To the Struggle Against World Terrorism

Template:Short description Template:Infobox monument To the Struggle Against World Terrorism (also known as the Tear of Grief and the Tear Drop Memorial) is a 10–story sculpture by Zurab Tsereteli that was given to the United States as an official gift from the Russian government as a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks in 2001, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.<ref name=Memorial_Brochure>Template:Cite web</ref> It stands at the end of the former Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey. Ceremonial groundbreaking occurred on September 16, 2005, in a ceremony attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The monument was dedicated on September 11, 2006, in a ceremony attended by former U.S. President Bill Clinton.<ref name=Memorial_Brochure /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Design

The sculpture comprises a Template:Convert bronze-clad tower split with a jagged opening in the middle, in which hangs a Template:Convert-tall nickel-surfaced teardrop.<ref name="NYT2004">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Memorial_Brochure /><ref name="Tsereteli's_official">Template:Cite web</ref> The eleven sides of the monument's base bear granite name plates, on which are etched the names of those who died in the September 11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, like some other 9/11 memorials, the dedication was based on an outdated compilation and contains about forty people who were removed from later victim listings.<ref name="40toomany">Template:Cite news</ref>

Tsereteli did not disclose the cost of the sculpture except to say that he paid for labor and materials. A lawyer for the sculptor released the cost at about $12 million.<ref name=elephant>Template:Cite web</ref> Tsereteli said metals for the sculpture were obtained "From a military factory that did airplanes. In Dzerzhinsk. A secret city."<ref name=finnegan>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Further information

The monument was initially given to the local government of Jersey City, but was rejected.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was then relocated to its present placement in Bayonne.<ref name="40toomany"/> In August 2010 the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced it had plans to build a container facility on the location and the monument would most likely have to be moved.<ref name=elephant/> However, Robert "Captain Bob" Terzi, a Bayonne taxi driver started an online petition to prevent the relocation.<ref name=elephant/>

It was listed as one of the world's ugliest statues by Foreign Policy magazine,<ref name="ugly">Template:Cite magazine</ref> while The New Yorker said that it looked like "a giant tea biscuit" from a distance.<ref name=finnegan/> Pro Arts Jersey City called it "an insensitive, self-aggrandizing piece of pompousness by one of the world's blatant self-promoters".<ref name="NYT2004"/>

In September 2011, a Template:Convert section of steel from the World Trade Center was placed adjacent to the sculpture.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city of Bayonne had Vladimir Putin's name covered on the two plaques in the park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Empty Sky (memorial)
• Hudson Riverfront 9/11 Memorial
• Jersey City 9/11 Memorial
• Memorials and services for the September 11 attacks

External links

• WebSite for the Teardrop Memorial — Info & Facts
• PDF Brochure for the Teardrop Memorial — Info & Facts
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