Flight 587 Families Share Memories

Teary-eyed relatives, some clutching photos of their loved ones, gathered in Belle Harbor on November 12 to mark the sixth anniversary of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587. The plane crashed at 9:17 a.m. on Nov. 12, 2001, moments after taking off from JFK International Airport, bound for the Dominican Republic. All 250 people on board the flight and five people on the ground were killed in the second worst aviation disaster in U.S. history.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined some 250 relatives at the memorial wall erected last year at Beach 116th Street, in Belle Harbor, offering a prayer that the victims' souls may have found peace.

Each relative was presented with one or more red, long-stem rose, which they later inserted into the memorial wall. "Once again, we have come together to remember all of them, and to share the sorrow that all of us feel," said Bloomberg.

While most relatives joined in the memorial at the wall, others were drawn to a small sidewalk marker on Beach 131st Street and Newport Avenue, where the ill-fated jetliner fell into the heart of the community.

Juan Vasquez, 36, lost his wife Milagros Garcia, and is paying tribute to her by attending the DeVry Institute of Technology in pursuit of a business administration degree. Vasquez is taking classes with the help of the American Airlines Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship Fund, established in 2003 by state Senator John Sabini for family members of the crash victims.

The scholarship provides funding for children and spouses of Flight 587 that is equal to full City or State University of New York (CUNY or SUNY) undergraduate tuition, less any other grants received from New York state. The funding can also be applied to any private college or university in New York state.

Vasquez is one of only 12 people who have taken advantage of the scholarship through the 2006-2007 school year. Administrators said that the low number might reflect the fact that many relatives might not know how to use the opportunity available to them.

Eligible relatives interested in applying for the scholarship can go to the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation Web site at www.hesc.org, e-mail Sabini at sabini@ senate.state.ny.us, or call Sabini's Queens office at 718-639-8469.- Liz Goff