Governor George E. Pataki today joined with victims’ families, survivors, rescue workers, and Lower Manhattan employees and residents to announce the start of construction on two important interim memorial initiatives. StoryCorps, the acclaimed oral history project, is opening a recording booth in the World Trade Center PATH station that will record audio reminiscences from September 11th family members, friends, survivors, visitors, and rescue workers about those lost on September 11th, 2001 and in the 1993 bombings. The Tribute Center, located directly across from the World Trade Center site at 120 Liberty Street, will be dedicated to educating the public about September 11th. While the World Trade Center memorial is being built over the next four years, these two initiatives will serve as additional settings to remember loved ones, the events of September 11th, and the ensuing rescue and recovery efforts through firsthand accounts. The World Trade Center Memorial, Reflecting Absence, will break ground early next year and open in 2009.

 “Building a lasting tribute to honor those we lost at the World Trade Center site continues to be the centerpiece of our rebuilding efforts,” Governor Pataki said. “Both the Tribute Center and StoryCorps will help ensure that families and survivors have a way to remember their loved ones while the Memorial is under construction. The StoryCorps booth will also provide an opportunity to visitors, residents and all those who wish to share their memories and thoughts on September 11th. Once the Memorial is built, these memories will become an enduring part of the Memorial Center’s permanent collection. Both the Tribute Center and StoryCorps will help ensure that we never forget what happened on September 11th and that we will always remember the many heroes we lost”

 LMDC President Stefan Pryor said, “It is crucial that family members and friends be able to remember and honor their loved ones. These interim memorial projects will make that possible and are an essential part of the healing process. These two initiatives will serve as a vital complement to the permanent memorial, Reflecting Absence, and the Memorial Center, which will tell the individual and collective stories of September 11, 2001.”

 Port Authority Executive Director Kenneth J. Ringler Jr. said, "It is critical that we continue to rebuild this site as a lasting memorial to the thousands of people who died on 9/11.  It is equally important that we never forget what happened here nearly four years ago.  This StoryCorps booth will ensure that those memories live on. I'm also pleased that we will be opening the Tribute Center adjacent to the World Trade Center site early next year so that visitors and others can learn more about the events of 9/11."

 Norene Schneider who lost her brother Tommy Sullivan on September 11th said, "I am honored to be here today and be a part of something that has changed my life and will change innumerable others, too. For the first time in a long time, I've felt more alive because of what StoryCorps has done for me and my family. I am hopeful that through the telling of our stories, the families who lost a loved one will not only grow closer together, but also help each other heal."

 David Isay of Sound Portraits Productions said, “We are honored and humbled to be a part of the efforts to memorialize the lives of those lost on September 11th. We hope that this booth will serve as a beacon of hope and memory at the site, and a safe and sacred space for families. It will also be a valuable resource to historians. I believe that there is no better way to capture a person’s soul and spirit than through the intimacy of the voice.”

 The new StoryCorps booth will open July 12, 2005. StoryCorps is a national project to instruct and inspire Americans to record one another’s stories in sound.  The StoryBooth will be open to the general public, but sessions will be reserved for those directly affected by the events of September 11, 2001. Created by Dave Isay, StoryCorps seeks to capture the stories of our time and to create meaningful experiences within families. With 2,000 stories already collected from the project’s first year, StoryCorps, the largest oral history project ever undertaken, will collect more than 250,000 interviews over the next ten years.

 At the booth, a trained facilitator helps participants create an interview question list and handle the technical aspects of the recording.  At the end of a forty-minute session, the participants will be given a CD of their interview.  With their permission, a second copy will be sent to the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress where it will be preserved for generations to come. This collection will eventually grow into an oral history of America. The WTC booth will be the second free-standing recording studio opened by StoryCorps, the first booth opened in New York’s Grand Central Terminal in October 2003.

 Tribute Center President Sally Yerkovich said, “The Tribute Center offers the public a single place to stop on their learning journey to understand what happened to our country and remember the many people who lost their lives here. Tribute is designed to help us remember the attacks of February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001, the unprecedented rescue and recovery operations, and the tremendous spirit that united us in the wake of the attacks.”

