After Public Outcry, New York Gets Shamed Into Green-Lighting Their Tradition Of 9/11 Tribute Lights

State backpedals hard after announcing they would NOT be brightening the sky with those iconic beams of light in memoriam of 9/11 and the Twin Towers.

It seems to follow a pattern, doesn’t it?

Any public gathering that pours gas on the division and unrest in the country is given a pass, and described as wholesome and important, no matter how divisive or violent it becomes.

At the same time, the gatherings and symbols around which we come together and express unity just happen to be the ones opposed by those who would govern us.

Surely that’s merely a coincidence… right?

On Thursday, it was announced that the ‘Tribute In Light’ would not be shining this year. But now that decision has been reversed.

From the original announcement:

Michael Frazier, a spokesman for National September 11 Memorial & Museum, said organizers were concerned about the health risks to workers who would set up the display.

“The world’s beloved twin beams of light regrettably will not shine over Lower Manhattan as part of this year’s tributes,” Frazier said in a statement.

The Memorial & Museum is planning an alternative display that will include spires and facades of buildings in Manhattan being illuminated in blue, he said.

Last month, organizers also cited the pandemic in canceling one of the most poignant parts of previous memorials — the personal messages spoken by families of victims. They said recorded name readings from the museum’s “In Memoriam” exhibition will be used instead of having relatives read the names in person. — ABCNews

The Tunnel to Towers charity responded to that news immediately.

…Frank Siller, the organization’s CEO, told PIX11 News that it would do everything it could to ensure the Towers of Light show would go on as scheduled.

Details of how the organization would accomplish this feat were scarce. A foundation spokesperson told PIX11 that it was a “done deal,” and the foundation’s website stated it would also be responsible for the “reading of the names.”

“This year, amidst our hardships and obstacles, we will not forget them,” according to the website, adding that the organization would ensure the 140 readers’ health and safety, requiring that they wear masks and practice social distancing. — MSN

It’s official: The lights will NOT be turned off this year after all.

Called Tribute in Light, two blue beams had shone skyward at night, beginning first on the six-month anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center that killed nearly 3,000 people after jetliners hijacked by al-Qaida terrorists flew the planes into the towers, and then every year since.

“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 … [composed] of eighty-eight 7,000-watt xenon lightbulbs positioned into two 48-foot squares, echoing the shape and orientation of the Twin Towers,” according to the museum and memorial website, which says the installation can be seen from a 60-mile radius of lower Manhattan.

In a news release, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the state would 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.”

“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,” Cuomo’s statement said. — NewsDay

Credit where it’s due, Bloomberg is one of the ones whose money is helping make this happen.