Freedom Tower Beams at Battery Park City

In another sign that progress is being made at the World Trade Center site, the first of the steel beams to be used in the building of the Freedom Tower will be on display at Battery Park City tomorrow. Starting at 10 a.m. relatives of 9/11 victims and first responders will be able to sign the thirty-ton beam. Between noon and 3 p.m. the public will be allowed to also sign the beam, which will be at the intersection of North End Avenue and Murray Street.

In other World Trade Center news, Welles Crowther, who died in the September 11th attacks, was awarded the title of honorary firefighter by the FDNY yesterday. This is the first time the Fire Department has given the honor posthumously. Crowther, an equities trader who was considering quitting his job to join the Fire Department, rescued at least five people before perishing. Among those he saved was Ling Young, whom he escorted down twenty flights of stairs after she was badly burned. "Once he figured out we were okay, he went back up," according to Young.

Photo of World Trade Center beams being shipped to America by Joe Woolhead courtesy of Silverstein Properties.