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NY Mayor: 9/11 Observances Will Be Simple, Powerful

Aired August 06, 2002 - 14:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Five weeks from now, we will all remember the pain, the anger, and the miracles of survival. New York will mark the one-year anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the observances will be simple and powerful.
Joining us now from New York, CNN's Michael Okwu.

Hi, Michael.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you.

The governor and the mayor today saying that this would be a day of reflection, remembrance, and introspection, specifically, Michael Bloomberg saying the day would start fairly early, that a procession of bagpipe and drums would start from all five boroughs in New York City and make their way across the city to ground zero at 8:00 in the morning. At 8:46 a.m., there will be a moment of silence; that, of course, was the first time that the first hijacked plane flew into the first tower.

And this would be followed by Governor Pataki reading from the Gettysburg Address. And that would shortly be followed by former Mayor Giuliani leading family members in a reading of the names of all 2,823 men and women who died.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They wanted to be able to interact with ground zero in some way. And think about what you do a year after someone dies. You go to the cemetery, you pay your respects, you lay a stone, you lay a flower. And the mayor and the governor have seen to it that the families can try to go down that ramp and do that. Because for them, that is sacred ground.

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OWKU: Live pictures now from ground zero, where they are still discussing what exactly will be constructed on the site. What we do know is that on the anniversary, on 9/11, New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey will read the Declaration of Independence. And at 10:29, the time of second tower collapse, all the churches and houses in the area, in the New York City, will be asked to toll their bells.

And then a very special moment. Families of the victims, for the very first time, will be able to descend into the ramp, onto ground zero. Each one of them will be given a rose and a vase which will be part of the permanent memorial at the site.

We understand that throughout the course of evening there be candlelight vigils, that music will be played in various parks around New York City, music that will be apropos for the tone of the day.

As you can imagine, Kyra, this is a day that New Yorkers have been anticipating with equal measures of dread and, oddly, of hope -- hope because, at least according to one of the family members that I spoke to, this will be the first real opportunity for them to really close a dark chapter in our history -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Michael Okwu, thank you.

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