As the 11th anniversary of the September 11th tragedy at the World Trade Center approaches, first responders and family members and friends of victims have noticed that visitors of the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, have not been respecting the tribute.
Witnesses tell the New York Post that tourists place their coffee cups and soda bottles on the walls that contain the names of people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 at the National September 11th Memorial in downtown Manhattan.
Witnesses have also seen parents let their kids sit on top of the names and others splash the water from the memorial waterfalls to cool off during the summer. Others eat and lie in the sun around the plaza.
One woman watched a woman sit on her son's name and then spilled coffee all over it.
First responders and those who lost someone in the attacks are disgusted with the way that the memorial is being treated.
The Post notes that some people have compared the memorial to a "Disney attraction" based on the way people treat it and the fact that there are long lines to get in.
"People laughed and took pictures smiling, and so many people leaned on the tablets with all of my friends names engraved in them, holding Starbucks cups, like it was a kitchen table," Pizzitola, head of the FDNY EMS Retirees Association, wrote in a letter to Memorial President Joe Daniels according to the Post.
As the anniversary approaches, more guards have been on site to keep visitors from leaning or leaving their belongings on the walls as to prevent damage and scratches to the memorial.
However, this isn't done all of the time. The only thing reminding people to be respectful is a single sign that tells visitors that the memorial is "a place of remembrance and quiet reflection," however the detailed 9/11 Memorial rules are only listed on a website.
One family member told the Post that she is happy that people seem more laid back around the memorial.
"I have always assumed that as time goes by, people will come there for gentle recreation - walking, sitting in the dappled sunshine, even picnicking - so I am rather surprised that anyone thinks this is not acceptable behavior," said Kathy Bowden, who lost her brother in the attacks.
This report comes after an incident in June in which students from a junior high school were kicked out of the memorial for throwing baseballs and trash into the reflecting pools. A week later a custodian found the words "Allah Wakbar" written in marker on a granite seat in the plaza of the memorial.
The National September 11th Memorials opened in in 2011 for the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. The memorial includes twin reflecting pools that mark the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. The names of those who lost their life in the 2001 and 1993 attacks on the WTC are engraved in the bronze panels surrounding the reflecting pools.
A museum is expected to open up at the site this September.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
