My name is Daniel Looney. I'm here with Ken Kunken, who's
sitting in the back of the auditorium in a wheelchair. We both
live on Long Island, we're prosecutors in the Nassau County
District Attorney's office, and this is Anna Blazejczyk, who is
a student at Nassau Community College in graphic design.
We, like so many people in the New York City area, have lost
residents in our communities, where we work and where we live.
We have a proposal to honor all the victims of this tragedy. Our
concept is first and foremost a memorial to the victims of 9/11.
Secondly, it's a monument to America.
The centerpiece would be a large tower, following the design of
the original towers. There would be no fitting memorial without
recognizing the victims from Washington and Pennsylvania who
also perished on 9/11. The tower would sit on a pentagon-shaped
base, in honor of those who died in Washington, and the entrance
would be flanked by two grass fields, in honor of the people who
died on Flight 93 in Sunset County, Pennsylvania.
The base would have the World Trade Center museum which follows
the history of the World Trade Center from its construction to
9/11 and its aftermath. There would also be computer stations
with information about all the victims.
The front of the base would be the World Trade Center memorial
wall with the names of the victims and emblems and flags of
their respective countries. These walls would have inspirational
sayings and quotes from President George W. Bush, Governor
George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former mayor Rudolph
Giuliani. The memorial wall would face out onto a large
reflecting pool.
The tower itself would be an open metal structure rising to the
highest point above Lower Manhattan, with four glass elevators
taking you up the four corners to the observation deck.
At the pinnacle of this sight would be a large American Eagle
rising above the tower. The eagle has been a symbol of America
since the founding fathers first adopted it, and it would
represent the traits we saw so evident in New York City on
September 11, traits such as courage and strength. It would be a
symbol to everyone who comes to New York City that the American
spirit endured, rose from its destruction and ultimately
prevailed.
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