Grief and Anger At S.I. Service

By Wil Cruz and Pete Bowles | STAFF WRITERS

October 30, 2003

As waves slapped the Staten Island shoreline and a light rain fell, several dozen relatives tossed white roses into Upper New York Bay last night in memory of the 10 passengers who lost their lives in the Oct. 15 ferry accident.

In a 45-minute interfaith service on the St. George Esplanade, just west of the site where the Andrew J. Barberi crashed into a pier, the victims were remembered with prayers and music. A police officer and a firefighter tossed a wreath into the harbor.

"Every New Yorker knows the heart of Staten Island is in pain," Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the gathering of about 300. "All of us, including me, are asking ourselves why this terrible accident happened. And we are going to get answers, no matter how long that takes, so a tragedy like this is never repeated."

Afterward, relatives of some of the victims said they were still in shock and expressed anger over the city's handling of the incident.

"My brother was murdered," said Fred Robinson, 47, of Bowie, Md., whose brother Louis Robinson, 50, of Staten Island, was killed in the crash. "They are not giving us any answers. They murdered my brother. The city needs to come up with some answers."

Eros Marshall, 27, of Sparta, N.J., whose brother Darius Marshall, 25, of Manhattan, died, said he was angry because the city still has not contacted his family. "The city hasn't given us any information," he said.

As for the ceremony, Marshall said: "It didn't comfort me. My brother is gone, and no memorial is going to bring him back."

Lisa Hicks, 25, who said victim Pio Canini, 52, of Staten Island "was like a dad to me," said the city had the right idea in conducting a memorial.

"It helped to know that they are keeping in mind the families of those who were lost," she said.

Patricia Cicero, whose brother-in-law Frank Sullivan, 46, of Middletown, N.J., was among the victims, said the solemn occasion "was tough" for her family.

"It helped, but I still can't believe it happened," she said. "I still feel like he was ripped away from us."

Bloomberg noted that the St. George Ferry Terminal will be the site of a memorial for the more than 260 Staten Island residents who were killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. "Why have the people of Staten Island been made to bear still another burden of grief?"