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Some of the comments we've received about saving the stairway:

"This stairway should be preserved! I became aware of the controversy about the stairway after reading an article in today's Sunday newspaper. All day long, I conducted my own informal poll. I asked friends and family for their opinion. Not one said the stairway should be torn down! Most said this was a fitting memorial that would provoke thought and reflection every time a person visited or passed by. From what I read it appears residents of Battery Park City are primarily opposed to preserving the stairs. But this isn't just a New York problem. 9/11 was America's tragedy and although
it is a painful reminder for residents who live near the stairs, perhaps that's the point. No one should forget or dismiss what happened that day. A stairway that provided escape for some survivors, a stairway that is the last above-ground structure of the WTC, a stairway the leads up ( as up to hope or heaven) a stairway that leads nowhere ( as a reminder of what once stood here and what was lost), I think is a perfect memorial to those who lost their lives and those of us who mourn their passing."
— Reader from California

“A very dear friend of mine survived the disaster, walking down that very flight of stairs. Some time later, she told her story before my church group. She ended by saying that she was sure that God had spared her life because he still had work for her to do.

She, like the other survivors showed unbelievable courage, and determination in the face of such a horrible disaster. Would that we all, as Americans, could have that kind of faith and support one for another not only in the disasters that come into our lives, but in the daily living of those lives.

Those steps to life, to freedom, tell a story all their own, and most definitely should be preserved.“
— A grateful American

“This stairway is a very powerful visual artifact. How I wish my daughter had been able to find that stairway to life. She was on the 93rd floor of the North Tower. Escape was not an option for her and her co-workers. It should definitely be a part of the future memorial.”
— Mother of Victim

“I was not even aware of the existence of these stairs until yesterday when my sister... sent me info from your group. This amazes me. Of course they should be preserved, no question. I was a member of the advisory committee for the 'memorial center' and am on the FAC. We have become very frustrated with the LMDC's efforts and obvious lack of concern for artifacts such as this. Why has there been such little regard shown for American history? Destroying these stairs would be like destroying Ford Theatre or the Birmingham church where the four little girls were killed by American terrorists back in the '60's. Would anyone support that?”
— Brother of Victim (Firefighter)

“As someone who did not escape from the towers, I didn’t feel I could comment on stairs. I didn’t have a personal emotional connection to them at all except through the stories I’ve heard from people who did escape.

That changed when I saw the pictures of Sept 11 and the current stairs side by side. Even in photos, the effect is stunning. So speaking from my position as a tourist to New York, I can say that actual artifacts like the stairs are what I would come to see and expect to see at Ground Zero.

I would want to know what people went through. I would want to imagine myself exhausted like the people in the photo coming down those stairs. It is such an everyday experience, walking up and down stairs, but like everything on Sept 11 was made extraordinary. This is one of the few things I think that is commonplace enough that people could viscerally react to the events of the day. I know I would come away thinking: those stairs, those very stairs, those people came down those stairs… It’s a chilling, and I think very necessary part of telling the story. And, in many ways, more immediately understandable to people from everywhere whereas the E-train entrance might be something New Yorkers might relate to but not people from Minneapolis for example where there are no subways.

I think the strategy from a Stairs of Survival perspective is a must. I think the story though goes both ways: what it means to the people who came down those stairs, and also as a way of showing people who did not what it was like. Those stairs are very stark and haunting and I think people will “get it” if they have a chance to see them. And I might add that the contrast of those coming down made it out, those going up did not, again is a very powerful thing. The 'stairs to nowhere' aspect is gut-wrenching as well.”
— NY Visitor