JERSEY CITY, NJ — With the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks approaching, New Jersey’s official 9/11 memorial at Liberty State Park is facing renewed criticism from victims’ families, advocates and one of its designers, who say the site remains unfinished and in need of repairs.
The Empty Sky Memorial honors 749 New Jersey residents who were killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. The memorial, located on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City, was designed so that its two long walls point directly toward the place in the Manhattan skyline where the Twin Towers once stood.
It was dedicated in September 2011, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
But 15 years later, critics say the memorial still does not fully match the design originally selected by families and survivors.
What is still missing?
Jessica Jamroz, one of the memorial’s designers, told NJ Spotlight News that several original elements remain missing or need to be restored.
Among them are stainless-steel panels that were intended to cover the exterior sides of the two memorial walls. Those exterior panels were also supposed to carry the inscriptions “Never Forget” and “Always in Our Hearts.”
Jamroz also said that 65 autumn-flowering cherry trees, originally planted around the memorial as symbols of rebirth and renewal, need to be replaced.
Some informational kiosks that help visitors locate victims’ names are also broken, and advocates have raised concerns about lighting and other maintenance issues.
Another issue involves the names themselves.
Advocates and the memorial’s designer say 18 additional victims’ names still need to be added to the walls.
Families say the memorial was never truly finished
CBS New York recently reported that caution tape could be seen near parts of the memorial as advocates renewed calls for immediate improvements.
Mike Donatos, who lost his brother-in-law on 9/11 and served on the original committee that selected the memorial design, said families expected Empty Sky to become a place of honor and consolation.
He argues that the memorial has instead been allowed to remain incomplete for years.
The disagreement goes back to the construction of the memorial itself.
The original design was selected in 2004 from hundreds of submissions. But by 2007, rising construction costs — particularly the cost of stainless steel — forced the state to reconsider the project.
Construction bids reportedly reached between $22 million and $25 million while only about $10 million was available. The design was eventually modified, with stainless steel installed on the interior surfaces of the walls but not on the exterior as originally envisioned.
The memorial ultimately opened in 2011 at a reported cost of about $12 million.
State says the memorial is complete
The State of New Jersey has taken a different position.
The Department of Environmental Protection and the Treasury Department previously said the memorial “is considered complete,” explaining that the design was changed because sufficient funding was not available to build the original version.
That explanation has not satisfied family members and advocates, who say they never agreed that the scaled-back version represented the completed memorial they selected.
No dedicated money in the latest state budget
The renewed criticism comes at an especially sensitive time: the United States will mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Sept. 11, 2026.
A review of New Jersey’s newly enacted state budget found no specific state appropriation to complete Empty Sky.
Advocates estimate that fully completing and restoring the memorial could cost approximately $15 million. The state budget contains language allowing donations for memorial design costs to be deposited into a dedicated account, but it does not guarantee any specific amount of state funding.
That has intensified questions about whether the memorial will receive major improvements before the anniversary.
A memorial with one of New Jersey’s most powerful views
Despite the controversy, Empty Sky remains one of New Jersey’s most recognizable memorials.
Visitors walk between two parallel walls engraved with victims’ names while looking across the Hudson River toward Lower Manhattan. The space between the walls frames the section of sky where the World Trade Center towers once dominated the skyline.
For many families, that view is precisely why completing the memorial matters.
As the 25th anniversary approaches, their argument is simple: a monument built around the promise to remember should itself not be left unfinished.
Sources: CBS New York, NJ Spotlight News/PBS, CentralJersey.com, New Jersey public records. Additional Source: Gary Hershorn/X
By NJ RADAR Team