City to Host Memorial for 57 Hoboken Lives Lost on 9/11

Hoboken was hit especially hard on September 11, losing more than 50 local residents to the tragic attacks on the World Trade Center. In their memory, the Hoboken community will come together for the thirteenth year in a row to share in its annual September 11th Interfaith Memorial Service for the victims, their families, the City of Hoboken, and the entire nation.

The service will take place on Thursday, September 11, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. on the southeast corner of Hoboken’s Pier A Park. All are invited to attend.

Despite the fact that more than a decade has gone by since the attacks on 9/11, the city, which is one of the few nationwide that had a direct view of the twin towers on September 11, has yet to construct an official memorial.

Although the city was awarded a grant from the Department of Community Affairs for the construction of a 9/11 memorial, the project has faced significant challenges and delays. The memorial was orignially designed to include a walkway from Pier A to a newly constructed pier which would feature a memorial constructed of tempered glass etched with the names of the 57 Hoboken residents who died on 9/11.

Unfortunately, not only was the project deemed too expensive, officials determined that the glass would not stand up to storms and natural disasters, such as hurricanes.

Plans for the new memorial show that this construction will be placed directly on Pier A, facing the World Trade Center site.

“The new plan features two symmetrical, semicircular platforms, each one and a half feet high,” a representative from the City explained. “Each raised semicircle will hold half of the glass panels. The two platforms with the panels are considered representative of the twin towers.”

The memorial will include a place to sit and place mementos and flowers. The city is currently finalizing the design and completing bids for construction. In the meantime, locals can view a display with information on the design and plans on Pier A. The names and ages of the 57 residents who passed on 9/11 are printed in memoriam below, courtesy of CNN.

Jean A. Andrucki, 42

Peter Paul Apollo, 26

Donna Bernaerts-Kearns, 44

Christopher M. Colasanti, 33

Michael S. Costello, 27

Gavin Cushny, 47

Michael DeRienzo, 37

Douglas Frank DiStefano, 24

Neil Dollard, 28

Margaret Ruth Echtermann, 33

Meredith Emily June Ewart, 29

Peter Feidelberg, 34

Jeffrey B. Gardner, 36

Michael Edward Gould, 29

Pedro Grehan, 35

Scott Hazelcorn, 29

Matthew D. Horning, 26

Joseph Anthony Ianelli, 28

Thomas Patrick Knox, 31

Gregory James Malone, 42

George Patrick McLaughlin Jr., 36

Michael Joseph Mullin, 27

John J. Murray, 32

Martin Niederer, 23

Brian Novotny, 33

Keith K. O’Connor, 28

Dominique Pandolfo, 27

Joseph O. Pick, 40

Scott Rohner, 22

Joshua M. Rosenblum, 28

Nick Rowe, 29

Ronald J. Ruben, 36

Richard L. Salinardi, 32

James Kenneth Samuel Jr., 29

John T. Schroeder, 31

Alexander Robbins Steinman, 32

Lesley Thomas-O’Keefe, 40

Melissa Vincent, 28

Meredith Lynn Whalen, 23

James Patrick White, 34

Deborah Lynn Williams, 35

Michael R. Wittenstein, 34