New York City officials have agreed to allow families of those killed in the terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001 to briefly visit the World Trade Center site on the sixth anniversary of the attacks.
Relatives had been allowed to freely visit the footprint of the destroyed Twin Towers during ceremonies the previous five years. But officials initially said holding such a ceremony this year would be too dangerous because of new construction.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg changed his mind Thursday after meeting with victims' family members and the Port Authority (of New York and New Jersey), which owns the World Trade Center site.
In a statement, the mayor said he has agreed to a proposal by the families requesting very limited and controlled access to Ground Zero on September 11th.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.