Construction on 9/11 Memorial Museum to resume

Construction on the National  September 11 Memorial Museum is set to resume by the end of September, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said late Monday, after disagreements over funding and oversight stalled the museum’s opening, The New York Times reported.

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum Foundation, which controls the memorial and museum, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the World Trade Center site, reached a deal just hours before the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, which was the day the museum was supposed to open, according to reports by several news organizations.

Both sides say they hope the museum will now open by the end of 2013, although no completion date is included in the deal, The Times reported.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who lead the city through the terrorist attacks, expressed frustration over the delay on CNN’s Starting Point early Tuesday.

“Somebody’s got to feel a sense of urgency about this,” Giuliani said. “I do. I was here. I saw it happen. I have a sense of urgency about it. I wish everybody else that’s involved in this would have that same sense. “

But Bloomberg defended the process behind the construction of the museum, pointing out on CNN that the memorial for World War II in Hawaii took 40 years to build. The most important thing, Bloomberg added, is that the site is constructed safely, and economically.

“There was never any question we were going to finish the museum,” Bloomberg said early Tuesday. “Governors Christie and Cuomo were 100 percent committed to it, but everybody has their responsibilities and they want to make sure that their interests are protected. And that takes time.”