9/11 Memorial Pools refurbished and maintained nightly with reverence
LOWER MANHATTAN (WABC) -- The 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan is a sacred space that serves as a powerful reminder to never forget -- and for the millions who visit, it is just as pristine today as the day it opened.
The sound of the falling water muffles the clang of the city that surrounds it.
A stand of swamp white oak trees, each one numbered and doted on, shelter this sacred space, and 23 years on, families still leave flowers on the sturdy plates where the names of the dead are seared in bronze and lighted from below.
When the tourists leave and the sun sets, the water in the pools of the 9/11 Memorial slows and draws to a trickle, and a busy army of workers takes over.
Overnight, the bronze plates, worn by the constant tussle of visitors, are refurbished by artisans with a torch in one hand and a touch-up brush in the other.
Thirty feet below, others pull out miles of hose to clean the pools of debris and leaves that fall in. They work there in reverent silence, keeping this national storehouse of grief and hope immaculate.
"It's not just a bronze plate, it's a place for them to reflect and how they move forward," said Tony Locasto, chief engineer.
Locasto heads up the team in charge of maintaining the National 9/11 Memorial.
An engineer by trade, he knows all about the physical plant that makes the memorial operate.
But he knows, too, how important it is to keep this unique space, the footprints of the World Trade Center, where nearly 3,000 people lost their lives pristine.
"The family members come to the memorial because it's where they remember their loved ones, they can reminisce," he said.
The cool, pleasant night Eyewitness News visited Locasto and his crew, and no one complained about the weather. But, the workers are there every night, in whatever weather they find.
"Fifteen degrees. Snow squalls," he said.
All in the name of maintaining this special space, where heartache and hope together bind a nation.
"It's the most fulfilling job I've ever had," Locasto said.
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