Controversy over $25 fee for 9/11 museum

A $25 fee proposed for the National September 11 museum at the World Trade Center is testing the delicate balance between generating revenue and respecting hallowed ground where 3,000 people died.

"Twenty-five dollars is a bit much, especially with this economy," said Lori Gronock, 31, of Brooklyn, an office worker in the World Financial Center who ran for her life on 9/11 when the two planes hit the Twin Towers.

"There's a lot of construction and work here and we have to pay for something -- but it's a bit much," she said, adding that once the memorial and museum are completed, she will decide then whether to visit.

The $25 fee would be charged to visitors who want to enter the underground museum, which will be located where the towers once stood, referred to as the "footprints."

Museum board member Virginia Bauer, 55, of New Jersey, who lost her husband, David, a Cantor Fitzgerald employee, in the attacks, said the board is doing its best to get federal funding so that there will not be a museum charge.

"I don't think it is our intention to have a fee," she said, adding that "we have to be realistic in these economic times that we need to operate and maintain the memorial and the museum. I think most people will be understanding."

Inside the museum, more than 1,000 artifacts retrieved from the 9/11 rubble will be displayed -- from several steel girders from the towers and a fire truck, to personal items donated from the families of loved ones lost to children's artwork.

At the memorial, visitors can sit by the reflecting pools and read the names of those who were killed on 9/11 under a garden of 400 trees without being charged.

Starting Monday, people who want to visit the memorial when it opens Sept. 12 will be able to start reserving tickets, in the form of timed passes, over the Internet. The memorial's website is 911memorial.org.

The purpose of the museum, which will be open in 2012 and expects 5 million visitors annually, is to preserve the stories of survivors, first responders, and the family members who lost loved ones. It is also a place where the public can pay homage to one of the nation's most traumatic, life-changing events in modern history, according to its website.

"This is about the lesson of 9/11 and it should be a place of solace," said Julie Menin, chairwoman of Community Board 1 in lower Manhattan. "We do not believe there should be a fee and it would be a shame to charge one."

Asking for a $25 entrance fee is also an expensive request, she said.

Menin, who is also a member of the museum's board of directors, said the museum should concentrate its fundraising efforts to cover its operating costs. The board of directors ultimately has to approve the $25 fee.

Joe Daniels, president and chief executive of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, said operations cost between $55 million to $60 million a year. Expenses include maintenance of the facilities, the 400 trees, security, salaries and educational programs the museum plans to offer.

Daniels also made the comparison to the Oklahoma City Memorial and Museum, which charges an admission fee.

Daniels said it's possible the museum may not have to charge $25 if it receives annual federal funding from a bill being proposed by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan).

Nadler announced the bill at the recent unveiling of the 9/11 silver medal. The medals are being sold by the U.S. Mint. Two million medals are expected to be sold, with $10 from each sale donated to the museum. Officials hope the medals will generate $20 million for the museum.

"We are exploring every avenue to raise funds to sustain this national tribute," Daniels said.