Shortly after September 11 2001, Governor of New York George E. Pataki wrote a letter to Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England requesting that the Navy bestow the name "New York" on a surface warship involved in the Global War on Terrorism in honor of the victims of the September 11 attacks. In his letter, the Governor said he understood state names were reserved for submarines but asked for special consideration so the name could be given to a surface ship. The request was approved on 28 August 2002.
A symbolic amount of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center after it was destroyed in the September 11 attacks was used in her construction. The ship is the first to be designed fully from the CAD-screen up to support all of the Marines' primary mobility capabilities—Landing Craft Air Cushion and MV-22B Osprey. The contract to build New York was awarded to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2003. New York was under construction in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. of the steel used in the ship's construction came from the rubble of the World Trade Center; this represents less than one thousandth of the total weight of the ship. The steel was melted down at Amite Foundry and Machine in Amite, Louisiana, to cast the ship's bow section. It was poured into the molds on 9 September 2003, with cast to form the ship's "stem bar"—part of the ship's bow. The foundry workers reportedly treated it with "reverence usually accorded to religious relics," gently touching it as they walked by. One worker delayed his retirement after 40 years of working to be part of the project.
Christening and delivery
New York was christened on 1 March 2008, in a ceremony at Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans. Dotty England, the ship's sponsor, smashed the traditional champagne bottle on the ship's bow and christened the ship New York. Several dignitaries were in attendance, including Louisiana Congressman William J. Jefferson, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England, members of the New York City Police Department and the New York City Fire Department, and family members of 11 September victims. The champagne bottle did not break the first time it was struck against the hull of the ship, but the second attempt was successful. The ship was delivered to the Navy on 21 August 2009 at New Orleans. She set sail for Norfolk, Virginia, on 13 October 2009. On 2 November 2009 the ship passed the World Trade Center sitefor the first time and gave the site a 21-gun salute.
USS New York uses four Fairbanks-Morse license-built MAN Colt-Pielstick PC2.5 STC sequentiallyturbocharged marine diesel engines with inboard rotating Rolls-Royce controllable-pitch propellers. The V16-cylinder Colt-Pielstick PC2.5 STC engine is intended for use on ships requiring high propulsion power combined with a lightweight installation. Each V16 PC2.5 STC diesel engine weighs dry without flywheel. On 11 January 2010, the Navy announced that the ship would have to undergo repairs for faulty engine parts after inspectors discovered the "premature failure" of bearings on the ship's main propulsion diesel engines during a week-long sea trial following the November commissioning.
