The New Hyde Park Fire Department unveiled a Sept. 11, 2001 monument during a dedication ceremony Friday evening in which a crowd of more than 100 firefighters, family members, residents and elected officials remembered and mourned the lives lost 15 years ago.
Designed by local architect Kenneth Garvin, the monument features the relic from the World Trade Center site where one of the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred, as well as a replica of the twin towers.
Former Fire Chief James Kane said the department started talking about building a monument five years ago, and official plans finally began in 2014.
Garvin designed multiple proposals before the final selection was made.
When the fire department received the replica of the towers, it mounted it so it looks like an open book.
“Many have commented that if someone is standing in front of it with their hands on the sides, it looks like they’re reading from the bible,” Kane said. “This was all by accident, and I knew instantly in my mind that we had gotten it right.”
The monument honoring the 14 people from New Hyde Park killed on 9/11 follows the style of the fire department’s monument to fallen firefighters at the opposite corner of its parking lot.
Kane said the monument is to be open to everyone at all times as a place of solace and comfort.
Although the department members have moved forward with their lives, the monument is to be a place where the past would always be remembered, he said.
The walls also contain plaques, each with a different reading, and a bench at the site donated by the Katie McBride Foundation in New Hyde Park.
The monument’s brick walls face south toward Jericho Turnpike, enabling anyone from Terrance Boulevard coming onto Jericho Turnpike to clearly see it.
The monument and relic is also visible from Jericho Turnpike down the block.
“Each wall represents something — our center wall is for the events of Sept. 11, the wall to the right is for the community of New Hyde Park and to the left is for our fellow firefighters,” Kane said.
The monument also features a small survivor tree at the entrance.
Kane said the original tree was heavily damaged, uprooted and burned during the attacks on Sept. 11.
After being removed from the site, it was nursed back to health and then replanted in 2010 at Ground Zero.
While not in the original plan, as the project moved forward, Kane said, the department was able to receive one, and is now a symbol of hope and rebirth on the site.
“The Village of New Hyde Park and our residents are very thankful for our fire district, as they have built this permanent location where we can remember that day,” Village Mayor Robert Lofaro said. “We can now walk past this monument every day, and pay our respects.”
Those killed in 9/11 who lived in New Hyde Park were Christy Addamo, Matthew Grzymalski, Jennifer Howley, Michael Lynch, Gerald Michael Olcott, Dipti Patel, Gregory Reda and David Silver. Howley was pregnant at the time of the attack.
Those who grew up in New Hyde Park were Richard Palazzolo and Ronald Kloepfer.
Former New Hyde Park firefighters killed were Kenneth Kumpel and Michael Montesi.
Those who died from illnesses stemming from the attacks were Robert Ehmer in 2010 and Gerard Beyrodt in 2015.
For each name read, a flower was placed on the relic to honor their memory.
Officials in attendance were U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City), state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Old Westbury), state Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square), North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Lofaro, village Deputy Mayor Lawrence Montreuil and Trustee Donna Squicciarino. Michael McBride of the Katie McBride Foundation also attended.
“This ceremony and memorial reminds me of what I’ve always known about New Hyde Park, which is that it is a strong community,” Rice said. “Sept. 11 is a day none of us will ever forget.”
