By Cole Sinanian | cole@queensledger.com
GLENDALE — New Yorkers who remember that fateful September day 25 years ago don’t have to think hard to recall the confusion, the pain, and the faces of the loved ones they lost.
For District 28 State Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi, each anniversary brings back memories of Scotty, a childhood friend who lost his life when the Twin Towers went down.
“Scotty was a good guy, a great athlete, a good guy in the neighborhood,” Hevesi said at a gathering in Glendale on September 6. “The chances are that he would have had kids, and that our kids would have grown up together, and he would have had a family. He would have been with my kid now. How wonderful that would be, and that was stolen from us.”
For Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, the day was marked by memories of chaos, fear and confusion.
“I do want to set the stage for those that did not live through this, if I can,” Katz said. “What we knew was the bridges were closed, the tunnels were closed. No one knew what to do with their children who were all at school. How do you know what to do? The nation is under attack. How do you know what to do when your family’s separated?”
But as the years pass and a new generation comes of age, fewer and fewer Americans have personal memories of the attacks. According to recent estimates from the 9/11 Legacy Foundation, as many as 100 million Americans either were not yet born or were too young to remember 9/11.
On Sunday afternoon, Hevesi, Katz, as well as City councilmembers Joann Ariola and Phil Wong, State Senator Joseph Addabbo, and community members, FDNY firefighters, police officers and local boy scouts gathered at Glendale’s Dry Harbor Playground to share memories of the attacks, promote unity, and remind New Yorkers — particularly those too young to remember 9/11 — to never forget the day that forever altered the course of American history.
In his speech, Addabbo pointed to a group of young children observing the ceremony from the playground and evoked the United States’ official motto, the Latin phrase “E Pluribus Unum,” meaning “out of many, one.”
“Our young ones who are playing in the park today— they may not know, they may not remember about 9/11, and that’s why it’s important that we’re here today,” Addabbo said.
He continued: “I want to say thank you to those families who are still suffering, whether their loved ones passed away on 9/11 or those who passed after 9/11. We pray for you. We’re with you. We are standing today together as one community. No politics. We stand together as one.”
After a salute by ROTC cadets, several speakers highlighted local initiatives to make 9/11 remembrance a year-round affair. Councilmember Wong pointed to his own efforts to update street signs co-named in honor of FDNY, EMS and NYPD first responders who lost their lives in the attacks. Councilmember Ariola, meanwhile, championed her resolution in the City Council to call on the State Legislature to pass legislation to incorporate mandatory 9/11 education into the public school curriculum.
“We must remember with action and not just with words,” Ariola said. “Let’s continue to remember the names of those who passed, because the only time you’re forgotten is when someone stops saying your name.”
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