Valley Stream to unveil new Sept. 11 memorial

The new Sept. 11 monument will be the focal point of Tuesday’s memorial service to mark the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Andrew Hackmack/Herald

When Valley Stream residents come to pay tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Tuesday, they will do so at the village’s new memorial.

The monument, which includes a 3,350-ton piece of steel from the World Trade Center, is now complete and will be unveiled at the annual memorial ceremony at Hendrickson Park, which begins at 11 a.m..

The World Trade Center remnant is supported by two brick and steel pillars, resembling the Twin Towers. It rises from five and a half feet to nine feet off the ground and points toward the Freedom Tower, currently under construction at Ground Zero.

The base of the monument is a Pentagon, symbolizing another target by terrorists that day. There will also be a brass “93” in honor of the victims of the hijacked flight that went down in Pennsylvania.

Mayor Ed Fare said some last-minute work this week will include landscaping and the installation of two lights to illuminate the steel.

The beam was lifted into place on Aug. 9. Last year, it was on a flatbed truck for the 10th anniversary, having arrived in the village just weeks before the ceremony. Work began on the monument in late June so it would be finished in time for the 11th anniversary this year.

“For generations, the monument is going to be there,” Fare said.

Tuesday’s ceremony will include the presentation of colors, singing of the National Anthem, playing of taps, speeches by local dignitaries and the placing of memorial wreathes. Village Justice Robert Bogle will lead the ceremony.

Residents will be able to see the monument up close. Though it is fenced off, the gate will be open on Tuesday for the ceremony for everyone to get an up close look.