New York City will mark the 25th anniversary of the 9\/11 attacks one year from now, but the lead-up to that somber milestone could include a showdown between two famous New Yorkers: President Donald Trump and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration confirmed earlier this month that it\u2019s looking into taking federal control of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The move builds on a campaign pledge Trump made during a rally in Uniondale, New York, last year, where he said he would officially make the Ground Zero site at the World Trade Center “a national monument protected and maintained by the United States government, so that hallowed ground and the memory of those who perish there will be preserved for all time, preserved forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
The effort is already drawing pushback. Gov. Kathy Hochul has vowed to fight Trump’s effort and some 9\/11 families have objected, while others have embraced. But Bloomberg also has a personal stake: He was elected mayor of New York City just two months after the attacks and he devoted a lot of energy, time and money getting the museum up and running.<\/p>\n
The former mayor didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment. His longtime political strategist and former press secretary, Marc La Vorgna, is serving as a consultant and spokesperson for the museum. He said in a prepared statement that there’s “nothing in existing law that would give the federal government the unilateral ability to take the site over.”<\/p>\n
Bloomberg chairs the board of trustees for the nonprofit that runs the museum, which honors the history of the site, the 3,000 people who died in the attacks on the Twin Towers and the first responders who pulled people from the wreckage.<\/p>\n
He took the reins of the project as mayor in the early 2000’s, despite the fact that the land is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He led it through a tumultuous process that included multiple governors, powerful real estate interests and the needs of thousands of family members and first responders still in the throes of trauma. He\u2019s also given a cumulative $50 million of his own money to the organization and is credited with raising $450 million for the project.<\/p>\n
And Bloomberg is no fan of the current president.<\/p>\n
After Trump\u2019s re-election in November, the billionaire media mogul wrote an op-ed<\/a> for his eponymous news site that kicked off with, “I urged Americans to vote for Kamala Harris and went on to explain how “on almost every issue that voters identified as a priority, Trump\u2019s proposals would likely make matters worse.”<\/p>\n Trump hasn\u2019t outlined a reason for the takeover and the White House declined to comment beyond the confirmation. The museum has previously been criticized by victims\u2019 families for costly admission fees, management salaries<\/a> and the location of unidentified remains<\/a>.<\/p>\n The administration\u2019s plan has also been met with outcry and exasperation from other officials.<\/p>\n \u201cJust months after slashing funding for the World Trade Center Health Program that cares for survivors and first responders, President Trump now wants to take over the 9\/11 Memorial [and] Museum,\u201d Hochul said in a statement. \u201cThe 9\/11 Memorial belongs to New Yorkers \u2014 the families, survivors, and first responders who have carried this legacy for more than two decades and ensured we never forget. Before he meddles with this sacred site, the president should start by honoring survivors and supporting the families of victims.\u201d<\/p>\n In a joint statement, Rep. Dan Goldman, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Councilmember Christopher Marte and Assemblymember Charles Fall pointed out that, as the Twin Towers burned on 9\/11, \u201cDonald Trump bragged that his downtown building was now the tallest in Lower Manhattan and later spread Islamophobic hate.\u201d<\/p>\n They also said Trump, whom they called a narcissist, has \u201cgutted<\/a> the health program<\/a> caring for survivors and first responders while embracing 9\/11 conspiracy theorists.\u201d<\/p>\n Beth Hillman, president and CEO of the 9\/11 Memorial and Museum, noted that the takeover is anathema to the Trump administration\u2019s goal of lowering the deficit through budget slashing.<\/p>\n \u201cAt a time when the federal government is working to cut costs, assuming the full operating expenses for the site makes no sense,\u201d said Hillman, adding \u201cWe\u2019re proud that our exhibitions tell stories of bravery and patriotism and are confident that our current operating model has served the public honorably and effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n The museum, which opened in May 2014, has faced controversy over the years, most recently about high salaries for executives, according to a report in the New York Post<\/a>. Some family members of 9\/11 victims have objected to any building on a site that held the ashes of their loved ones \u2014 many who\u2019ve yet to be formally identified.<\/p>\n Some of the families have welcomed Trump\u2019s attention, saying the museum has been mismanaged for years. Others say they can’t see any upside in a federal takeover.<\/p>\n Bill Keegan, who supervised more than 500 police responders during the nine-month recovery mission that followed the attacks, said that 9\/11 first responders are mostly in agreement that a federal takeover of the memorial and museum is uncalled for and would likely invite more problems than solutions.<\/p>\n