The budgetary dispute that has delayed the opening of the National September 11 Memorial Museum has been resolved, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have announced, CNN reports.
The museum originally was scheduled to open today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, but disagreements over funding, financing and oversight of the museum between the 9/11 Memorial and Museum Foundation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have halted construction for more than a year. The foundation controls the memorial and museum; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns the World Trade Center site.
Late Monday, all parties entered into a “memorandum of understanding,” an agreement that allows them to restart construction on the stalled museum project.
“My goal during this period has been to get construction on the museum restarted,” said Bloomberg, who is chairman of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum Foundation. “This agreement ensures that it will be restarted very soon and will not stop until the museum is completed.”
The point of contention, $300 million that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it was owed by the 9/11 Memorial and Museum Foundation for additional design and construction costs, is being dropped in exchange for financial oversight of the museum and memorial, according to the memorandum.
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum Foundation agreed to oversight from a committee composed of eight members: two appointed by the governor of New Jersey, two appointed by the governor of New York and four by the memorial board, CNN reports.
