By Marley Seaman
"I was thrust into the cause," says Scialdone. "I had no choice but to sit and do this."
With artist Keith Paiseczny, Scialdone founded ArtAID, a Baldwin-based company that has created memorials and tributes to help people through difficult times. Since the creation the enormous, 29 foot by nine foot "Never Forget" banner at Ground Zero, which featured the names of the 2,792 people killed on Sept. 11 and the six killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, ArtAID's name has spread. It is in more demand than ever.
Recently, ArtAID helped Baldwin Firefighters pay tribute to Army Spc. Wilfredo Urbina, who was killed in Iraq last November. Scialdone designed a "warrior angel" for Urbina's family, and distributed 3,000 cards bearing the design at the funeral.
"He was a kid that I never got to know, but they were in there grieving and I said 'can I help?'" Scialdone remembers. "We don't want to cause stress, if any family were to tell us 'not now,' we'd step aside, but they've sought us out."
Jennifer Di Mauro, secretary/treasurer of both Millennium and ArtAID, knows the feeling of being swept up by the work.
"I kind of went along for the ride and got involved," Di Mauro says. "I got a lot of good reactions for all our artwork. I didn't lose anybody personally [on Sept. 11], but... it helped me become a better person."
The team has had more than its share of work, and it has taken great effort from each member to deliver the goods.
"Keith is the creator, Jen is the brains, and I'm the guts," Scialdone says.
And a lot of people are seeking them out. ArtAID now has an official relationship with the New York City Police Department, creating artwork for the families of officers killed in the line of duty. It has a similar, though unofficial, relationship with the Fire Department. On Sept. 4, ArtAID once again provided the art for the annual Father Mychal Judge Walk of Remembrance, an event honoring the memory of the FDNY Chaplain who was the first officially recorded casualty of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Working with the police is very personal for Scialdone. He met many officers through his past job as a bar owner in Brooklyn, and through his current work; he operates Millennium Protective Services, a private investigation and security firm in Baldwin.
"I lost friends [on Sept. 11]. I had friends who lost their sons and know how difficult it is," he says.
ArtAID has continued its Sept. 11-related work. It handled the banner and remembrance card artwork for the June funeral of Keithroy Maynard, a member of Engine Company 33 in Manhattan. Maynard's remains were not identified until this year.
But ArtAID's work has spread beyond New York and is now international. As soon as Scialdone heard about the July 7 bombings in London, he knew something had to be done. Within days, Paiseczny had created posters to show New York's solidarity. The art was taken to Ground Zero and signed by hundreds of residents before being sent to London. The group is currently creating artwork to honor Peruvian soldiers killed in Iraq. Urbina was a Peruvian-American, and as always, that work lead to more work.
"You want to do something for everybody," says Jennifer Di Mauro, secretary/treasurer of Millennium and ArtAID. "Sometimes people contact us, [most] times we just take it upon ourselves."
As soon as Scialdone learned of the devastation that Hurricane Katrina caused along the Gulf Coast, he realized he had to become involved in the relief effort. He is attempting to arrange a nonperishable food and goods drive for refugees and for servicemen and women helping in the area.
ArtAID was born after Scialdone was impressed by Paiseczny's artwork, which included designing angels for the fire department and making tee shirts. It took months for them to connect, but they began talking in March of 2002 about starting larger projects.
For the first anniversary of the attacks, the pair went to Ground Zero and gave 30,000 eight-by-ten-inch angel cards. Different cards were created and distributed for sanitation workers, Port Authority employees, firefighters and police officers, each card depicting an angel and bearing the name of all of the department workers who died. An image featuring the famous crossed beams was created and given to family members of civilian victims. The impossible task of naming all of the victims on a card became the impetus for the gigantic "Never Forget" banner.
The "Never Forget" banner now hangs at ArtAID's office in Baldwin, and residents are still welcome to sign it. ArtAID is a not-for-profit and officially incorporated in 2003. ArtAID gets a few donations, but most funding is provided by Millennium and Scialdone.
In addition to the memory of the police he knew, Scialdone says, his late father has provided a great deal of inspiration.
"I do it to make him proud," he says. "I hope it gets contagious. I hope when I'm gone, somebody else will do it. I'm sure someone will."
The latest ArtAID banner was hung in Baldwin only days ago with a happier purpose; honoring a local soldier who returns from Iraq on Sept. 10. A 12-foot banner bearing Marlon Ramirez's name and the words "Thank you from your loving parents, friends and community" will hang on Grand Avenue. A smaller sign will hang at the home of Ramirez's parents.
