By Damian J. Troise
Friends and family of the victims as well as more than 100 onlookers attended the ceremony, as Gov. George Pataki officially dedicated the memorial for Port Authority chief Neil Levin and Bettina Browne-Radburn.
You could have been at the beach, but you came to pay your respect and it's a tribute to you and the community, Pataki told the overflow crowd.
The memorial stands on the side of Village Hall in Atlantic Beach, 65 The Plaza, with a garden behind it and a piece of steel from the World Trade Center on either side of it. The planning and building of the memorial took the entire summer.
In the beginning it was tough, I had to constantly call the Mayor to get the pieces, said Zara Zimmerman, the high school senior who conceptualized and designed the memorial.
Zimmerman was able to obtain two pieces of steel from ground zero after asking permission from both Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Port Authority. She finally obtained two pieces of the ground zero wreckage, picking them out herself. Atlantic Beach residents and family members of the victims thanked her for honoring the victims. Neil Levin, 47, an Atlantic Beach native, was the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The plaque on the memorial reads: Dedicated to the memory of Neil Levin, Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and native son of Atlantic Beach and Bettina A. Browne, victims of the tragedy of September 11, 2001.
On September 11 we lost two heroes from this community, Pataki said. We'll never know of their stories, but we'll never forget their sacrifices and their courage.
Pataki knew Levin for several years and described him as a true giant in everything he did.
He gave his life in public service. Neil was a hero and I will never forget him and the community will never forget him, Pataki said.
Levin had been in public service since 1981, when he started as a legislative assistant to Alfonse D'Amato, a U.S. senator at the time. Gov. Pataki chose Levin to be state superintendent of banking and later as the state's superintendent of insurance. He was the 12th executive director of the Port Authority in its 80-year history.
He became the vice president of Goldman, Sachs, and Co. in 1987 but went back into public service in 1995 as NYS superintendent of banking.
Pataki commented on Levin's decision to give up a career where he could have made millions so he could go back into public service. He was in the Port Authority's 106th floor office on the morning of the terrorist attacks.
I had the privilege of working with a man who I admired and respected, said State Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach), who also attended Sunday's ceremonies.
Pataki also spoke about Bettina Browne, describing her as a giant even though she was only 5-feet-1 inches tall. Browne was a successful businesswoman and was working as chief executive of Omni Facility Resources Inc. on the 105th floor of Tower Two when the World Trade Center was hit. Browne was also an attorney and a pilot who operated her own flight school. In addition, she was the prosecutor for the Village of Atlantic Beach in 1997.
We will never forget Bettina, our prayers and thoughts go to her husband and her family, Pataki said.
Christy Ferrer, wife of Neil Levin, and Ed Radburn, husband of Bettina Browne-Radburn, were both invited to the podium during the ceremony.
I think since September 11, all of us have realized and appreciate what brings us together, Pataki said. We lost not just police and firefighter heroes, we lost over 2,000 other heroes.
We can never thank their family members enough for their courage.
Pataki thanked the village for permanently memorializing Levin and Browne.
The people who created this plaza did a terrific job, said Stephen Mahler, mayor of Atlantic Beach.
