A warship built with 7 1/2 tons of steel from the World Trade Center site is heading to its namesake city.
The USS New York left south Louisiana, where it was built, on Tuesday. The Navy will officially commission it in New York in early November.
Organizers of a "line the levees" event in the New Orleans area are hoping several thousand people turn out for a send-off there.
Organizer Lola Lass said she expects a festive, patriotic scene. Flags were being handed out to people gathering at a riverfront park.
Thousands of workers helped build the ship at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's yard in Avondale.
A company spokesman says two ships under construction — Arlington and Somerset — will join the New York as 9/11 "tribute" ships.
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