By Nick Buglione and Nicole Falco
A collaborative effort between architects Keith Striga, of Valley Stream, and Phil Gavosto, of Glen Cove, Striga GA was recently announced as the winner of the design competition launched last September. About two dozen designs were entered.
"[Our design] covers all areas, so all different types of victims' families can come and express their remorse about what happened that day," said Striga, 28, head of Striga Associates.
Among the elements of the Striga-Gavosto design are two interconnected, polished-aluminum towers that would rise more than 30 feet above a reflection pool and be visible to cars passing on Merrick Avenue. The pool, made of granite, would be designed in the shape of lower Manhattan.
"The towers will be transparent ... giving them a ghost-like quality," said Striga, who is also an adjunct professor at the New York Institute of Technology.
The two steel girders recovered from ground zero, about six feet high, would be fixed in the pavement next to a cast plaque briefly describing the events of Sept. 11. A quotation from President Bush would conclude the short narrative.
The memorial would also include a plaque with the names of the 275 county residents who died in the terrorist attacks, as well as a wall featuring the emblems of the New York City fire and police departments and the Port Authority Police Department. The U.S., New York state and Nassau County flags would be prominently displayed.
Set near the park's Harry Chapin Lakeside Theater, the memorial would be illuminated at night. "We're very excited about it," said Gavosto, 55, of Gavosto Associates Architects. "It's going to look great."
Stressing that their design is just a conceptualization, Gavosto said certain aspects are bound to be altered before construction. "Some things may change, and that's the only inevitable thing with designs," he said, noting that he and Striga are already making modifications, and hope to add a time capsule to the memorial.
The Nassau County 9/11 Memorial Project Committee appears to disagree with the firm's decision to have a separate wall honoring fallen rescue workers. The committee instead favored a design that would have one wall listing all the victims.
Striga, who grew up in Valley Stream and opened his architectural firm two years ago, works regularly with Gavosto's company. He approached Gavosto with the idea of submitting a proposal for the memorial over a cup of coffee in a Glen Cove Starbucks.
"We sketched it on the back of a paper bag," Gavosto said. The two submitted their proposal to the county in February, and last month entered a design for the memorial to be erected at ground zero.
"We might as well keep the winning formula together," Gavosto said. "You never know; lightning might strike twice."
Though it was hoped the county memorial would be completed by Sept. 11, 2003, the date has been pushed back a year.
"We're hoping to have shovels in the ground by Sept. 11 of this year," said Ian Siegel, a member of the Nassau County 9/11 Memorial Project Committee.
The county is hoping to raise $500,000 to fund the project, with a fund-raiser planned for September at the Carltun in Eisenhower Park. Siegel emphasized that no tax dollars would be used to subsidize the work.
Gavosto, however, said the construction could cost much more, around $750,000.
For more information or to make a donation, call (516) 572-0200.
