Our New National Burial Ground

Barricades now in place in front of City Hall prevent the placement of tributes such the one to “America’s Finest” that I photographed on October 23.

The old Rudy is back, I think. Mayor Giuliani has arrested officials of the firefighters union, along with some firefighters. The real issue, it seems, is failure to agree with the mayor. One of the charges is obstructing governmental administration.

Apparently Mr. Giuliani decided to reduce the number of firefighters working to recover bodies at Ground Zero. The firefighters decided to protest. After the mayor then had barricades erected near or at Ground Zero, claims of scuffling followed, and the arrests.

It should be noted that Mayor Giuliani has never, I think, met a barricade that he didn't like. After Union Square Park was cleared of memorial tributes, the fence at City Hall Park was covered with memorial signs—until November 1. The signs there, too, have now been removed, and the fence barricaded off.

The obstructing governmental administration charge against the firefighters suddenly made everything clear to me in my Dayton Seaside ordeal, which is scheduled to end with a City Hall victory in mid-December. One of the most important responsibilities of governmental administration is tax policy. At Dayton Seaside, Mayor Giuliani, assisted by other officials in city, state and federal government, told the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (as holders of the mortgage on the property) not to pay certain Dayton Seaside taxes, and then blamed the owners for not paying these taxes. As a result, a tax claim of $64 million (which included interest that accrued as the city dragged its feet in addressing the disputed charges) was sought from the owners. The City of New York subsequently settled its "claim" with the (presumably) new owners for $10 million. Clearly, Mayor Giuliani and other government officials impeded the payment of the Dayton Seaside taxes; this seems like obstructing governmental administration to me.

Certain developments now suggest a movement, beyond my understanding, toward a sense of equity, fairness, and appropriate result. By my reckoning, every elected official in New York City with a hand in my Dayton Seaside ordeal will be out of office on January 1. And the victory of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series has spared New York City the possibility of a Yankee victory parade up lower Broadway, past the World Trade Center devastation that is, of course, still visible at Liberty, Cortlandt and Fulton Streets.

On October 24, Mayor Giuliani held a pep rally for the Yankees at City Hall—which, as the mayor himself noted that day, was once in the shadow of the Twin Towers. If the mayor could hold a pep rally just a few blocks from the scene of ongoing expressions of grief and condolence, a victory parade (as had been held for past Yankee victories in the World Series) would have certainly been a possibility, and occasion for a new debate regarding its propriety at this time, in this place.

Clearly, had there been a parade, many of the people attending might have been fairly described as "gawkers." This term, however, has been used—unfairly, I believe—to attack people who come to lower Manhattan from out of town to see for themselves the site of the attack on our country. As an example, a man from Boston told me that he came to take photographs to help him, on returning home, to "absorb and reflect" on this terrible disaster.

The visitors to the vicinity of the September 11 aggression in New York City are somber, quiet and reverential. And the eyes of more than a few are filled with tears. Gawkers are not known to shed tears, I think.

The mayor held a rally for the Yankees on the steps of City Hall on October 24.

A recent op-ed article in the New York Times, by the widow of one of the souls of September 11, criticized the people who assemble in lower Manhattan. I do not disagree with her observation that visits to Ground Zero seem to be accorded people with connections. Nor do I disagree with her statement that Ground Zero has become "a burial ground," a "hallowed ground." But the overwhelming majority of people in lower Manhattan today are not "gawkers" or "tourists." These are people on visits of condolence expressing what for Madison, in Federalist No. 57, was the essence of democracy: "communion of interests and sympathy of sentiments" with their countrymen.

What next should be done? It would be appropriate for the President to ask Congress to purchase the site of the World Trade Center and declare it a national cemetery.

Yes, the site of the World Trade Center is a national cemetery. But the current climate in the city makes me fearful that we could before long see a sign declaring: "Citizens not allowed to pay respects." Instead, let the federal government do the right thing and declare Ground Zero what it became when the aggressors struck on September 11—our tragic new national burial ground, and venue for expression of personal rededication to the spirit of America.

Visitors to lower Manhattan on October 27, and the scene they were looking upon.