NYC 9/11 Tribute Museum To Close, Citing 'Financial Hardship'

NEW YORK CITY — Lower Manhattan's 9/11 Tribute Museum will permanently shutter its doors this week, citing "financial hardship" as the cause, according to a message from the museum and multiple reports.

The museum at 92 Greenwich St. will close Wednesday, just weeks before the 21st anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, according to message sent to "docent family" shared by New York state Senate candidate Vito LaBella.

"Financial hardship including lost revenue caused by the pandemic prevents us from generating sufficient funding to continue to operate the physical museum," the message reads.

"It is with great sadness that we inform you that The 9/11 Tribute Museum will close."

The September 11th Families' Association did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment, but CEO Jennifer Adams-Webb told the New York Post the COVID-19 pandemic "completely annihilated" the museum's income.

The museum averaged 300,000 visitors per year before the pandemic but saw just 26,000 in 2021, Adams-Webb told the Post.

Ticket sales provided about 66 percent of the museum's earned income, the CEO added.

The 9/11 Tribute Museum, which first opened in 2005, stands just five blocks away from the National September 11 Memorial Museum and the memorial pools where the Twin Towers once stood.

It will maintain an online presence but the physical collection will be transferred to Albany and walking tours will end, according to the message shared by LaBella.

"I volunteered there on and off over the years," LaBella said. "Whenever I went back, even if it had been awhile, I felt welcomed. I’m saddened that it will no longer be there."

The candidate was far from the only New Yorker to mourn the loss of the museum, which launched an online petition earlier this year pleading for help from Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The petition was signed by more than 33,000 people.

"As someone was there that day I know how important it is to tell the stories of that day and honor all the heroes both first responder and civilian," wrote petitioner Jack Wallace. "We will never forget can’t just be words. Save this museum."