Metro

9/11 kin tell govs: PA ‘betrayed’ victims

More than 200 families of 9/11 victims signed a scorching letter yesterday accusing the Port Authority of blocking completion of the memorial and museum at Ground Zero, calling its actions “a betrayal of those who died.”

“We believe that the Port Authority is now engaged in a dishonest and dishonorable effort to exploit the [9/11] Foundation’s successful and disciplined efforts in order to offset its own reckless and irresponsible fiscal mismanagement,” said the letter to the governors of New York and New Jersey, who control the agency.

“Governor [Chris] Christie and Governor Cuomo, the Port Authority’s conduct is a betrayal of those who died on 9/11. It is a betrayal of the thousands who risked everything to honor them, and it is a betrayal of the growing number of children for whom ‘9/11’ is not a firsthand memory.”

The 9/11 Foundation, chaired by Mayor Bloomberg, has been locked in a dispute with the PA over which side is responsible for certain costs.

The families took Cuomo and Christie to task for expressing concern about the long-term stability of the foundation even while their appointees “seek to raid the foundation’s charitable coffers.”

The museum’s opening, which had been scheduled for this September, has been delayed indefinitely.

Both governors referred questions to the PA.

“The Port Authority and the state spend upwards of $2 million every month on this important project,” said PA spokeswoman Lisa MacSpadden.