The Road to the USS New York By Scott Koen

The concept of the USS New York all started with the World Trade Center Memorial Competition. I developed a proposal named “Freedom Plaza” which was a huge North American Bald Eagle made entirely of recycled steel and aluminum from Ground Zero. Another idea I had was to use some of that same steel in a new ship called the USS New York City. What better way to honor the thousands that lost their lives than to have a ship built from Ground Zero. I worked at the Intrepid Museum at the time,  spoke to Bill White the CEO and explained my idea . Bill emailed CNO Vern Clark who responded “Love the idea and I will pass to our folks soonest” and thanked us. The Navys enthusiastic response was only tempered by the question of structural strength. Once that was satisfied my next task was to find the steel that could be used. I contacted Hugo Neu, a WTC steel processor and after the initial “You want what? for what??” conversation they provided us with 24 tons. The steel left on the 27^th of December 2002 bound for the Northrop Grumman Shipyard in Pascagoula, MS. Upon it’s arrival, 7 tons were selected for the bow piece. On August 4th 2005, the LPD 21’s bow stem, with its World Trade Center steel, was erected into the main hull and will forever lead the future USS New York.

More info on Freedom Plaza availible at www.ussnewyork.com/freedomplaza