Community to Remember 9/11 on 23rd Anniversary

By Katie McFadden

Twenty-three years. It’s been 23 years since hijackers used planes as weapons, crashing them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people on September 11, 2001. On the Rockaway peninsula, one of the hardest hit communities, losing nearly 80 residents at the WTC, local ceremonies are held each year to ensure people “Never Forget,” and to teach those who came after what happened that day. There will be several ways to honor the fallen on Wednesday, September 11 and the days around it.

Ceremonies begin this weekend. On Saturday, September 7, the 9/11 NYPD Class will hold its annual memorial prayer service at the Beach 94th Street Amphitheater from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Members of the 9/11 NYPD Academy class will be in attendance, but all are welcome. This event is made possible by the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau, the DEA, Beyond the Blue and Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato.

On Sunday, September 8, Rockaway will remember Firefighter Richie Allen with the 20th Annual Richie Allen Memorial Surf Classic, made possible by the Allen family and Boarders. Sign up begins at 8 a.m. on Beach 91st Street. The surf contest for young surfers, for boys and girls up to age 16, begins at 9 a.m. with different heats for different age groups. The day will also include a DJ, drinks, giveaways, t-shirts for sale, boogie boarding and paddle boarding and a memorial paddle out for Richie.

On Wednesday, September 11, Friends of Tribute Park hosts the annual 9/11 ceremony at the park on Beach 116th Street and the bayside, with the Freedom Tower as the backdrop. The ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m. The names of the Rockaway residents who died that day will be read as roses are placed around the park’s center compass. Aerial Acoustics will play music while Chazmond Peacock will sing. This event is made possible with the generosity of Mathew Xenakis, Danielle’s Florist and the DeMatteis Family.

Also on Wednesday, AmpSurf will hold a 9/11 Paddle Out at the Breezy Point 9/11 Memorial. Participants should arrive before 8:30 a.m. The ceremony will begin with the reading of the names of the 34 Breezy Point residents who died, at 8:46 a.m., when the attacks on the WTC began. This will be followed by a paddle out on surfboards, paddle boards and kayaks in Jamaica Bay, facing the Freedom Tower. For more information, call or text John Roberts at 917-734-8711.

On Wednesday evening at 7 p.m., Broad Channel will remember. The Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department and the VFW Post 260 will hold a prayer and reflection at the VFW Post 260 (705 Shad Creek Road).

On Saturday, September 14, Breezy Point will host their annual 5k Remembrance Race. This run starts at 10 a.m. at the 9/11 Memorial in Roxbury and continues to the 9/11 Memorial in Breezy Point. It will be followed by an after party and awards ceremony at the Breezy ballfields. The run helps fundraise for the maintenance of the Roxbury and Breezy Point 9/11 memorials. Participants can run, jog or walk. For more information or to register, head to: www.bpremembers911.com

In another memorial on Saturday, September 14, Rockaway will remember the late Charlie Heeran, a Rockaway resident and Cantor Fitzgerald employee who died on 9/11. The Charles F. Heeran Foundation will hold a Mass at 11:15 a.m. at St. Francis de Sales Church on Beach 129th Street. The Mass will be held to remember all of those lost on 9/11 and to honor Dr. Gerard Casey, Commander of the U.S. Navy and our Military and Medical Veterans. A reception will follow at the family restaurant, The Harbor Light, for $50 per person. Veterans are welcome to wear their uniforms.

Rockaway, Breezy Point and Broad Channel will Never Forget.