September 11 Exhibitions Across New York State

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Lee A. Ielpi, president of the September 11th Families’ Association

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the New York State Museum, and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum announced on August 10, 2011, the locations for 30 "New York Remembers" exhibitions that are being organized as part of a statewide recognition of the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The exhibitions will give New Yorkers a place to remember the victims of September 11 and honor the countless heroes who came from all corners of the state to help in the clean-up and recovery efforts. The exhibitions will feature historical artifacts from the collections of the State Museum and National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

Each location will open during the week of August 29 and continue until the end of September. All will be open on Sunday, September 11.

Many of the artifacts being exhibited have never been seen by the public, including: the trailer used by families visiting Ground Zero that includes photographs and messages; damaged emergency vehicles and other vehicle parts; aluminum and glass from the buildings; religious "symbol steel" created by the workers at the site; and airplane fragments including landing gear and engine parts. The stories behind all the artifacts will be told as part of the exhibitions.

"Every community across New York felt the impact of the senseless acts of terrorism that claimed thousands of lives just one decade ago," Cuomo said. "These exhibitions will give New Yorkers in towns, villages, and cities all across the state a gathering place to once again stand as one community to make sure we never forget those who lost their lives on September 11th and to embrace the spirit of unity that brought us together on that day of devastating tragedy."

Lee A. Ielpi, president of the September 11th Families’ Association remarked, "I’ve committed the past 10 years to ensuring that the stories of September 11th are kept alive. I want to honor the memory of all of the victims of those terrorist attacks, including my son Jonathan, and I want people to remember the tens of thousands of people who reached out to help total strangers on the 11th and in the aftermath. I strongly believe we need to teach young people everywhere about all aspects of 9/11."

Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano of the City of New York commented, "We will never forget the dedication and sacrifice of the 343 FDNY members who gave their lives on September 11, 2001. The incredible artifacts that will go on display as part of ‘New York Remembers’ also will ensure that the people who live in and visit New York will never forget them, or the close to 3,000 others who were killed on that tragic day. We hope this exhibit will help us all heal as we honor the 10-year anniversary of the attacks."

All of the objects are being moved and installed with existing state resources, including resources from the Department of Education, Department of Transportation, Thruway Authority, Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and Division of Military and Naval Affairs. The locations of the exhibitions are either in a public building or space, or have been provided to the state at no cost. The following is a list of exhibition locations:

With more than 2,000 artifacts, the New York State Museum is the nation’s largest repository of objects recovered from the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. Within weeks of the attacks, State Museum staff documented the operations at the WTC site and later spent countless hours at the WTC Recovery Operation at Fresh Kills where all the material was inspected. In the 10 months that followed the attacks, the FBI and NYPD recovered over 50,000 pieces of personal property. The State Museum also documented the Fresh Kills operation with hundreds of photographs, interviews, and films.

The FBI and NYPD transferred all artifacts to the State Museum after they were designated non-essential to the crime scene as neither criminal evidence nor personal property. Items include rescue artifacts, building pieces, everyday artifacts, and other objects from the site. No object collected from Fresh Kills by the State Museum was kept if it could be identified as owned by an individual. Vehicles like a FDNY truck were signed over to the State Museum by the FDNY via a deed of gift by the specific agency. Forty-nine pieces of the two airplanes that crashed into the towers were transferred to the State Museum by the FBI. These include fuselage, interior, and engine parts. The State Museum also has a significant collection of sympathy material from across the world.

About the National September 11 Memorial & Museum
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is the not-for-profit corporation created to oversee the design, fundraising, programming, and operations of the Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center. The Memorial & Museum will be located on eight of the 16 acres of the World Trade Center site. The Memorial will be dedicated on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and will open to the public the following day, and the Museum will open in September 2012.

The Memorial will remember and honor the thousands of people who were killed in the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, and February 26, 1993. The design, created by Michael Arad and Peter Walker, consists of two reflecting pools formed in the footprints of the original Twin Towers and a plaza of trees.

The Museum will display monumental artifacts linked to the events of September 11, while presenting intimate stories of loss, compassion, reckoning, and recovery that are central to telling the story of the 2001 and 1993 attacks and the aftermath. It will communicate key messages that embrace both the specificity and the universal implications of the events of September 11; document the impact of those events on individual lives, as well as on local, national, and international communities; and explore the continuing significance of these events for our global community.