Monday, September 13, 2021 – TWO COMMEMORATIONS….FOR A SAD DAY

By admin

FROM THE ARCHIVES

MONDAY,  SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

THE 467th EDITION

TWO EVENTS

COMMEMORATING 9/11

TWO COMMEMORATIONS OF 9/11 ON THE ISLAND.
IN THE MORNING, RIOC…..

Public Safety Officers in formation by the 9/11 Memorial Tree

The plaque honors our residents and those who worked here who perished on September 11th.

Rossana Ceruzzi, President of RIRA with Shelton Haynes, President of RIOC

Kevin Brown, Director PSD and Michael Shinozaki, RIOC Board Member.

Chief Brown speaking 9/11 floral wreath commemorating event

Since our friends at RIOC are not ones for motivating events, this was the sad truth at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. A group of about 16 Public Safety officers, 3 members of the RIOC Communications team, one RIOC Board Member, RIOC president and RIRA president gathered at the 9/11 Memorial tree. 

RIOC has poorly publicized the event and  told people to stay away. 

Aside from a speech from Kevin Brown there were no speeches, no personal memories, no one invited to speak.

A white floral wreath was placed by the memorial.

The sad event was over in less than 30 minutes with an audience of about 30 persons.  Hundreds were just feet away at the farmers market, but there was no indication that this event was taking place.

Rossana Ceruzzi, RIRA President did her best to put this event together with the stubborn and not-communicative RIOC Communications team. She was not invited to make comments.

On RIOC  team member was in front of every speaker, busily recording “milestone” event for their next newsletter.

September 11th is such a special time to those who lived and worked here 20 years ago.  All from RIOC are newbies who only work here and do not relate to our community.

IN THE EVENING NEIGHBORS GATHERED

Matthew Katz and Sherrie Helstein led an informal gathering of neighbors in the evening. Most of us had lived on the island in 2001 and had vivid memories.

Our stories were personal and heartwarming, some brought tears, theirs told of good deeds and actions taken by the community the days after September 11th.  

It was the kind of gathering that a community knows well. We speak as veterans of the day, how we found out about the planes crashing into the WTC, how we got home, walking over the bridges, who we met that days,  and relationships that changed that day.

For an hour we were In the embrace of our friends and island family.

Andrea Jackson brought a photo montage of those who perished on that day. relocation’s were too raw to discuss at that time.

Joyce  Short told of being in the subway just feet from the Cortland Street Station.

Though small, it was gratifying to be with our neighbors.

Judith Berdy

Some of our neighbors who gathered last evening.

MONDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
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Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c)

RIHS ARCHIVES AND JUDITH BERDY

FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD

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