Instead of a berth next to the aircraft carrier that houses the museum, it would go in a facility to be built in a parking lot across the street, surrounded by storage warehouses, a car wash and a strip club.
The museum does not own the lot, which is designated for manufacturing uses and would have to be re-zoned to house the shuttle.
This has prompted U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) to write a letter urging NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to reconsider his decision on Enterprise.
"This report makes it evident that New York City was, and still is, woefully unprepared to house the Enterprise space shuttle," he wrote.
"This also raises further questions about the thoroughness of NASA's selection process and I urge NASA to revisit its decision to send the Enterprise to New York."
Brown made a pitch in his letter for a site in his state: the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton.
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Dayton, OH - As the brewing controversy regarding NASA's flawed Space Shuttle retirement program continues, Dayton City Paper publisher Paul Noah issued a stirring call to action on behalf of thousands of taxpayers who petitioned President Obama to overturn his administration's inept decision to award the Enterprise orbiter to the unprepared Intrepid Museum in New York City.
ReplyDeleteMr. Noah's editorial is a bold follow up to his paper's December 27, 2011 expose, http://www.daytoncitypaper.com/nasa-to-dayton-over-and-out/ , on this growing scandal which has been a particular insult locally to the home of the Wright Brothers and regionally to the Midwest.
Fortunately, Members of Congress representing the people of Houston, Texas; Seattle, Washington; and Dayton, Ohio are pressing NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to release more details on the Intrepid's faulty application which Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown described as "a bait and switch".
The full text of Mr. Noah's remarks are below.
Shame on NASA, NYC and the President.
New York deceived NASA and the nation. They never had the facilities or the
money that they claimed they had to display the Enterprise shuttle at the Intrepid
Sea, Air & Space Museum in Manhattan. Now they’re admitting it. New York State
Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera admitted last week to the New York Post (newspaper)
they were never ready in the first place. “Contributing to the problem are the limited
display space at the Intrepid, land-use disagreements with a state agency and the
expense of constructing a proper home for [an] icon of American ingenuity.” So what
is NYC’s plan now? Ms. Rivera has introduced legislation to raise money for her
proposed “Explore the Cosmos New York Fund” to combat the above problems.
This is outrageous! If New York wasn’t ready (as claimed), then they should never have
been awarded the shuttle in the first place. Shame on NASA. Shame on NYC. And
shame on President Obama for continuing to not react to Ohio's “We the people” petition
—legitimately submitted to him through the White House's own process— to bring the
Enterprise to the National Museum of the United States Air Force here at the “Birthplace of Aviation”. That request is still sitting on his desk. As evidenced by last week’s Presidential news conference on the contraception issue, the White House can and will reverse decisions if there is enough heat.
However, it’s nearly too late to do anything further. Why? Because the fleet of 747
aircrafts necessary to transport the shuttle is also slated for immediate retirement. Once
those airplanes are grounded the Enterprise will permanently rest in NYC. What can
you do? Contact the White House, your congressman and/or Senator and, if necessary,
express your dissent in November! Turn up the heat Ohio!
Paul Noah
Publisher
Dayton City Paper
publisher@daytoncitypaper.com
126 North Main Street
Suite 240
Dayton, OH 45402