WTC Lights Are Going Off

New York Daily News ^ | 4/11/02 | MAKI BECKER and PAUL H.B. SHIN

[areafiftyone]

Two pillars of light that have stood sentry in the night sky over Ground Zero will go dark this weekend as planned, officials said yesterday.

Although the Tribute in Light has captivated New Yorkers and visitors with its uplifting effect, the memorial will shine for the last time Saturday.

Firefighters from Engine 292 gaze at the Tribute in Light.

John Whitehead, who heads the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., suggested this week that $100,000 in private donations could keep the project going. But development corporation officials ruled that out yesterday.

"We've explored the possibility of extending the duration of the tribute and do not believe it is feasible," said Matthew Higgins, a spokesman for the agency.

The soaring beacons, which were unveiled March 11 on the six-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks, were to be a one-month temporary memorial.

But sentiment quickly grew to extend the memorial's run.

"They mean so much," said Butch Jones, a lieutenant in the Alachua County sheriff's office in Gainesville, Fla., who was in lower Manhattan on Tuesday to see the lights. "That's the stairway to heaven," he said.

A spokesman for the Municipal Art Society, which planned and raised money for the $500,000 memorial, said it had assured corporate sponsors, victims' families — some of whom opposed the memorial — and the Audubon Society that the lights would go out after one month.

The electricity bill for the 88 high-powered xenon bulbs came to $10,000 a month, donated by Con Edison.

The Audubon Society was strongly opposed to extending the tribute, fearing harmful effects on rare birds like the black-throated blue warbler, which migrates north this time of year.

"Migratory birds sometimes get snared in columns of light like these," said Peter Rhoades Mott, a local Audubon board member. "These situations have in the past led to bird fatalities, sometimes in large numbers."

The Federal Aviation Administration, which reserved the right to order the lights shut off on foggy nights, had no objection to extending the tribute, spokesman Jim Peters said.

Higgins did not rule out the possibility of bringing back the memorial at a later date. "Perhaps the tribute can be relit in the future for some period of time, supported in part by private donations," he said.

[WyldKard]

Anyone who got the chance to see these lights knows what an incredibly striking sight it is, especially on clear nights when the spots would go straight up into the stars, unimpeded by clouds. Truly, it was a surreal vision.

I, for one, will be very sad to see them go. But I think it would be nice to have them on one a year in tribute, if that is fesable.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Does anyone have that beautiful picture of the lights (came out the first week) taken from the water side at night and clearly shows the buildings in various colors, as well as the Statue of Liberty? If so, please post it. (Hint, it appear on Lucianne the first weekend, and I forgot to save it.)