Valley Stream remembers Sept. 11, 18 years later

Although the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks occurred more than 18 years ago, residents across the Island still gather each year to mark the tragic occasion and honor the memory of those lost that day.

In Valley Stream, the village holds an annual ceremony at its Arthur J. Hendrickson Park. Present this year was 30-year Valley Streamer, Arty Riccio, 64, a now-retired firefighter for the New York City Fire Department, who was there to honor the memory and sacrifice of the roughly 30 of his fellow first responders whom he had known personally, who died in the rescue efforts as the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed in the aftermath of the attack.

Riccio was among the hundreds of firefighters, medics and police officers who rushed into the buildings looking to save the people inside after hijackers crashed two Boeing 767 jetliners into them. A 33-year veteran of the department upon his retirement, he survived only due to luck that the north-tower stairwell he was in did not collapse along with the rest of the building. Three hundred and forty three of his fellow FDNY firefighters were not so lucky.

Despite the distance in time, Riccio is still faced with vivid memories from that day.

“I had fine glass and cement in my lungs, and I was buried inches deep in the complex…” he said with a shaky voice. “There were people jumping off the buildings and thousands of people on the ground were running away in the streets…high heeled shoes all over the street…women dropping pocket books…it was terrible…It was like a black tidal wave of smoke.”

In addition to painful flashbacks, Riccio also suffers from numerous health issues such as stomach and lung problems, as well as skin cancer caused by the exposure to the burning tower. He reportedly carried a women eighteen flights of stairs in an effort to save her before the building came down on top of them.

Breathing in the toxic smoke and debris from the towers reduced his lung capacity more than 20 percent, and the resulting melanoma he contracted from the incident recently required him to get 10 stitches.

“It changed me tremendously,” Riccio said, recalling the tragedy with emotion. “It was mentally difficult and now it’s physically difficult because I’m sick.”

Frequent exercise, he said, has improved his breathing problems, but he admitted that he will likely never be the same.

Riccio said he enjoyed the ceremony in Valley Stream and its focus on keeping the memory of the tragedy and heroism on display that day alive, noting that there are children today who were not yet alive to remember the event.

Among the others memorialized was Tommy Jurgens, a sergeant for the New York State Court Officers who was also killed after rushing to the scene to aid in rescue efforts. He was 27.

“He was a terrific guy, a nice young man who was very involved doing good things in the community” said his uncle and Valley Stream native Bruce Blakeman, who currently sits on the Hempstead Town Council. “It affected me in a personal way … I miss my nephew very much.”