New York State Governor George Pataki
On June 16th, New York State Governor George Pataki publicly announced the groundbreaking for the Tribute Center at a press conference in the World Trade Center PATH station. “Right now, millions of people are coming to Lower Manhattan, looking for information about what happened here,” Governor Pataki told the gathered families, rescue workers, survivors, local employees, and residents. “We want people to come here and be told the right story by the right people. What better source of history than those who experienced it?” Governor Pataki expressed the conviction that the center will be a tribute in remembrance, and a place for visitors to understand history.
Tribute Center president Sally Yerkovich also addressed the crowd, sharing the plans to build an informative space. “Tribute will be built on the stories that we will someday call our history. It will provide opportunities for the September 11th community to share their stories with the thousands of people who come each day from around the country and around the world to the World Trade Center site.”
Tribute’s volunteer docent program will begin September 9th. Docents from the 9/11 community will share their own experiences with visitors while orienting them to the WTC site. For more information, email tributevolunteers@911families.org.
