UCCA Remembers 9/11 Victims With Candlelight Vigil
BY LIZ GOFF

Borough President Helen Marshall pays tribute to the dead of 9/11 while City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. (l.) and A s s e m b l y m e m b e Michael Gianaris look on.

More than 300 people gathered beneath a grove of trees at McManus Memorial Park in Astoria on September 13 to honor those who perished in the World Trade Center attacks.

Carrie Kelly, 7, watched in wonder as darkness fell and dozens of candles lit up the grove in a silent tribute to the victims of September 11.

The little girl broke the silence, asking her father, "Are they all here for Michael's daddy?"-a poignant reference to Daniel Sweeney, one of the 75 Port Authority employees who died when the towers fell.

The annual event, sponsored by the United Community Civic Association and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, drew a much larger crowd this year, said Rose Marie Poveromo, president of the civic organization.

"We came prepared to distribute 200 candles to the crowd," Poveromo said. "That's the same amount we've used for each of the first four memorials. We ran short by more than 100 candles this year. It's almost as if the fifth anniversary of the attacks had some special meaning for people. People brought their own candles this year. Something was very different."

(L. to r.): UCCA President Rose Marie Poveromo, state Senator George Onorato, City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. and A s s e m b l y m e m b e r Michael Gianaris listen as City Councilmember Helen Sears (at lectern) commemorates 9/11 victims. Photos Dan Luhmann

Poveromo said the civic association is very pleased that the annual event has focused on the victims, their families, friends and co-workers, rather than on the politics of the day.

"We established this memorial as a place for the families to remember, reflect and hopefully find some peace," Poveromo said. "This is not a place for speeches. It's a quiet place, filled with memories of those who lost their lives on that terrible, terrible day."

Poveromo said the civic group partnered with the Port Authority shortly after the September 11 attacks to plant the trees as "a living memorial to a day that should never, never be forgotten."

The trees were planted in memory of the Port Authority employees, but the observance rapidly grew to represent all of the September 11 victims, Poveromo said. "We are pleased and privileged to have Al and Maureen Santora join us in our memorial tribute each year," she said . Long Island City residents Al and Maureen Santora lost their son, New York City Firefighter Christopher Santora, on September 11.

Retired New York City Fire Department Deputy Chief Al Santora and his wife, Maureen, place a wreath in memory of their son, Christopher Santora, the youngest firefighter to die on 9/11, during the UCCA candlelight vigil in McManus Memorial Park on September 13.

"The terrorists brought a war to our shores with their determination to murder and injure the American people," Poveromo said. "It is our responsibility to make sure our children, and their children never forget what happened."

Poveromo said it is just as important for both adults and children to realize that not every Muslim is to blame for the terrorist attacks.

"We can't go around pointing fingers," she said. "There is good and bad everywhere. We have to teach our children that it's not fair to retaliate against every person who dresses, acts or speaks the same language as the terrorists who brought down the World Trade Center."