Iken created September's Mission, a foundation dedicated to developing a memorial park on the World Trade Center site. Hospital Audiences, Inc. (HAI), a not-for-profit organization that provides access to the arts for elderly, disabled and disadvantaged New Yorkers, offered September's Mission a corner in their Soho offices. During an interview in HAI's block-long loft, an employee rolls by on a metal scooter as Iken explains, "I can't bring Michael home but I can do something amazing for him. I can make sure I'm part of the process that builds the most beautiful memorial the world has ever seen."

In the months following September 11th, Iken became a prominent voice for families. She was determined that their concerns be heard by the assorted politicians, organizations and stakeholders debating the fate of the 16-acre area. Iken's fear: In the rush to get back to normal, people would forget the enormity of the event, building over what she believes is essentially a cemetery — sacred and hallowed space. Two-thirds of the people who died that day were never found, she says, including her husband. "They are somewhere on the site, even if its ash, or dust, or embedded in the cement or molecules of beings. This an energy source that we should not be playing with."

In January 2002, New York Governor George Pataki appointed Iken to the Family Advisory Council of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), the body charged with rebuilding the area south of Houston Street. For Iken, one position is non-negotiable for families: the footprints of the towers above and below ground and the surrounding area must be respected and nothing built upon them. "It has to be about the human life that was lost, not about money as usual," she says. "Money got us here in the first place. Those towers represented two big dollar signs."

The six plans for the rebuilding the World Trade Center site that the LMDC unveiled in July were also about the bottom line, Iken maintains. She feels validated by the resounding rejection of those plans. "The majority has spoken — now it's back to drawing board to come up with a new plan and we look to our governors to implement it." Iken is determined hold them to their word, she will remain vigilant during every step of the process, to attend every meeting. "I've been invited to go to Saudi Arabia, Turkey," she says. "But I can't go anywhere. I have to stay here. If I leave, they might say 'Hey Monica is gone.' Oh no I'm not! I'm right here!"

Iken has looked to previous memorials around the world for inspiration. She thinks Hiroshima's Peace City is a good model and Okalahoma City's National Memorial promotes tranquility and honors the lives of the lost. "I want to know that I can lie down on the grass if I want to and have a moment of peace with my husband and honor him," she says.

Monica Iken is patient. She knows developing and building the memorial will take time. Meanwhile, she will find her own way to memorialize her husband, in a new apartment where she recently moved — putting Michael's things in a chest, draping it with a flag, adding pictures and candles. Moving from the apartment she shared with her husband was one of the biggest steps towards healing. "In the beginning I couldn't leave my home," she says. "When it finally became a reality that Michael wasn't coming back, I couldn't go home."

In her new apartment, Monica no longer worries about when her husband is returning. But, she says, "I know he is with me because I don't feel alone anymore. I am blessed to have a great guardian angel and I know Michael will be waiting for me in lunchroom. Even if he has to wait a while."

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