August 19th - August 25th, 2005

9/11 Ceremony Organizers Select Siblings to Lead Roll Call

Sunday, August 21: Organizers of this year's 9/11 commemoration ceremony at Ground Zero are working to select the siblings of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 to read the names of all 2,749 victims, the Daily News reported.

Aiming to acknowledge what Mayor Michael Bloomberg referred to as the "special bonds they shared with their beloved brothers and sisters who died that day," organizers are working with the 787 siblings in an effort to have all interested families represented by at least one reader, the paper explained.

This year's ceremony will be the first time that the brothers and sisters of the victims will be asked to read the roll call of names of those who died on September 11, 2001. In past years, parents, grandparents, and children of victims were selected, the News added.

For more information about the ceremony, click here.

Chinatown Partnership Kicks Off Redevelopment Campaigns

Monday, August 22: As part of its efforts to develop Chinatown's local economy, the Chinatown Partnership will launch a new neighborhood cleanup initiative in January, Newsday reported.

Funded by an $800 million grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), the cleanup project will include two shifts of uniformed workers operating seven days a week to beautify area streets, the paper said.

The program is just one part of a comprehensive redevelopment initiative planned by the Chinatown Partnership. Its other goals include improving signs and navigation maps to attract visitors to the neighborhood's historic sights, sponsoring a "Night Market" for merchants to sell their goods and attract tourists, and illuminating notable buildings and archways. Long-term, the organization also hopes to market Chinatown as a bridge to the Pacific Rim by attracting American financial and trading firms to relocate to the area, Newsday explained.

In June, New York state officials also agreed to make Chinatown an "Empire Zone," allowing businesses that introduce new jobs to the area to be eligible for tax breaks and other incentives, the paper added.

"Homeland Security Garden" Opens at WFC

Monday, August 22: "Homeland Security Garden," a new public art project featuring a maze of 200 displays of collected objects that represent "safety," opened at the World Financial Center's Winter Garden, the Associated Press reported.

Created by artist Chang-Jin Lee, the exhibit features 200 Plexiglas boxes mounted on green Astroturf-covered pedestals. Each is arranged together in what the artist describes as a 19th-century horticultural maze symbolizing the "difficulties of navigating the world's complexities."

The content of each box -- or "safety kit" -- contains objects that represent the notion of safety to a sampling of individuals who participated in several workshops held by Lee throughout New York City. Ranging from toothbrushes, cell phones and Shakespeare to Pop-Tarts, red lipstick and vodka bottles, the exhibit aims to portray a sense of optimism and healing, AP explained.

"This project is about hope, and it's about moving forward, and it's about exploring what we care about and preserving the things that we value," Lee told AP.

"Homeland Security Garden" runs through September 15. For more about the project, click here.

Downtown Museum Named Tourism Award Finalist

the 2005 Sustainable Tourism Award for Preservation by Smithsonian magazine and Tourism Cares for Tomorrow.

A monument to the American immigrant experience, the downtown museum is competing against the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD, and the Louisa May Alcott Orchard House in Concord, MA. The $20,000 final prize will go to the museum that receives the most votes on the award's website by October 31. For complete coverage, click here.

9/11 Website Grants More Viewers Access

Tuesday, August 23: A restricted website dedicated to returning an estimated 6,000 personal photos recovered from the rubble at Ground Zero will grant access to former workers at the World Trade Center, the Associated Press reported.

Launched earlier this year in collaboration with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the website was initially made available only to family members of WTC workers who died during the September 11, 2001 attacks, AP explained.

The recovered photos were restored by Kodak and contain identification numbers to assist family members in claiming them. All of the remaining photos are held by the New York Police Department's property division, which is handling all claims directly, AP added.

New Goldman Sachs Green Tower to Rise Near Trade Center Site

Tuesday, August 23: Goldman Sachs, the investment bank founded on Pine Street in 1869, announced plans this week to erect a 43-story office tower at West and Vesey Streets. The plan follows negotiations between the bank, state, and city to secure the location and finance the $2 billion building through Liberty Bonds and other incentives. For complete coverage, click here.