By Patti Mulligan
Chairperson Laura Ryder led the project with her heart. She visited the 9-11 memorials in Rockville Centre, Malverne, Cedarhurst and Oceanside, returning with photos to show the other members of the committee.
"I told them to tell me what moved them, what touched them, and then we would come up with a concept of our own," said Ryder. "Essentially, the committee waned to create a quiet, peaceful place, where people could come and remember their lost loved ones."
Ryder said it was important to have family members involved in the process.
"The mayor personally called and invited them to serve on the committee," she said. "It was beneficial, because they gave us the feeling of what they would like to see."
The committee agrees that what they presented to the board personifies their vision. The women have designed a memorial garden.
Visitors will enter the memorial site under an arbor and stroll onto a meandering path that will wind through the garden. If approved for the west side of the village hall lawn, the path will lead around the existing fountain, which the committee hopes will be refurbished. Along the path, boulders will be placed, each one bearing the name of a person, special to Lynbrook, lost in the attack. It is to those heroes, that the memorial will be dedicated.
Ryder further explained that there will be benches placed along the path, as well, giving visitors a chance to sit and reflect in a peaceful setting. Holly trees and barberry shrubs will be planted for privacy and in the spring and summer the garden will flourish with daffodils, perennials and an assortment of brightly-colored blossoms. Two blue lights representing each of the towers will shine inside the memorial.
"The path will be built of red bricks, with the opportunity to purchase donor bricks offered to residents," said Ryder. She explained that they will be sold at a small profit which will help defray the cost of materials for the memorial garden.
The plan also calls for benches and lampposts, which will be offered to the families of those lost, and can be inscribed, as a true personal remembrance.
"This way, those lost can exist in the heart of the Village of Lynbrook forever," said Ryder.
The committee made up of Ryder, Maryann Hoesel, Susan Ledwith, Jenny Atkinson, and 9-11 family members, Barbara Stern, Barbara Hannan, Jennifer Muller, Pat Wren and Pat Fitzsimons, proposed two sights for the memorial garden. The first, described above, and an alternate sight on the south side of Peninsula Boulevard, between Remsen and Charles streets.
The committee voted on their preferred sight for the garden and the village lawn was the unanimous winner. The final decision on the memorial and its site will be made by the board of trustees at the next scheduled meeting on January 9.
Ryder, at the presentation, told the board the committee's hopeful expectation that the memorial be completed by Sept. 11, 2006 - the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attack. The mayor assured them that would be fulfilled.
According to Ryder, the estimated cost of materials for the project is just under $19,000. She said details about purchasing donor bricks will be available after final board approval.
"We wanted a peaceful, serene setting, and we are all very happy and proud of the
plans," said Ryder. "I think all village residents will be proud of the proposed memorial garden."
Karenlyn Barone contributed to this story.
Comments on this story? KBarone@liherald.com, or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
