Dear George,
I was sorry to learn that the 9/11 Tiles for America bus is actually a permanent thing! I kept hoping it would move.
The 9/11 tiles should be displayed in a more dignified way, preferably outdoors as they were originally, and, ideally, somewhere near the new World Trade Center complex itself.
For the West Village, the 9/11 Tiles for America bus is an unwanted eyesore, and I hope it goes away. I’m sure I’m not the only resident who hates it!
— Linda Mann
Dear Linda,
Thankfully not everyone shares your opinion…The good news is it’s a bus and it can travel. Everyone I talk to is happy to hear the tiles have returned and we just got a great write up in the NY Post!
The origin of the Tiles goes back to Lorrie Veasy’s paint your own pottery shop, Our Name is Mudd on Greenwich Ave. and Perry which originated the idea of having Villagers express their emotions about the most traumatic incident in New York history, 9/11.
The tiles were painted by Villagers, children in public school and by tourists and everyday well wishers from around the world to express their emotions.
The surviving tiles are fragile and need protection. The 9/11 mobile gallery allows the community as well as tourists to see some of these historic tiles at the location where they were first created.
The 9/11 Tiles for America collection are an important part of West Village history and although a retired library bus may not be the ideal solution, it does allow the tiles to remain here in the Village across the street from the former St Vincent’s Hospital where people came to look for their loved ones and where the grass roots collection began.
There has been so much lost in the Village that we will never be able to get back, and for now the bus provides us with an opportunity to preserve one of the most important 9/11 treasures here in the community for the people who take comfort in their messages.
You will be happy to know that our long term plan is to create an indoor home for the tiles here in the Village and preserve our 9/11 Village treasure for generations to come.
—Dusty Berke
