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City May Stop Reading Names of 9/11 Victims
August 19, 2011

Every year since the 9/11 attacks, the annual ceremony at ground zero has included a reading of the names of the victims by family members and friends, as well as government officials. But today during his weekly radio show, Mayor Bloomberg said that the tradition could come to an end after this year. As the Post reports:

On his radio show today, Mayor Bloomberg said the 9/11 memorial foundation intends to survey family members of the victims and first responders to get their feelings about making changes to the solemn ceremony.
"Some people have said we should go on forever," said the mayor. "Some people have said change is good. The subject's come up a couple of times. I think we've said the foundation board will talk about this."
So far, the reaction from family members of 9/11 victims has been about what you'd expect:
Rosemary Cain, whose 35-year-old son, George Cain, a firefighter, was killed on 9/11, said she would be heartbroken if she could not hear her son's name read on future anniversaries.
"He deserves to be remembered as George," said Cain, a Long Island resident. "[The 9/11 victims] are not a number. They all had lives, hopes and dreams, and they deserve to be remembered individually."
Retired FDNY Chief Jim Riches, whose 29-year-old son, Jim Riches Jr., also a firefighter, was killed on 9/11, agreed that it is important to read the names of the victims every year. "It's a disgrace to say something like that," Riches said of the mayor's comments. "It's disrespectful to all of the 9/11 victims."

It's not clear what the rationale is behind potentially ending the reading. Bloomberg apparently didn't explain who is against it, or why.
Here are a couple of snippets from past years' readings:
New York Magazine


Christie disagrees with NYC Mayor Bloomberg over 9/11 ceremony lineup
Thursday, August 18, 2011
By Ginger Gibson
State House Bureau

ELIZABETH -- Governor Christie insists he and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg are friends, but that doesn't mean he didn't let him know when a former New Jersey governor was omitted from a September 11 memorial ceremony.

The New York Post reported Thursday that former Gov. Donald DiFrancesco had been left off a ceremony being planned by Bloomberg's office and that Christie became angry and insisted he be added.
DiFrancesco, who was governor during the 9/11 terrorist attack, was added to the participants Wednesday.
But that doesn't mean Christie's entirely pleased with the ceremony lineup. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chairman David Samson, who represents the Garden State in the running of the authority, still isn't being included in the program.

"Stay tuned, we'll see. I don't know if I need to send his business card, but David Samson is the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He is the leader of the ground we will be standing on," Christie said. "I'm not going to get into some huge public back and forth on this, I've made my position clear"
When asked why Christie, who controls half the Port Authority, couldn't just force them to include Samson, he responded, "We're not going to have an Alexander Hamilton-Aaron Burr moment," referring to the historical duel.
The Post quoted unnamed sources saying Christie privately called Bloomberg "Napoleon," "a dictator" and "a putz," which Christie denied entirely.

"Usually, I just say those things publicly," he joked. He added, "I consider Mike Bloomberg a friend and I think he feels the same way."
From NorthJersey.com