9/11 Memorial To Charge $2 Advance Reservation Fee

Those who want to pay respects to the victims of 9/11 may need to open their wallets to do so.

The 9/11 Memorial Foundation was funded with a whopping $830 million, but The New York Post reports they are now charging visitors $2 fee per ticket for any advance reservations made online or by phone. Officials for the foundation rolled out the 9/11 Memorial fee without any fanfare on March 1st, but families of the victims who learned of the news weeks later are unanimously outraged.

"They're making money off the people that died. It's disgusting," said Jim Riches, a retired FDNY deputy chief who lost his firefighter son, Jimmy, on 9/11. "The memorial should be free for everybody to pay their respects. You wouldn't charge money to get into a cemetery."

Prior to the memorial opening in 2011, the foundation received $430 million in private donations and $295 million in taxpayer-funded grants for construction.

However, the foundation claims that the fee for advance reservations is necessary for crowd control purposes while on-site construction projects are still being completed.

"Like other similar institutions, in order to help support the operational needs of the 9/11 Memorial, we have implemented a service fee, solely for advance reservations," said foundation CEO Joe Daniels.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who chairs the foundation, also cited extreme costs as a reason for the relatively nominal fee. He said the memorial and an underground museum set to open next year will cost $60 million annually to operate. An additional $12 million will need to be spent on security each year, while an additional $5 will go towards operating the waterfall tributes.

Daniels wants to eventually make visiting the memorial free and said he is considering either charging a $20 mandatory admission or $25 suggested donation for the nearly completed museum.

Other major US attractions charge similar amounts for ticket reservations. The American Museum of Natural History charges $2 and the Washington Monument charges $1.50.