West Hempstead secures World Trade Center beam

After months of work by State Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) and local leaders to acquire a piece of the World Trade Center as a way to memorialize West Hempstead residents who died on Sept. 11, 2001, the hamlet has secured one of the last remaining hunks of steel beam from the wreckage of the twin towers.

Shortly after the 10th anniversary of the attacks, which took the lives of 12 West Hempstead residents, a community member approached Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Community Support Association, and asked why the memorial at Hall’s Pond Park did not include a piece of World Trade Center steel, like those of so many surrounding communities, including East Meadow, Franklin Square, Lynbrook and Rockville Centre.

Norton started the push to acquire a beam last October, asking Ra for help in working with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which owns the remains of the twin towers and distributes them to public and municipal agencies as well as nonprofit organizations that intend to display them.

Ra coordinated a letter-writing campaign with local legislators and community leaders, including members of the West Hempstead Chamber of Commerce. He garnered the support of State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and the West Hempstead Fire Department as well, and after a months-long effort, their work paid off. According to Norton — who lauded Ra and Skelos for their help in securing the steel — the Port Authority received letters from residents and community organizations.

“West Hempstead will now have a significant piece of history that will memorialize all those who lost their lives in the horrific acts of Sept. 11,” Ra said. “West Hempstead lost a significant number of people that day. Those who were lost left behind family, friends and neighbors who deserve an appropriate location where they can go and reflect …

“My hope,” Ra added, “is that this will continue to bring peace and resolve to our community.”

County Legislator Vincent Muscarella is working with Nassau County officials, Norton explained, to secure permission to place the section of beam in Hall’s Pond Park at no cost to the county.

“But for now, until a dedication ceremony,” Norton said, “it’ll remain at the Chestnut Street School, where the West Hempstead Library was previously located.”

Stone masons and graphic designers, she said, have been asked to submit designs that would be appropriate for the size of the steel, which measures 50 inches by 17 inches by 17 inches. A date for a formal dedication has not been decided, Norton added.

Though Norton and others learned in December that the request had been approved by the Port Authority, because it took time to ensure the proper preparation of documents and to sign off on contracts, local leaders did not receive approval to pick up the beam until Feb. 27.

With the steel now secured, Norton said that she, along with Lakeview and West Hempstead Fire Department officials and Nassau County auxiliary police, will head to Kennedy International Airport’s Hangar 17 on March 28 to pick it up and transport it to West Hempstead. The escort will include a flatbed truck, a couple of Fire Department vehicles and four or five auxiliary police vehicles. Then, Norton said, residents will finally have a piece of history of their own to honor and reflect on.

“The community did what they’ve always done — when it’s something important, they get behind you,” Norton said. “This is paying tribute to the lives of people who lived here. This is about remembrance.”