Ocean City — The city has a piece of the World Trade Center from New York City and plans on incorporating it in a monument for those killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

City Business Administrator Michael Dattilo said the city obtained a 2.5-foot section of steel I-beam from the one of the World Trade Center towers.

Dattilo said the Port Authority of New York made these artifacts available to municipalities throughout the country and Ocean City expressed interest nine months ago.

“We’re going to incorporate it into a memorial for 9/11 and the victims,” Dattilo said.

The memorial will be located on the Asbury Avenue side of the Sixth Street firehouse. The Community Art Projects group will use a sculptor to design the memorial.

Community Arts Projects President Leslie Skibo said she was “honored” the city contacted her organization.

“The city had called and showed me the piece of steel they had gotten from 9/11 and wanted to know if my art group could come up with an artist who could do something to make a memorial out of it,” Skibo said.

An artist, sculptor Jose Chora, who co-owns ChoraLeone gallery in Somers Point, drafted several concepts and showed them to city officials, who chose one for the memorial, Skibo said.

Chora designed the bicycle sculpture on Ninth Street and Haven Avenue. Skibo said Chora will work on the memorial in the upcoming months and complete it before the September 11th ceremony.

The memorial will be unveiled during the city’s annual memorial service on September 11 at the Sixth Street firehouse.

“We think this will be a very nice monument for the community and an important event,” Dattilo said. “We’re looking for a good keynote speaker, possibly someone involved in New York that day.”

Skibo said the Community Art Projects is seeking contributions for the memorial. The Community Art Projects is a 501c3 organization, meaning the donations are tax deductable. Contact the organization online at www.communityartprojects.com.