World Trade Center steel arrives in West Hempstead

“This is about honoring all those from our community who died on 9/11,” said Rose Senti, a West Hempstead resident of 80 years. “It’s good to have a piece of history now.”

On March 28, Senti was one of hundreds who turned out to watch the West Hempstead Community Support Association, along with an escort that included Lakeview and West Hempstead Fire Department officials and Nassau County Auxiliary Police, bring one of the last remaining hunks of steel beam from the wreckage of the World Trade Center from Kennedy International Airport’s Hangar 17 to West Hempstead.

The escort included a flatbed truck as well as several Fire Department and auxiliary police vehicles. Just after 10 a.m., the procession exited the Southern State Parkway in Lakeview and made its way toward West Hempstead, passing under large American flags that Lakeview, Malverne and West Hempstead fire departments hung from their engines.

It passed the community’s schools, from West Hempstead Middle School to the high school, where students lined up outside, waved miniature American flags and cheered local officials. The final stop was the Chestnut Street School, where the steel will remain until a dedication ceremony is scheduled. County Legislator Vincent Muscarella is working with county officials to secure permission to put the section of beam on display in Hall’s Pond Park.

More than 200 people lined up outside Chestnut Street — 130 kindergarten students, fire and police officials and residents. There, Rabbi Art Vernon of the Jewish Community Center of West Hempstead, and the Rev. Francis Maniscalco of St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, led the crowd in a brief prayer.

Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Community Support Association, started the push to acquire a beam last October, asking State Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) 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) as well as the West Hempstead Fire Department, and the Port Authority received numerous letters from residents as well as community organizations.

At Chestnut Street, Norton lauded Ra and Skelos for their help in securing the steel and said that it was a special day for the community. “This is history for West Hempstead,” she said, “and I thank you all for being here.”

Stone masons and graphic designers, Norton said, have been asked to submit designs that would be appropriate for the beam section, which measures 50 inches by 17 inches by 17 inches.

After the ceremony, residents and local officials agreed that the steel would serve to memorialize the 12 West Hempstead residents who died on Sept. 11, 2001. “We have to honor those who were lost,” said Second Assistant Fire Chief Phil Lacombe. “It’s a nice remembrance — this is perfect. You couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Resident Joseph Varon said that the artifact would serve the community well in the years to come. “We will not forget them,” he said of those who lost their lives.“This is a blessing for all of us. It’s an emotional thing for me … we all have thoughts of that day. I’d like to think one day the world will be a better place, and there won’t be terrorism.”

Others said that the emotional and solemn ceremony united the community. Schools Superintendent John Hogan commended Norton for moving the plan forward. “I thought it was a wonderful idea, well-organized,” Hogan said. “Rosalie is just a treasure for West Hempstead. She gave me a call two months ago saying it was possible that we could get a piece of the Trade Center steel … They were looking for a temporary home for it. Certainly we were more than willing to provide space for it.”

Of the event, Hogan added, “It was just a pleasant morning, and it spoke well to the spirit of West Hempstead and this community as a whole.”

Norton said that being a part of the escort was at times difficult, but that, finally, residents will have a piece of history of their own to honor and reflect on. “Your heart aches — you’re celebrating, but you’re remembering,” she said. “The tragedy of it comes home.”

Norton told the Herald after the event that she had received a letter from County Executive Ed Mangano the day before, granting permission to display the steel beam in Hall’s Pond Park, which is owned by the county. Her hope, she said, is that it will be installed within a year.

“It felt good to know,” she said. “I was touched.”