 September 11th Widows and Victims Families’ Association Vice-President Lee Ielpi who lost his 29-year old son Jonathan on September 11th said, “Tribute will be a place where we can all come to make sure America and the world remember the tragedy of February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001, the inspiration of humanity that responded and the changes shaping our world since September 11th. I think about my son every day. I talk about him and I miss him dearly, as all of our families miss our loved ones because they were taken in such a tragic way. The Tribute Center will give them a voice and help us all to remember, share and heal.”

 The Tribute Center at 120 Liberty Street will serve as the central place for information and reflection until the World Trade Center Memorial is constructed and dedicated. The Center is a project of the non-profit September 11th Widows and Victims Families’ Association, which was founded shortly after the tragedy to advocate for victims and their families. The plans include a gallery, exhibits, educational programs, and walking tours around the World Trade Center site conducted by volunteer guides from the September 11th community.

 Beginning in November 2005, four months before the opening of the Tribute Center itself, the Tribute Center’s Docent Program will begin daily public tours of the World Trade Center site from various points around the perimeter. Tribute docents will tell the story of the attacks on February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001 at the Pentagon, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the WTC site, and will incorporate the history and future development of the WTC site.  Experts in the academic, performing arts, spiritual and therapeutic disciplines have participated in the design and implementation of this comprehensive training, enabling volunteers to further their healing process. Connecting the public with people who were personally affected by the attacks helps to further ensure that those who perished and the remarkable response of those who helped afterwards are never forgotten.

 LMDC has provided $500,000 in funding to StoryCorps and up to $3 million to the Tribute Center, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has provided space for the StoryBooth in the temporary PATH station. In addition, the LMDC has sponsored the creation of the Family Room at 1 Liberty Plaza, the Sphere at Battery Park, and the Living Memorial, a internet achieve is accessible around the world for information related to those lost on September 11, 2001. These memorial initiatives serve to complement the over 6-acre memorial, Reflecting Absence, and the over 100,000 foot Memorial center Museum. LMDC activities and programs are funded through a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Additional information on StoryCorps is available at www.storycorps.net and additional information on the Tribute Center is available at www.tributenyc.org.

Additional Contacts:
StoryCorps:  Jo Flattery / Debra Carey, Dan Klores Communications (212) 981-5228 / (212) 981-5219
Tribute Center:  Dianne Baumert-Moyik, Baumert Public Relations (516) 903-1107

StoryCorps   Listen Closely

• StoryCorps is a revolutionary national initiative to instruct and inspire Americans to record one another’s stories in sound.  Created by Dave Isay, the project is designed to give everyday individuals the chance to tell their histories and those of their loved ones in their own voices.
• The StoryCorps-WTC booth will open on July, 12 2005 in the temporary PATH station at the World Trade Center site.  The booth will have special access for families who lost someone on September 11th, as well as survivors, and rescue workers. It will also be open to the general public for traditional StoryCorps oral histories.

  --  The StoryCorps-WTC booth is the first piece of the interim memorial to open at the site. 
  The StoryCorps-WTC booth will be a powerful symbol of the nation’s commitment to remembrance and a safe place for families to honor the lives of loved ones lost on 9/11.

  --  LMDC is the major funder of this project, and the Port Authority of New York, in cooperation
  with PATH is hosting the StoryCorps booth in the WTC PATH station.

