By Nicole Falco
The community's day of remembrance began with the Central High School District's 8:30 a.m. Memorial dedication ceremony. It was followed by the Village's 11 a.m. ceremony in Hendrickson Park's Memorial Park. Many of the same faces gathered on Central High School's lawn and many more including Bruce Blakeman, who lost his grandson Thomas Jurgens on Sept. 11, and Nadya Voskerijian, who lost her husband Garo on Sept. 11, joined Mayor Ed Cahill in unveiling the Village's Memorial.
The 75th Anniversary Committee donated the Memorial Monument. The Memorial joins dozens of trees and benches planted in Memorial Park that give residents the opportunity to purchase a permanent tribute to a deceased loved one.
"It is said that time heals all wounds. ... Yet as we gather to memorialize the victims of hate and terror, the passage of a year cannot, and perhaps should not ease the loss we experienced. ... In Valley Stream where our village is a small, but special part of the greater New York area landscape, we have been touched to the core by grief, sorrow and pain as well as by courage, hope and compassion," Cahill said.
While many may have chosen to remember the pain of the previous year at home with family and friends, many more felt compelled to gather at one of the two morning ceremonies or at the various church and temple services that were offered throughout the day. In addition the doors of many churches and temples were left open throughout the day for parishioners.
At 8 p.m., hundreds joined Bethlehem Assembly of God Church and Valley Stream Church of the Nazarene for the "Sept. 11, 2001 Remembrance Service," offered on the Village Green. Bethlehem Pastor Steve Milazzo and his church's choir led those gathered in song and prayer.
In addition to choir selections, including "My Heart Will Trust in You," "Refuge," and "Keep on Believing," the ceremony featured a video tribute to victims and heroes and a special presentation to Valley Stream Fire Department Chief Rob Petry and the representatives of the fire department and other emergency service workers gathered on the green.
