9/11 Memorial: Bloomberg Says Fight Between Foundation, Port Authority Inhibitin

9/11 Memorial: Bloomberg Says Fight Between Foundation, Port Authority Inhibiting Fundraising
Posted: 08/10/2012 11:15 am Updated: 08/10/2012 11:18 am

Mayor Bloomberg expressed his frustration over the ongoing financial disagreement paralyzing construction to the 9/11 Memorial Museum and said the discord was inhibiting fundraising.

Bloomberg said on his weekly radio address on Friday, "It's getting harder to raise money. When we talk to them and try to solicit gifts (they say), 'Well, you know, with the Port Authority (and) museum. If you told me there would be disagreement on something as pure and simple as this; It's a shame we can't get together."

The dispute between the National September 11th Memorial & Museum foundation and the Port Authority has received sharp criticism from family members of victims from the attack.

In June, a group of families penned a letter to Governor Cuomo and Christie (who jointly control the agency) expressing both their deep disapproval and frustration over the construction delay.

The letter went as far as to accuse both governors of "betraying" victims. "The Port Authority's conduct is a betrayal of those who died on 9/11," the letter read. "It is a betrayal of the thousands who risked everything to honor them, and it is a betrayal of the growing number of children for whom `9/11' is not a first-hand memory."

Bloomberg chairs the memorial's foundation and has rejected the Port Authority's attempt to gain more control saying the site should be kept out of the "political process."

While the Port Authority has insisted construction continues, the mayor stated construction has virtually been halted for close to a year.