9/11 Tribute Park Mosaic Gets Approval for Restoration

By Katie McFadden

As we approach the 24th anniversary of 9/11, it was recently announced that the 9/11 Tribute Park center mosaic will not be forgotten. On Monday, August 25, stained glass artist Patrick Clark shared with The Rockaway Times that his central piece in Rockaway’s 9/11 memorial park on the bayside of Beach 116th Street, will be new once again, after a multi-year battle against the threat of it being removed.

According to a press release from Clark, “Last month, the NYC Public Design Commission voted unanimously to approve reconstruction of the 48,000-piece glass mosaic in Tribute Park. After a three year back and forth volley between NYC Parks and the Tribute Park artist, Patrick Clark, the City has granted permission for the artist to restore the mosaic that was submerged and badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy.”

The mosaic, called “Navigator Star,” is the centerpiece of Tribute Park and features a star pointing to where the twin towers once stood. During each commemoration ceremony on 9/11, loved ones, firefighters, elected officials and community members place roses around the mosaic as the names of each local victim are read out.

In a little history, the mosaic, along with the dome and other pieces were selected in a design competition in 2002, sponsored by the Rockaway Chamber of Commerce during the planning stages for Tribute Park. The pieces were selected in honor of those from the community who were killed in the attack on the World Trade Center. The park and memorials were built by the Chamber with the help of donations and labor from the community. In the years after Hurricane Sandy, after water inundated the park, the mosaic began to deteriorate and has been covered in a tarp for serval years.

According to the release, “In 2021, NYC Parks notified Clark that since the mosaic was deteriorating, it would be demolished and replaced with a new different memorial they would design and install. The artist argued that artists in New York City have legal rights over their public art, that his mosaic was protected by law, and the mosaic could not be removed without his permission, which he would not grant.

“In 2023, NY Parks asked the Community Board 14 to vote to request removal of the mosaic, but instead numerous members of the Rockaway community including some of Rockaways 9/11 families and FDNY Firefighters who responded to the WTC attack, showed up in force to the CB 14 meeting asking the Board to support restoration of the mosaic by the artist, instead of allowing Parks to demolish it. The CB 14 members voted almost unanimously to support restoration of the mosaic. Additionally, more than 400 community members signed an online petition to restore the mosaic, that was printed in this newspaper.

“The NYC Parks Arts & Antiquities Department then worked with and provided essential guidance to Clark for many months to write the formal comprehensive application and submission to the Design Commission seeking permission to restore.

“Whether or not the Design Commission would approve restoration became somewhat controversial and approval was not assured. But thanks to the invaluable assistance of Mayor Eric Adams who took time and lent an ear to our 9/11 families, the restoration plan was given closer consideration and approved.”

“After this challenging three-year challenge, I am so grateful to the hundreds of Rockaway residents and 9/11 families who offered moral support and help during these tough couple of years, and recognized the significance and beauty of this unique one of a kind artwork that means so much to all of us here in Rockaway,” Clark said. “I think it’s a big win for Rockaway. We are a very special and unique community, and we deserve this. And thanks in good part to Mayor Eric Adams, who stood with Rockaway on this, we are finally good to go.”

The new non-profit “Tribute Park Art Conservancy” has been formed to start fundraising this fall to fund restoration of the mosaic and then to maintain, preserve and protect all four of the Tribute Park artworks in posterity. With successful fundraising support from the Rockaway community in the coming months, the plan is to remove, fully reconstruct and re-install the mosaic before the 25th Anniversary of the WTC September 11th Commemorations next September 11, 2026.

The Rockaway Times will have more information about fundraising efforts in later issues. For more information about the Tribute Park Art Conservancy, see: www.rockaways9-11tributepark.com