• At the StoryCorps booth, people participate in pairs – and one person interviews the other.  A trained facilitator guides the participants through the interview process and handles the technical aspects of the recording.  Sessions are 40 minutes each and take place inside the booth, which we’ve designed as a peaceful, safe space.  At the end of the session, the participants walk away with a CD of their interview. With their permission, a second copy will be sent to the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress where it becomes part of a high quality digital archive.   It’s our hope that a copy of the interview will also be placed at the World Trade Center Memorial scheduled to open in 2009.
• These recordings will preserve the legacies of loved ones and will allow future generations to remember all that was lost on that day.
• The StoryCorps booth will have three listening stations where the general public can interact with the booth and hear short 1-2 minute clips of past interviews recorded at the booth.  The recordings will rotate on a regular basis
• Reservations for StoryCorps-WTC will open to the general public the first week in July.  Reservations can be made at www.storycorps.net.
• StoryCorps launched in October 2003 with the opening of its first booth in Grand Central Terminal.  StoryCorps launched a national tour on May 19, 2005, with the inauguration of its first two Mobile StoryBooths in Washington, D.C.   The first six-month tour will visit 24 cities.
• Through a combination of the flagship booth at Grand Central Station, the WTC StoryBooth, the MobileBooths and a Partner Affiliate program, StoryCorps will collect more than 250,000 interviews over its ten-year life span.  It is the largest oral history project ever undertaken.
• The StoryBooth at WTC was designed by:  Eric Liftin, Mesh Architectures (Architect), Michael Shuman MASdesign (Architect); David Reinfurt, ORG Inc. (Graphic Design) and Jake Barton, Local Projects (Interactives).

Tributenyc • visitor and learning center
22 Cortlandt Street, 20th Floor, New York, New York 10007 • 212-669-6125• www.tributenyc.org

history
The Tribute Center is a project of the September 11th Widows and Victims Families Association. The idea for the Tribute Center grew out of the desire of the families and those closely affected by the events of September 11th to share their stories – tales of the day and the remarkable outpouring of help and heroism; reports of courage in spite of loss and grief; and accounts of resilience in the face of tragedy. At this time, and until the completion of the World Trade Center memorial in 2009, visitors who come to the site have nowhere to turn for reliable information. Many have no idea of the diversity of experiences that the site represents, the extent of the impact of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the scope of the recovery operations, or even exactly where or how high the Towers stood. The Tribute Center will be an interim destination for the millions of visitors who come to learn and share experiences with the 9/11 community over the next five years. 

Progress to date
Construction is underway at 120 Liberty Street to create the Tribute Center, a 6,000 square foot interactive, educational center that will house semi-permanent and changing exhibitions. Opening in March 2006, the Center will offer visitors of all ages and backgrounds an interactive and meaningful learning experience in its galleries as well as regularly scheduled programs and docent led tours of the site. What will distinguish Tribute from other September 11th projects is that all of its exhibitions and programs will be created from the personal stories of those individuals most intimately and directly affected by the tragedy – survivors, families and others who lost loved ones, downtown workers and residents, rescue workers, and volunteers.  Visitors will meet the people whose stories memorialize this extraordinary time.

Volunteer program
The Tribute Center’s volunteer program will offer another opportunity for members of the September 11th community to share their stories with visitors to the World Trade Center site.  All volunteers will be drawn from this community – family members, survivors of the attacks, lower Manhattan residents and workers, rescue workers, police and firemen.  In addition to providing administrative and visitor support in both the Tribute Center offices and the Tribute Center itself, select volunteers will be trained as docents and will lead walking tours of the World Trade Center site. Tribute Docents will tell the story of the attacks on February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001 at the Pentagon, Shanksville, PA and at the WTC site, and will incorporate the history and future development of the WTC site. Experts in the academic, performing arts, spiritual and therapeutic disciplines have participated in the design and implementation of this comprehensive training, enabling volunteers to further their healing process.
audience
People visit the World Trade Center site for many different reasons.  They come to remember the past; pay homage to the victims, families, survivors and recovery workers; or witness the site of an event unprecedented in American history. All of the visitors seek information, but until the Tribute Center opens, little will be provided.  Tribute is designed with the visitors’ needs and expectations in mind. The Downtown Alliance has estimated that more than 8.1 million tourists come to Lower Manhattan each year.  Each of these visitors shares a need for unbiased information and intimacy to understand, feel and remember the day that changed America’s history.

This project is made possible by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is funded through Community Development Block Grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Tribute Center is a project of the September 11th Families’ Association. The Center is supported by Deutsche Bank, the American Express Foundation, and many individual supporters.