In a twist that should surprise no one, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum doesn’t have enough money to pay the estimated $60 million in bills each year to operate the place.
Michael Bloomberg is chairman of the memorial and museum foundation. As mayor, he took the line that the federal government should cover operating costs because the museum commemorates an attack on America. That’s one of his few areas of agreement with Mayor de Blasio, who this week called on the feds to come up with the money needed.
Just one hitch: Congress hasn’t agreed.
The larger problem here is something these pages have noted many times: The project was too grandiose and too complex from the start — which is why the costs of planning and construction soared into the billion-dollar range. Yes, hundreds of millions were raised in private donations, but the overly ambitious scale of the project consumed all that money, leaving a significant funding gap for operating costs. That’s one reason why the museum intends to charge a hefty admissions fee of $20.
By contrast, the humble memorial commemorating the Oklahoma City bombing takes no public funds and charges only $12 admission. And while Washington’s Holocaust Museum has a federal subsidy to cover its annual operating expenses, it doesn’t charge admission.
But here in New York, citizens will get the worst of all worlds, paying big bucks at the door — and more through taxes that our children and grandchildren will also be paying. Maybe someone should memorialize that.