The Michael Sandy Foundation sent us the following inscription, planned for the memorial at Plumb Beach:
In Loving Memory of
Michael J. Sandy
Oct 12, 1977- Oct. 10 2006
Who Died of Injuries Inflicted
On Him October 8th.
This Memorial is Dedicated
To Michael and All Who Have
Died at the Hands of Violence
And Hate Crimes
Related stories:
Community Rallies Behind Michael Sandy Memorial
A reader wrote in earlier today requesting that we do a post for September 11. To be honest, I have no idea what to write. September 11 is a pivotal marker of history for America, and more so for the residents of New York City. I remember the day vividly. I remember the fears. I remember the faces of others. And I’m sure, if you lived here on that doomed morning, that you do, too. You don’t need a blogger to tell you we must remember. You don’t need a blogger to remember the dead. For me, September 11 is a day I keep to myself. I don’t like to talk about it. I don’t like to rehash the events. For me, few days are kept so privately.
I recognize that others differ. If you find solace in telling your stories of friends and family who perished that day, or in recounting the history for others, we offer you the forum of our comments section. I hope it brings comfort to those who need it, and I hope it fills your need for remembrance.
The Never Forgotten 9/11 Memorial Service and 8th Anniversary Candle Vigil details have been announced. Those of you who attended last year’s ceremony, know what a truly touching this ceremony is.
The event will be held again at the Bill Brown Park. Details on the flyer are as listed:
Date: Friday, September 11, 2009
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Bill Brown Park – Handball Court
Avenue X and Bedford Avenue
Hizzoner Mayor Bloomberg is making his way down to Sheepshead Bay for the 25th Annual Gathering & Exhibit at the Holocaust Memorial Park on June 14th at noon.
The Holocaust Memorial Park is New York’s only outdoor tribute to those that perished in the Holocaust under the Nazi regime. The Holocaust Memorial Committee, an organization charged with overseeing the memorial, welcomes the community to join them and the mayor in a gathering of somber remembrance.
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Courier-Life Publications is reporting an addition to Holocaust Memorial Park, at Emmons Avenue and Shore Avenue, that will honor non-Jewish victims including homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the disabled, political prisoners and Roma and Sinti gypsies persecuted and killed by the Nazis.
Although no plans or dates have been revealed, Courier-Life says that the memorial committee is expected to add five smaller markers around the park. Each marker will recognize one of the “forgotten” groups and will include a historical synopsis of their sufferings.
The new memorials come after years of lobbying spearheaded by the International Association of Lesbian and Gay Children of Holocaust Survivors. According to Courier-Life, the organization’s “plans to honor other victims was initially met with opposition by some Orthodox religious leaders who thought that the park should be solely dedicated to the Jews who lost their lives in the ghettos and concentration camps.”
The 9/11 Memorial and Candlelight Vigil, held at the Bill Brown Park at Bedford Avenue and Avenue X, was an honorable tribute to all those who lost their lives on that tragic day. The event was well-organized and very moving. There were personal accounts of some who had experienced it firsthand, as well as testimonials from those who lost loved ones.
Hundreds of local area residents attended and the event was well-represented by FDNY, NYPD, EMT personnel representing their fallen comrades. Local politicians were also in attendance and Borough President Marty Markowitz spoke out boldly against U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
Some young men, at the adjacent court, continued to play basketball and they could be heard celebrating when they shot a hoop. Otherwise, the mood of the moment was sober, but hopeful. The musical presentations were very touching, as everyone listened to songs with themes of love, friendship, and peace, such as, the Beatles’”Let It Be” and Simon and Garfunkel’s “Like a Bridge Over Troubled Waters”. There were quite a few tearjerkers that were played, such as “Little Did She Know” and they helped us remember the sacrifice that our heroes and their families make each day as they go to work.
The names of many who perished that fateful day are painted on the handball court mural, which started almost as a mandate from God. Many of you may already be familiar with the mural artist, Ray “Rockin’ Ray” Fiore, whose colorful personality is reflected onto the canvas and his car. Ray, who was standing by with a ladder, paint, and brushes to add names to the wall, said that he was inspired to express his emotions a few days after September 11, 2001, telling those who tried to stop him that “God told me” to do this. From then on, his artwork has been a welcome memorial.
The Brooklyn-Bedford Park 9/11 Memorial Committee is a cohesive bunch who understands that our community needs a venue in which we can honor the memories of those lost on that day. These hardworking people, who put the focus off of themselves, are: Mary Bracken, Regina Coyle, Mary Dwyer, John & Linda Errante, Tina Gray, David Meisel, Angela Sabino, and Albert Semey. Ray Fiore, who as the artist who inspired the annual tribute with the mural, has a big part in its planning.
By the time, the memorial was over, the mood had turned from sober to hopeful and healing, in true Bay spirit as the crowd sang “New York, New York” and the committee locked arms to do leg-kicks, Rockettes-style. Many wished that the committee would keep up this tradition “forever”. Sheepshead Bites will be there, as Bob Benefield so aptly put it in a speech delivered at the memorial, to remember “a day of tears”.
(Photos by Ray Johnson)
This past Saturday, Aug 2, 1010 WINS announced the memorial being held for that fateful and sad day 30 years ago when our city lost six of its bravest in the Waldbaum’s fire. That day comes to remembrance many times, especially whenever I pass by Firemen’s Corner at Ave Y and Ocean Ave. That particular Waldbaum’s supermarket was on my family’s Bay Favorites-List of Best Places to Shop. When news of the fire got around, we were told to stay away from the area where the building was smoldering and I listened. Not so, for our house guests from Canada, who wanted to see first hand what had happened. They visited the site after all was said and done and brought back with them a couple of bottles of warm “pop” (we just called it soda) to prove they had been to the site. I can only give you my ear, nose,and airwitness account, having seen and smelled the smoke dissipating for blocks around and hearing the sirens amidst the commotion. To give you a better idea of the scene that day, Steve Spak, a photographer who also chronicled the 9/11 tragedy years later, gave his eyewitness account of the events and recalls the poignant final wave of a firefighter from the roof of the burning building.
Fast forward to today and we can rest assured that the Fire Department is continually hard at work on Ocean Avenue. According to an incident report filed on July 17, 2008, their swift response to a report of smoke emanating from the G & L Orthopedic Supply at 2806 Ocean Ave, resulted in a complete resolution of the problem. The Bureau of Fire Prevention has fire safety inspections on file–one as recent as July 21, 2008 for the Staples store, indicating no violations and giving it a clean ‘bay-l of health’, so to speak. Additionally, Staples management has assured me that everyone who comes on board receives basic fire safety training and can always refer to the safety “binder in the breakroom”.
Memorials for lost firefighters are the time to stop and give thanks. They are also perfect time to alert us all to fire safety.
