9/11 memorial planners forgot bathrooms

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Rendering of the September 11th Memorial plaza

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The city has been preparing for years for the opening of the National September 11th Memorial and Museum on this year’s 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. But according to the Post, planners of the $508 million project overlooked one minor detail: there won’t be a single toilet on the eight-acre plaza to accommodate the millions of visitors expected. The memorial, which will display the names of the 2,982 victims of the terrorist attacks around two large reflecting pools, will eventually sit above a seven-story, below-grade museum, slated to open in the fall of 2012. The museum will of course have bathrooms, but the city said it has no plans to bring porta-potties to the site prior to its debut. Discount department store Century 21, which houses the closest bathrooms to the site, is already on alert for a deluge of visitors. “Every time they have something for 9/11, we expect a crowd at our bathrooms,” a store manager told the paper. “When President Obama visited, we had extra staff at the bathrooms to accommodate the crowd. We know we’re going to have to make adjustments when they open the memorial.” [Post]