NEW YORK – New York State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, businessman John Catsimatidis, and the House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy proposed the open space at the St. Nicholas Church and National Shrine World Trade Center site as an alternative for the 9/11 Tribute in Light which had been cancelled due to concerns over COVID-19, but has since been reinstated.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum had noted that 40 workers in close quarters would be required for the installation as the reason for the cancellation. After widespread criticism of the cancelled tribute, the Museum has since announced that the tribute will go ahead. According to the Museum statement released on August 15, “With gratitude to our Chairman Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, we will be moving forward with Tribute in Light to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.”

Alice M. Greenwald, 9/11 Memorial & Museum President and CEO, said, ”For the last eight years the 9/11 Memorial & Museum has produced the Tribute in Light and we recognize the profound meaning it has for so many New Yorkers. This year, its message of hope, endurance, and resilience are more important than ever.

"In the last 24 hours we’ve had conversations with many interested parties and believe we will be able to stage the tribute in a safe and appropriate fashion. 

"I want to particularly thank Mike Bloomberg, Governor Cuomo, and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. for their assistance in offsetting the increased costs associated with the health and safety considerations around the tribute this year and the technical support of so many that will enable the tribute to be a continuing source of comfort to families and an inspiration to the world going forward.”

Michael Bloomberg, Chairman, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, said, ”Throughout my tenure as Mayor the Tribute in Light was a powerful symbol of New York’s recovery after 9/11. I am pleased that once again it will shine this year as a beacon of our city’s resilience.”

Gov. Cuomo said, ”This year it is especially important that we all appreciate and commemorate 9/11, the lives lost, and the heroism displayed as New Yorkers are once again called upon to face a common enemy. I understand the Museum’s concern for health and safety, and appreciate their reconsideration. The state will provide health personnel to supervise to make sure the event is held safely while at the same time properly honoring 9/11. We will never forget.”

About the Tribute

Tribute in Light is a commemorative public art installation first presented six months after 9/11 and then every year thereafter, from dusk to dawn, on the night of September 11. It has become an iconic symbol that both honors those killed and celebrates the unbreakable spirit of New York.

Assembled on the roof of the Battery Parking Garage south of the 9/11 Memorial, the twin beams reach up to four miles into the sky and are comprised of eighty-eight 7,000-watt xenon lightbulbs positioned into two 48-foot squares, echoing the shape and orientation of the Twin Towers. The installation can also be viewed from a 60-mile radius around lower Manhattan.

Tribute in Light was conceived by several artists and designers who were then brought together under the auspices of the Municipal Art Society and Creative Time: John Bennett, Gustavo Boneverdi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian LaVerdiere, and Paul Myoda, with lighting consultant Paul Marantz.

Tribute in Light is produced by Michael Ahern Production Services.