Updated 08/18/2010 11:54 PM
Molinaro: Staten Island 9/11 Memorial Was Not Vandalized
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The borough president says he made a mistake Tuesday when he said a September 11th memorial on St. George, Staten Island had been vandalized.
Borough President James Molinaro said there was miscommunication between his office and the New York City Economic Development Corp. and he apologized for any hardship he caused.
“There were five profiles missing from the 274 that we have. I assumed it wrongfully,” said Molinaro. “From the condition that they were in, it appeared they had been pulled off. So I went back to my office and said there were five that had been vandalized. Then the rumor got out that they were vandalized and it just rolled by itself. Then this morning, I was told by EDC that they were not vandalized, they were cracked from the wear and tear and they were just being prepped and they were making new ones and they removed those five so they could put the five new ones back in place.”
The Postcards Memorial of St. George with appropriate signs indicating repair.
According to Molinaro, the EDC typically puts up signs when work is being performed but the signs were not in place when he saw the monument.
The EDC apologized for the confusion, but they believed that the borough president’s office was aware the repairs were being done. An EDC spokesperson admitted that signage has been put in the past.
Families of World Trade Center victims who came to the site after hearing Molinaro's report of vandalism say it all caused unneeded stress.
Rosemary Roma feared the plaque depicting her firefighter son might have been damaged.
She found the plaque was intact, but still felt for the families that lost their relatives' plaques.
"To do something like this, it's like all over again," said Roma. "With September 11th coming, it's very hard. And to have this, the pain never ends. It never, ever ends."
"Terrible, terrible. I hardly slept last night," said a friend of a World Trade Center victim.
"It's nice to know that it was an intentional thing, that they are repairing it," said Frank Kelly, who lost his brother on September 11th. "But they should let people know what they're doing."
The Postcards memorial had been vandalized twice in the past. The memorial contains 274 plaques in honor of Staten Islanders who perished in the 1993 and 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.