By Gabriela Resto-Montero and Josh Williams
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
BATTERY PARK CITY — The USS New York, a navy assault ship made with steel from the World Trade Center, arrived in its namesake city on Monday to a 21-gun salute near Ground Zero.
Hundreds of people — first responders with lapel pins that said "never forget," victims' families and members of the public — gathered at a viewing area along the Hudson. They could see members of the crew standing at attention along the New York's deck.
The bow of the $1 billion ship is constructed from 7.5 tons of steel recovered from the Twin Towers. It was commissioned before the 9/11 attacks, but was named to honor the city, state and the people who died.
The ship then sailed up the Hudson, escorted by FDNY and NYPD harbor units, to the George Washington Bridge before it turned around and docked at the USS Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
As the New York pulled in, a crowd of onlookers and parent of the service crew watched in silence. Then, someone yelled out, "Welcome Home!" and the crowd erupted in applause.
“This is incredibly thrilling," Kathy Bonvillain, of Louisiana, who's son, Derek Mitchell, serves on the vessel, told DNAinfo. "I don’t have words to describe what I’m feeling right now.”
The ship is 684 feet long and can carry as many as 800 Marines. Its flight deck that can handle helicopters and the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.
Of the 361 sailors serving aboard the ship, 13 percent are from New York State, which is higher than normal.
Parents of sailors were also at the event.
After the ceremony, the New York sailed up to the George Washington Bridge with a flotilla of tugboats and other craft. It will remain docked at Pier 88 near the USS Intrepid until Nov. 12.
