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USS INTREPID MUSEUM GETS RENOVATIONS AND A MOVE
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All this amid rumors of an investigation into
the owning foundation.
Story here...
http://www.newsday.com/business/
ny-bzintr264948052oct26,0,75759.story?coll=ny-business-print
Story below:
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As controversy surrounds the pier where the Intrepid is docked, the
museum faces ...
A moving experience
BY KEIKO MORRIS
Newsday Staff Writer
Moving can be one of the most stressful experiences.
But imagine temporarily relocating the USS Intrepid, a 900-foot-long
aircraft carrier and museum steeped in history and symbolism, from the
Manhattan pier it has called home for 24 years. Add to that a federal
investigation that has nothing to do with the Intrepid but has spawned a
flood of false presumptions about the museum's involvement.
With less than two weeks before the Intrepid moves for refurbishing,
Bill White, president of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, has added
several hours to his tight moving schedule to reassure the multitude of
agencies involved in funding tens of millions of dollars for the
Intrepid's relocation and renovation, letting them know "unequivocally"
and "emphatically," that the Intrepid and its foundation are not and
never have been under investigation.
"This investigation and the fact that it's about the city's engineer and
a contractor who may or may have not done work on Pier 86 is completely
separate and there is no link," White said yesterday. "The importance of
what we're trying to maintain is that we are good custodians of people's
money."
The investigation revolves around questions over whether a contract to
repair the Hudson River pier where the Intrepid is docked was awarded
through bribery or bid-rigging. The pier is owned by New York City, not
the Intrepid. However, a Newsday story mentioned the Intrepid, setting
off a flurry of phone calls to White's office from concerned agency
officials and board members.
This comes as crews are dredging about 20,000 cubic yards of Hudson
River silt built up against the ship's propellers after 24 years,
shrink-wrapping and securing the Intrepid's collection of military
planes and packing numerous items inside the ship for its 18-month
temporary relocation.
The Intrepid is to disembark from Pier 86 on Nov. 6 and head to dry dock
in Bayonne, N.J., before moving on to Staten Island. The $10-million to
$15-million project - whose funds are administered by the Hudson River
Park Trust - will include renovations to the ship's steel structure, a
new Navy gray coat of paint, new expanded exhibits and military-plane
collection, and an interior refurbishment. Meanwhile, the deteriorating
pier where it has been docked will be demolished and rebuilt.
Much is at stake in protecting the Intrepid's name, museum officials
said. While the aircraft carrier, which survived five kamikaze attacks
during World War II, is viewed as a sacred place, a national cemetery
and historic battlefield, its foundation has carved out a mission that
goes beyond commemorative and educational goals.
Arnold Fisher, chairman of the board of the Intrepid museum, describes
the Intrepid as "the mother ship" for launching numerous charitable
efforts.
"What is really the interesting story behind the Intrepid is the
humanity," White said.
The Intrepid Foundation provides financial support for U.S. military
personnel killed in the line of duty. It distributed $14million for
families of those killed in Iraq or Afghanistan after Intrepid officials
learned that each family received $6,000 - half of which was taxable -
when a soldier died, White said. The foundation provided $11,000 for
every surviving spouse and $5,000 for every dependent child until it and
others successfully lobbied the government to offer death benefits that
paid surviving families $500,000, White said.
The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund raised $45 million to build the Brooke
Army Medical Center in San Antonio - a state-of-the-art hospital and
rehabilitation center for severely injured military personnel. And the
Fisher House Foundation, established by the Intrepid museum's founder,
Zachary Fisher, has constructed at least one house at every major
military medical center, so families can remain close to soldiers during
hospitalization.
"This is not charity for us," White said. "This is duty."
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Larry Scott
