The borough will remember September 11th 2001 this year with a new monument to honor the tragic and heroic events of that day.
The Hutchinson Metro Center will dedicate a memorial remembering those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on the United States on 9/11.
The dedication for the memorial will take place on Wednesday, September 13 at 11 a.m.
The Hutchinson Metro Center monument dedication, which adds to the permanent September 11th memorials in the borough, is just one of the many events planned for the Bronx.
Joe Kelleher, president of Simone Metro Properties at Hutchinson Metro Center, said that Simone Development had wanted to create a 9/11 memorial for some time.
Recently they were able to secure a piece of original steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center.
The new memorial, Freedom is Not Free, consists of an eagle with a six-foot wingspan holding the steel that was once part of the Twin Towers, he said. It is surrounded by a plaza and plantings.
“First and foremost we feel very strongly about never forgetting about what happened on September 11th,” said Kelleher. “This memorial will be open to the public all of the time for people to reflect and to remember, particularly on the September 11th anniversary every year.”
The new monument is located next to the Marriot Residence Inn hotel parking lot in the complex at 1776 Eastchester Road, and will be a short walk from the Metro North train station that will be built nearby, said Kelleher.
Many people visiting the Marriot, currently the only class A hotel in the borough, are coming to New York to visit the September 11th Memorial and Museum in Manhattan, said Kelleher.
“This is just another way of reminding people of what occurred,” he said.
A chance meeting led Simone Development representatives to the steel used in the monument.
They were attending an event called Honor Day in New Jersey, a charity event that raises funds to honor service members, said Kelleher.
At Honor Day, representatives of the real estate company talked to another group that erected its own monument that offered to help, and the next day Simone Development got a call from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
They were told that they could have the steel if they would do something meaningful with it, said Kelleher.
Elected officials, community and business leaders, people affiliated with the Bronx Chamber of Commerce and Simone, first responders and police groups are all expected to attend, he said.
“It is an important story to be told and we are privileged to be able to do (so),” said Kelleher.
The borough will not be wanting for September 11th memorials elsewhere this year, as the motto “never forget” took root in the borough.
As it does annually, the Jacobi Community Advisory Board will gather at a permanent memorial on the hospital campus on Monday, September 11 at 8:30 a.m., around the time first plane struck the World Trade Center on that tragic day.
According to Silvio Mazzella of the Jacobi CAB, elected officials, speakers and some family members of the deceased from September 11th should be present.
“September 11th is something we always want to remember,” said Mazzella. “It should not be forgotten.”
Jacobi’s memorial lists all the victims of the September 11th who worked in or lived in the borough, he said.
Borough President Diaz Jr. and the Supreme Court of Bronx County will hold a Day of Remembrance in Memory of September 11 at Lou Gehrig Plaza outside of the Bronx County Courthouse on Thursday, September 14 from noon to 2 p.m.
As always, at Throggs Neck’s September 11th Memorial, there will be a vigil at nightfall on Monday, September 11th.
The memorial is located at the highest point in Throggs Neck, said James McQuade, who was on the volunteer committee that created it as a lasting memory to people from the Throggs Neck community and all who were touched by that day.
It is located at Cross Bronx Expressway service road and East Tremont Avenue in Throggs Neck.
The event at nightfall is expected to begin around 7 p.m.
