Dispute Settled Over New York’s 9/11 Memorial

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced on Thursday that it has agreed to take over the construction of the World Trade Center memorial and museum, The New York Times reports.

An agreement was reached after fund-raising efforts were put on hold for several months while the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, which was originally responsible for raising money and overseeing construction of the site, negotiated with city and state officials over who had responsibility for the memorial’s construction, financing, and operations.

The memorial is scheduled to open in 2009, and is expected to cost at least $740-million.

Under the new agreement, the foundation will return to its job of raising money for the memorial. It will be responsible for completing the design, financing construction costs, running the memorial complex, and paying the memorial’s operating costs.

The port authority will be responsible for building the memorial, the museum, and a visitors’ center.