Bay Ridge

Golden leads 9/11 tribute on 69th Street pier

Hundreds gather to mourn victims 15 years later

September 12, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Boy Scouts and military veterans took part in the remembrance. Photo by Victoria DiSalvo
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The passage of time has not pushed away the painful memories of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a Brooklyn lawmaker who led a touching tribute to the victims and first responders in Bay Ridge Sunday night.

As he has done every year since the first anniversary of the terror attacks, state Sen. Marty Golden hosted a candlelight vigil on the 69th Street Pier.

Hundreds of people came to the pier for the ceremony, which featured prayers, patriotic songs and a 21-gun salute by the military. William Guarinello, chairman of Community Board 11 in Bensonhurst, served as master of ceremonies for the evening.

The 69th Street Pier, which juts out on to New York harbor and offers an unencumbered view of the skyline of Lower Manhattan, was also the place where Bay Ridge residents flocked to on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 and saw the collapse of the Twin Towers.

Nearly three dozen people who lived in the Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights area and who worked at the World Trade Center were killed on Sept. 11, 2001.

“It’s hard to believe that 15 years have passed since the day our country would change forever,” Golden (R-C-Bay Ridge-Southwest Brooklyn) said in his remarks. “Those who were infants are now teenagers. Those who were in college are now in the workforce and supporting a family. Many who walked home from work that day are now retired.”

But while a decade and a half has passed since the day of the attacks, some things haven’t changed, Golden said.

“Many things have changed but what remains constant is our resolve to show terrorists across the globe that despite their cowardly attempt to destroy our great nation, brave Americans continue to stand strong. Each and every year on Sept. 11, we pray and pause, to continue to honor the memories of those who lost their lives. For many of us, the emotions and feelings of doubt, fear and loss are with us often. For some it’s every day. Some whenever they head to Manhattan. Some, every time they look at the skyline and see a changed New York,” Golden said.

Golden also recalled how Southwest Brooklyn residents reacted in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. “We took action, sending food and supplies into Ground Zero, organizing volunteers to work the bucket brigade, giving blood, donating money and helping in any way we could,” he said. “We rose above the tragedy, above our own personal pain and suffering, above our grief to help our fellow man. And we should never forget that. And we should try harder to live our lives in that manner.”

Members of Boy Scouts of American Troop 13 led the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The ceremony included a moment of silence, the playing of “Taps” on a bugle and the singing of “America the Beautiful,” “Let There Be Peace On Earth” and “God Bless America.”

 

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