The 9/11 Memorial Museum officially opens to the public on May 21, commemorating the 2,977 lives lost to terrorism on Sept. 11, 2001. One of those lives was the son of former FDNY Deputy Chief Jimmy Riches -- a life Riches said is being commodified by an "atrocious" gift shop that profits from his loss.
Riches joined HuffPost Live's Ricky Camilleri to air his grievances about the museum's gift shop, which is drawing the ire of victims' families for its "crass commercialism."
The New York fireman pointed to one gift shop item in particular that truly stings -- accessories bearing the epitaph written across the wall that holds the unidentified remains from Ground Zero.
"'No day shall erase you from the memory of time' -- they're selling bracelets with that inscription on it. That's like making money off of my son's dead body. I think it's horrible," Riches said.
Riches also slammed the museum's admission, which runs $24 for adults -- a price Riches said makes the facility unaffordable for many New Yorkers.
"This is a museum that is supposed to be for all Americans. Everybody is supposed to go in and see it -- rich and poor, people in Harlem, people in Brooklyn, people everywhere. Not just tourists," he said. "It's not a revenue-generating tourist attraction or a P.T. Barnum production."
See the full HuffPost Live conversation about the 9/11 gift shop in the video below.