Manhattan skyline is lit up in test run for Tribute In Light 9/11 memorial

Images have revealed a brief test run of the 9/11 Tribute In Light in Manhattan, after a private foundation stepped in to put on the memorial when Mayor Bill de Blasio was criticized for allowing it to be cancelled.

The test run on Friday night gave a preview of what the memorial will look like next week, when the twin beams of light will illuminate the sky from dusk to dawn on the night of September 11, the 19th anniversary of the attacks.

The tribute was first displayed six months after the attacks that took down the World Trade Center towers, and has been held every year since to honor the victims of the terror attacks..

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation last month announced that it was taking over this year’s light memorial after the normal organizers said it would be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum normally organizes the tribute, but this year said organizers were particularly worried about the health risks to workers who would set up the display.

To create the installation, known as ‘Tribute in Light’, 40 stagehands and electricians work in close proximity for more than a week. 

Paul Nunziato, president of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, said at the time that the cancellation of the light tribute would only feel more ‘demoralizing’ for New Yorkers as they battle the coronavirus pandemic.

He also criticized Mayor Bill de Blasio for not doing enough to save the ceremony. 

‘For all the nonsense the mayor has allowed in recent months, what is the problem with putting the lights up?’ he told the Daily News. 

However, de Blasio does not have direct authority over the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which made the decision to call off the tribute.

The Tunnel to Tower foundation said the tribute is expected to continue as planned – with some minor tweaks – after organizers teamed up with members of the community to recreate the installation. 

Port Authority Police, along with members of the NYPD and FDNY, have also agreed to move the spotlights to Port Authority property near the World Trade Center.

The lights are usually installed on top of the Battery Parking Garage that is located near the museum. 

‘Because Tunnel to Towers is fully committed to the idea that we must never forget, the Foundation is doing everything in its power to make sure that the Towers of Light will once again be illuminated,’ the charity said in a statement. 

In a tweet, Staten Island Councilman Joe Borelli praised the organization for stepping up to the plate after he had criticized the decision to cancel the event. 

‘Final Update: Problem solved. We should all pay a debt of gratitude to the Tunnel to Tower foundation. They are getting the job done. The Tribute in Lights will happen!’ he tweeted. 

The lights first appeared in March 2002, six months after the attack, when they were originally organized by the Municipal Art Society. 

They can be seen up to 60 miles away in the days leading up to 9/11 each year and extend four miles into the sky. 

The lights are typically turned on at dusk and would shine through the night until dawn on September 12.  

It has become one of the signature elements of the annual commemorations, and the memorial and museum took over the organization of the tribute in 2012.