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HEAVEN’S TEARS FLOW

Time may march on, but the grief remains just as deep.

Thousands of anguished relatives solemnly commemorated the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attack yesterday in a rain-swept ceremony that was the first to be held off the sacred soil of Ground Zero.

It was a day marked by change. It was the first anniversary to fall on a Tuesday – the day of the 2001 terrorist attacks – and the first time it had rained.

But the most striking difference was the city’s decision to move this year’s ceremony to a nearby park due to ongoing reconstruction at the site, a move met with outrage from some family members.

That led to a last-minute decision to allow relatives a brief trip down a long ramp to bedrock where reflecting pools represented the footprints of the Twin Towers.

“I don’t like where it was, but I am grateful that they decided to allow us down there to the base. That was a great relief to us,” said Ryan House, 34, of Beaumont, Texas, whose brother-in-law, firefighter James Matthews, lost his life in the collapse of the towers.

Not all were as pleased.

“I guess they mean well, but I really wasn’t happy,” said Sal Romagnolo, whose son, Joseph Romagnolo, worked in the Trade Center’s north tower. “I never got my son back. That’s the only place we have. I get nothing out of this park.”

Despite the changes, family members, as in years past, held moments of silence, listened to the stirring recitation of all 2,750 victims’ names, and made what might be their last trip into the pit where their loved ones were killed.

The weather only underscored the mood.

“I’m almost grateful that it wasn’t sunny,” said Marjorie Miller, whose husband, Joel, died that clear-skied September morning. “I think on a Tuesday morning, if it had been as beautiful a day as it was, it would have been even more upsetting.”

Norma Linguito, who lost her brother-in-law, Michael Diehl, said the rain was a sign from “the people who died.”

“They know it’s the last time we’re going to see sacred ground and visit them down here, and they’re telling us,” she said.

The city’s controversial decision to move the event to Zuccotti Park appeared to have affected turnout. Only an estimated 3,500 family members attended, down from 4,700 at the fifth anniversary last year.

“I feel betrayed. I feel they took something from me,” said Auxiliary Police Lt. Glen Schneider at the edge of the site. “How important is the work down there? Isn’t it about those who were lost?”

Those who did come huddled beneath umbrellas and struggled to hear the poignant reading of names by 9/11 first responders as wind echoed through the microphones and the sounds of car horns and police whistles resonated from nearby streets.

Many feared the changes meant a lessening of the impact of the attack on public consciousness – that people were beginning to forget the catastrophic events of that day.

“It’s starting to lose its impact, and I think that’s kind of depressing,” said Fran Greengarten, whose brother, Paul Simon, was killed. “I think the families, though, are not losing the impact. I think it’s everybody else that says, you know, it’s time to move on.”

lukas.alpert@nypost.com