Suozzi Unveils Nassau County’s 9/11 Memorial in Eisenhower Park Honoring Residents Who Died in 9/11 Attacks

A view of the 9/11 Memorial (top), with the replica of the Twin Towers visible to the left of the American flag. County Executive Suozzi (bottom) greets a visitor during the 9/11 unveiling.

Marking the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Nassau County Exeecutive Thomas R. Suozzi unveiled a $2 million memorial — the largest in the nation to date — honoring the 344 Nassau County residents who lost their lives on that day. The unveiling ceremony was held at Eisenhower Park's Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre, across from the memorial, on September 9. On March 11, 2003, President Bush – along with then-Gov. George Pataki and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani – helped break ground for the memorial.

“The attacks of September 11th have left an indelible mark not just on our nation, but on our county, which lost 344 people,” Suozzi said. “I can only hope that this memorial will lend some solace to the pain their families feel.”

The memorial features a wall with the names of the 344 Nassau residents who died in the World Trade Center and on Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Several Nassau communities suffered a particularly large number of deaths that day: Rockville Centre lost more than 20 people, Garden City, 19, Manhasset, 17, and Valley Stream, 14 residents.

“This memorial could not have been built without the commitment and dedication of all involved,” said Janet Wexler-Magee, a Nassau County resident whose husband, Charles Magee, died in the World Trade Center’s North Tower, where he worked on the 88th floor. Magee also served as a board member of the Nassau County Memorial Foundation. “I hope that everyone who lost someone on September 11, 2001 will find comfort in this memorial,” she said.

Nearly five years ago, County Executive Suozzi formed the Nassau County 9/11 Memorial Foundation to fund-raise and oversee construction of the memorial. A design contest was held to find the winning design. Since then, the foundation has received financial support from the County and from hundreds of local residents and businesses. In addition, over 500 union members from Long Island’s building trades volunteered thousands of hours of labor to help build this memorial.

“The members of the building and construction trades unions and their signatory contractors, who volunteered their time, materials and expertise, have a personal commitment to this memorial and community,” said Bobby Bonanza, president of Laborers' Local 66 and board member of the Nassau County Memorial Foundation. “Many of the members of our unions live and work in Nassau County, and each was affected in their own way by the events of 9/11. The 344 Nassau County residents killed on that tragic day were part of our family and community. The engineers, electricians, lathers, carpenters and laborers who labored to see this fitting memorial built are proud of their contribution. We will always remember.”

The memorial features two semi-transparent aluminum towers, representing the World Trade Center towers, rising 30 feet from a fountain, and also contains two pieces of steel from the World Trade Center's wreckage.

The program for the unveiling consisted of various performances from

children who lost parents on September 11, the reciting of the 344

names that are part of the Memorial, as well as remarks from Suozzi. 

“It is my hope that this memorial will help people to grieve and to make certain that the events of September 11th are always foremost in our thoughts and represent a day that will forever be marked as a turning point in American history,” Suozzi said.