Earlier this week, the 8 finalists for the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition were announced. I'm not wild about any of them, but if I had to choose a favorite, I'd go with Lower Waters. Still, am I the only person who thinks that such a memorial is unnecessary? Yes, we should have something that commemorates the lives of those who died in the September 11 attacks. But these designs are gratuitously ornate. The city, which is in the midst of a huge budget deficit, should not be spending millions and millions of dollars constructing such elaborate sites, when the money could be used for much greater good. I would guess that families of the victims would, if asked, prefer that we spend money to help the homeless, boost education, or pay for more police and sanitation, instead of on 2,982 spotlights in a garden (as suggested by Garden of Lights). The WTC attack was a tragedy, and we should never forget those we have lost. But I don't think that we need this type of memorial to preserve their memory, especially when we can put that money to much more important use.