Setauket 9/11 memorial to get final piece

Setauket Fire Chief Brendan Brown concedes his department's Sept. 11 memorial -- one of the first to rise on Long Island, and now eight years in the making -- is unfinished. He prefers to think of it as "upgraded every year."

The memorial park, on the grounds of a department building on Nicolls Road in Stony Brook, began as a concept in 2002 when the department acquired pieces of steel from the 95th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower. The park, one of the most elaborate on Long Island, broke ground in 2003 and hosted its first anniversary vigil in 2004.

Every year, the park has grown or morphed -- some years more subtly than others.

The final addition -- a granite monument with the names of all 2,753 people who died in the 2001 attacks -- will arrive in time for this year's vigil, fire department officials said.

The park "was done in pieces over the years -- we had the steel done, added the fountains, we added park benches," Brown said. "After this, it is completed."

The World Trade Center steel is part of the centerpiece of the roughly 10,000-square-foot park, which includes plaques, a brick walkway, seven American flags, a brick wall bearing the words "9/11 Memorial Park," and a stainless steel red-white-and-blue sculpture titled "Our Flag Burns Brighter."

The Setauket Fire Department is one of dozens of Long Island organizations, from Great Neck to Montauk, to incorporate World Trade Center steel into a Sept. 11 memorial. The park was designed by department members Glen Pinkava and the late Jimmy Hubbard, who worked at Ground Zero for six months doing search and recovery work. Hubbard died of cancer in 2007.

Pinkava said the park provides a way to honor local residents who died. The department lost a former member in the attacks -- Frank Bonomo of Port Jefferson, also a member of FDNY Engine 230 in Williamsburg. Thomas Moody of Stony Brook, an FDNY captain, also died in the attacks.

The park also honors Hubbard, who was "instrumental" in developing the memorial, Pinkava said.

The granite wall will include two granite towers that represent the World Trade Center, Pinkava said. The department is defraying the roughly $58,000 cost of the wall with fundraising, he said. For $100, residents can have a message engraved in the bricks.

Donations and volunteer work have paid for the rest of the park, Pinkava said.

Bonomo's mother-in-law, Rose Pennacchio of St. James, said the family frequently visits the park, and other Sept. 11 memorial sites.

"The one at the fire house is beautiful," she said. "People do come."

Information on making donations or purchasing a engraved brick in the walkway is available at setauketfd.com.