There is money flowing everywhere it seems, especially from the federal government, whether it’s in the form of direct funding or grants. But for some reason, the 9/11 Tribute Museum in New York City isn’t getting any of that cash. It’s probably because they aren’t green-energy compliant or have a diverse enough board.

The New York Post reported that the museum would be closing its doors on Wednesday due to a big drop in visitors since the pandemic started and also having to deal with outstanding capital debt.

Unfortunately, mandates, lockdowns and travel restrictions are responsible for one more termination of something that we once had.

Jennifer Adams-Webb, co-founder of the museum and the CEO of the September 11th Families’ Association, told The Post.,“Two-thirds of our income revenue annually comes from our earned income from admissions. We were completely closed for six months in 2020. We had been averaging 300,000 visitors a year … and last year we had a total of 26,000 visitors, so it completely annihilated our earned income. There’s no way we’re going to be able to dig out of this at this rate. We need the state or the city to step in with other partners to be able to say, ‘We value you. We want to save this organization,’ but at this point, we can’t continue to dig into a hole.”

The September 11th Families’ Association is a non-profit organization that was started in November of 2001 by families of the victims of 9/11. Their website says, “The 9/11 Tribute Museum conveys an understanding of the humanity and community that was both lost and found in the aftermath of 9/11. Throughout the 9/11 Tribute Museum, visitors are engaged in appreciating the scope and impact of the disaster as well as the enormous outpouring of compassion in response. By sharing with visitors the authentic experiences of those most affected by the events, exhibits and programs convey the courage, loss, heroism and grief of those who responded to the tragedy.”

The museum opened in 2006 and is separate from the official 9/11 Museum on the site of were the Twin Towers once stood. This museum is almost 30K square-feet and is about three blocks from the World Trade Center. Their galleries have been visited by more than five million people since 2006. Now, everything will be torn down, boxed up and sent to the New York State Museum in Albany.

There is a petition online that has gotten 33,667 signatures which is an effort to help fight the closure. The museum started this position and says that “New York’s Governor, Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Eric Adams have the power” to save the museum.

I don’t have a whole lot of faith that these two democratic politicians will step in at the last minute and save the museum. It’s too bad that a Go Fund Me fundraiser hasn’t been set up to fund the museum.

Especially with the anniversary of 9/11 coming up soon, surely, the American people, not just those in NYC, would come to the rescue of such an important museum. Without community of government intervention, this closure looks like it will be permanent.