We take great pride in the work we do for our commercial clients, but imagine being the people responsible for keeping the 9/11 Memorial clean and ready for the millions of people who visit? That’s exactly what James (Jim) Maroon does.
Jim is one of the people whose job is spent at the bottom of the memorial, making sure that it looks perfect for the next day’s visitors.
Thanks to the efforts of Joshua Charow at Limelight, a documentary series that follows different New Yorkers for the day, Jim shares his story and perspective about the job he has taken on, why he does it, and how honored and privileged he feels to have the opportunity to do this work.
Watch the video here:
If you have not had the chance to go to New York City and see the 9/11 Memorial, it is well worth the trip. You can learn more about the memorial and the museum by visiting 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
“My name is Jim Maroon and I work at the 9/11 Memorial and I’m a pool cleaner.”
Me and two other workers every night clean the pools with a vacuum and brush and try to keep them as spectacular as we can. We clean the pools five nights a week. We work at night from midnight to eight in the morning. It’s a long eight hours, but it’s worth it.
My father’s worked down here pretty much his whole adult life. He [worked in] both towers and a couple of the other buildings too. So I’ve spent most of my life down here, so this is was a great opportunity to try to give back. To take care of this place is very, very important.
I was here on 9/11. I worked at the New York Mercantile Exchange, and on the morning of 9/11, I was walking through the building to get to my building when the first plane went right overhead.
“We’re trying to make it better every day here.”
We honor the work Jim and his colleagues do to preserve this space.