Eagle stolen from Brentwood 9/11 garden

A Brentwood neighborhood is lamenting the theft of a 2-foot statue of an American eagle that anchored a garden dedicated to victims of 9/11, and servicemen and women.

The eagle’s owner, Sharon O’Connor, said she started the garden in front of her house, on Gibson Avenue, and purchased the concrete eagle shortly after 9/11 to honor the dead and injured and to show support for troops. It soon grew into a place where residents in her neighborhood came to remember service members from their community, she said.

“This small little garden has turned into a small community,” O’Connor said Thursday. “It’s a teeny spot on the face of the earth, but it means something for us.”

Her neighbor, Kenia Ramirez, said residents would often visit the garden. “People would admire it, leave flowers and flags and ... say quick prayers,” she said.

O’Connor, who said her son is an Army veteran who was injured while serving in Iraq, first noticed the eagle was missing on Monday. Now, she’s hoping someone will return the statue she described as “the heart of our neighborhood.”

The eagle is gray, 2 feet tall, 1 foot wide, and weighs about 125 pounds, O’Connor said.
Suffolk County police confirmed that O’Connor filed a police report about the missing statue.