The National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum has received a low-interest $15 million loan from Mayor Michael Bloomberg to help the nonprofit with a budget shortfall.
The underground museum is slated to open next year.
Bloomberg is the foundation’s chairman. The New York Times says he made the lowest possible interest rate of less than 0.3 percent so it would qualify as a loan rather than a gift under federal rules.
The museum is estimated to cost around $700 million.
The foundation has received more than $425 million from state and federal government and the Port Authority. It’s also raised over $450 million in private donations.
A spokeswoman for Bloomberg didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment or say why he’s making a loan rather than a gift.
(AP)
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3 Responses
“The museum is estimated to cost around $700 million.
The foundation has received more than $425 million from state and federal government and the Port Authority. It’s also raised over $450 million in private donations.”
I’m no accountant but it seems like they’ve raised more than it costs, and now another 15 on top? No wonder the economy is in shambles
“The museum is estimated to cost around $700 million.”
What??? How can it possibly “cost” $700,000,000.00? Are the walls lined with gold?
It’s nice having a mayor who can supplement public spending with his own money, even if the government (frugally) refuses to use taxpayer money for a project. Nelson Rockefeller did that occasionally when he was governor (as in, “well, if the legislature won’t pay for it, I will, and they will name it after me”). The most famous example was when Queen Elizabeth I couldn’t get an adequate naval appropriation from the parliament, and complained she had to buy the ships with her personal funds.