In Garden City Park, plans for 9/11 memorial gaining momentum 

Two pieces of steel recovered from Ground Zero after 9/11 and stored for years in a Garden City Park firehouse soon may find a permanent home in the hamlet where many residents still ache from that unforgettable day.

“Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes because I know people, I had relatives who died at the Trade Center,” said Lakeville Estates Civic Association President Bill Cutrone. “We lost a lot of people in the Garden City Park, New Hyde Park, Herricks area. They went to work that morning from the train station and their cars remained there.”

Cutrone recently started working alongside local volunteer firefighters to try to bring the project to fruition.

Plans for a 9/11 memorial started to take shape in 2016. That was when one of Garden City Park's volunteer firefighters, who works for the Port Authority, was able secure two nearly 20-foot portions of the steel tracks that brought PATH trains in and out of the World Trade Center before the terrorist attack.

Starting in 2010, the Port Authority in a span of six years distributed more than 2,600 pieces of steel and other items to communities in all 50 states and in 10 foreign nations as part of its 9/11 World Trade Center artifacts giveaway program.

Under the memorial project proposal, the tracks would be cut and molded into two parallel structures resembling the Twin Towers, with a piece of metal in front of them to symbolize the Pentagon. A plaque with the inscription "9-11-01 Lest We Forget" would be displayed in front of the structure. 

Garden City Park Fire Department Chief John Janus said members of his department, like many volunteer outfits on Long Island, responded to downtown Manhattan that day. He said his members want to honor the victims with a memorial that lots of people will be able to see during their daily commutes.

“We really wanted to have something of our design … that would not only commemorate that day, but show all the people we protect that we still remember and still respect the families of the people who lost loved ones that day and how much of a turning point in their lives it was,” Janus said.

Nearly 500 of the lives lost that day were Long Island residents, according to Newsday reports.

The memorial's proposed location is a grassy median between Marcus and Denton avenues — land that Nassau County owns. Project organizers said they're working with county officials in the hope of moving the project forward.

Mary Studdert, a spokeswoman for the Nassau County Legislature's majority Republicans, said county Public Works officials are reviewing the proposal to determine any potential traffic impact on the area due to the lack of parking at the site.

Studdert said the review will “make sure it's an appropriate use of county land" but didn't provide a time frame for its completion.

Organizers said other specifics of the project, including funding for construction and maintenance, still are being finalized.

Cutrone said they’ve already lined up local landscapers, volunteers and other community members who would help maintain the property if the memorial becomes a reality.

Janus said it's hard to tell when that could happen, but noted: "I would love to break ground before 9/11 this year.”