Legislation seeks Long Island Expressway tribute to 9/11 firefighters

A stretch of the Long Island Expressway could soon be dedicated to firefighters who died during the Sept. 11 terror attacks and in the years that followed, according to a proposal by state lawmakers.

State legislators in the Senate and Assembly passed a bill in June that would dedicate the area between Exit 59 and Exit 61 of the LIE to firefighters who died responding to the attacks in lower Manhattan and who’ve since died from 9/11-related illness.

Three hundred and forty-three members of the New York City Fire Department were killed the day the World Trade Center was struck nearly 24 years ago. The death toll from 9/11-related illnesses has surpassed those killed that day. To date, 407 FDNY members have died in subsequent years from illnesses related to their work in the aftermath of the attack, according to the department.

The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Alexis Weik (R-Sayville) and Assemb. Doug Smith (R-Holbrook), would require the state Transportation Department to install signage that states "Highway Dedicated to 9-11 Fallen Firefighters."

Efforts to reach Weik and Smith for comment weren’t successful.

Sean Butler, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul, said in an email she will review the legislation.

Roads and highways dedicated to the victims of 9/11 aren’t uncommon around New York. For the past few years, ahead of the anniversary of the attacks, Hochul has signed legislation dedicating roads and bridges to victims of the attack. Last year, she signed a bill dedicating a bridge crossing the Ausable River in Clinton County for Capt. Christopher J. Garrow, a State Police veteran who was part of the search and rescue efforts at the World Trade Center and died in 2023 of cancer.

In 2023, Hochul also signed bills into law dedicating two bridges and a highway after first responders, including a portion of State Route 11 between Islip and Smithtown designating it the "Port Authority Police Officer Steven J. Tursellino Memorial Highway."