Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the City of Bayonne has covered over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s name and signature on the September 11 memorial and ground-breaking marker at the former Military Ocean Terminal. Mayor Davis said, “In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the enormous refugee crisis that he has caused, the City of Bayonne has covered President Putin’s name and signature until further notice. We remain grateful to the Russian people for the memorial. They did not start the war. Mr. Putin did. The memorial will stay in place on our waterfront. It is not going anywhere.â€
Mayor Davis added, “I would like to thank Public Works Director Tommy Cotter for finding a technique to cover Putin’s name and signature while still respecting those who perished on September 11, 2001. The covering will cause no damage to the memorial, which is an outstanding landmark designed by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli.†Director Cotter covered over Putin’s name and signature on Monday, March 14.
The ground-breaking ceremony for the memorial took place in 2005, when Putin visited the memorial site in Bayonne. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton participated in the memorial’s dedication ceremony in 2006.