants, shop in its stores and experience its attractions.
Following its dedication, the 9/11 Memorial will be open to the public on Sept. 12. The names of the nearly 3,000 victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, and Feb. 26, 1993, terrorist attacks on the twin towers will be inscribed on bronze panels that line the two pools. A surrounding plaza will be filled with a grove of 400 white oak trees along with a pear tree that survived the Sept. 11 attacks and was nursed back to health.
The 9/11 Memorial Museum will open in September 2012.
Construction on the World Trade Center redevelopment will continue at the site for the next few years, and a temporary free, timed reservation system will be used in the interim.
The 9/11 Memorial is working with the tour and travel industry to facilitate group visits. Advance reservations are required for groups, and a limited number of group appointments are available each day. Officials recommend that groups make reservations as far in advance as possible.
Group organizers can make reservations through the 9/11 Memorial’s Official Transportation Partners or directly by phone with group reservations representatives, who currently are taking reservations for visits from Sept. 12, 2011 through March 12, 2012.
The Transportation Partners will offer alternatives to tour buses, such as ferries to Lower Manhattan and hop-on/hop-off buses that will not require parking.
Groups can make reservations or receive more information at 212-266-5200 or groups@911memorial.org.
www.nycgo.com/getmorenyc
www.911memorial.org
