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NEW YORK— A longtime organizer of cultural events in Lower Manhattan was appointed Tuesday to oversee creation of a memorial to victims of the World Trade Center attack. 

Anita Contini, 58, a vice president for global sponsorships and events marketing for Merrill Lynch, will be vice president and director of memorial, cultural and civic programs for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the city-state agency charged with rebuilding the area. 

The size and location of the monument to the more than 2,800 victims of the Sept. 11 attack has been a contentious issue, with some relatives wanting the entire 16-acre site to become a memorial. On Saturday, Gov. George Pataki promised there would be no commercial development on the one-acre patches each tower occupied. 

“I know that there are many viewpoints and different views,” Contini said. 

Before joining Merrill Lynch in 1999, Contini directed the arts and events program at the World Financial Center since 1986. In 1973, she founded Creative Time Inc., a nonprofit arts organization,