Bellmore-Merrick residents recall 9/11 horror

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks left many Americans in fear. In the early hours of that Tuesday morning, Bellmore-Merrick residents watched their TVs in horror as the World Trade Center fell, uncertain about what might follow. That day changed the lives of many in the Bellmores and Merricks, and continues to hold a place in the hearts and minds of local residents.

For Merokean Stacy Grossman, the morning began like many others. She and her then 1-year-old son, Jonathan, had spent the early part of the day with her mother-in-law. The three were gathered in Grossman’s living room when she received a call from a good friend, retired New York firefighter Joe Kralovich, who was then president of the Old Lindenmere Civic Association.

“He said hundreds of people are dying right now as we speak,” Grossman recounted. She turned on the TV and watched as smoke billowed out of the north tower. Soon after, the south tower was hit. “We actually watched the second plane go through the building,” Grossman said. “We were just sitting there, and at the time we didn’t know what was happening.”

The hours after the towers fell were chaotic for those trying to get in touch with loved ones and make their way back home. For Bellmore lawyer Jeff Gold, Sept. 11 meant primary day. He was working on the election campaign of Nassau County executive candidate Thomas Suozzi. Gold had been looking forward to campaigning that afternoon and, he hoped, celebrating a victory later that night, but the primary was canceled and rescheduled.

Gold began Sept. 11 with a morning court appearance in Westchester. “I was on the Grand Central when [it was] reported that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center,” he remembered.

He immediately called his wife, June, to see if she could get in touch with friends who worked in the building, but she was never able to get through. From the Clearview Expressway, Gold could see smoke in Lower Manhattan, and from the Throgs Neck Bridge he could see fire. When he arrived at the courthouse, he found people gathered at windows, watching the massive smoke plume from what would soon be known as ground zero and listening to the radio.