Sunday, May 01, 2005
Westchester 9/11 Memorial Hits New Snag - Steel Shortage
The Journal News
The families of the 109 Westchester residents killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks will gather around a mostly unfinished memorial on the upcoming anniversary because a worldwide shortage of steel has left contractors without the materials to finish the structure on schedule.
"We're trying to meet their wishes in the best way we can," Spano said about the families of Westchester residents who were killed in the attacks. "We think what will be there on Sept. 11 will be very appropriate for their loved ones and the people they lost. I'm sure they understand what the predicament is."
The families who gather on Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla for the dedication in four months will see the memorial's circular granite base, inscribed with quotations they chose about the people they lost. Missing will be the structure that gives the design its drama — 109 steel rods, one for each county resident killed in the attacks, that will rise from around the base and intertwine like a maypole to form a slim, 80-foot tower.
Spano said a second dedication will be held when the memorial is completed, now scheduled for next spring.
"It's kind of heartbreaking," said Rosaleen O'Neill, a Rye resident who lost a son in the attacks and served on the committee that chose the design. "But if it's going to be done in 2006, we'll have to do it when we can do it. It has to be done. We'll just have to have patience.
The families of the 109 Westchester residents killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks will gather around a mostly unfinished memorial on the upcoming anniversary because a worldwide shortage of steel has left contractors without the materials to finish the structure on schedule.
"We're trying to meet their wishes in the best way we can," Spano said about the families of Westchester residents who were killed in the attacks. "We think what will be there on Sept. 11 will be very appropriate for their loved ones and the people they lost. I'm sure they understand what the predicament is."
The families who gather on Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla for the dedication in four months will see the memorial's circular granite base, inscribed with quotations they chose about the people they lost. Missing will be the structure that gives the design its drama — 109 steel rods, one for each county resident killed in the attacks, that will rise from around the base and intertwine like a maypole to form a slim, 80-foot tower.
Spano said a second dedication will be held when the memorial is completed, now scheduled for next spring.
"It's kind of heartbreaking," said Rosaleen O'Neill, a Rye resident who lost a son in the attacks and served on the committee that chose the design. "But if it's going to be done in 2006, we'll have to do it when we can do it. It has to be done. We'll just have to have patience.
