The City of Yonkers� September 11^th Memorial Garden was formally dedicated on  Thursday afternoon, September 11^th, at 5 PM the Sculpture Meadow on the Yonkers Hudson Riverfront. After the National Anthem, sung by Stephan Szkararowsky of the Metropolitan Opera, a joint honor guard from the fire, police and EMS services led the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a rendition of �Amazing Grace� by a YPD bagpiper. Ian Kipp, Executive Director of the Yonkers Downtown/Waterfront Business Improvement District welcome the attendees and Groundwork Yonkers Executive Director Rick Magder provided a brief welcome and overview of the Memorial. Tara Coloia-Moccia, who lost her uncle Dennis LaVelle in the Trade Center sang �Chosen/Dennis� Song� in his memory. John Spencer, the Mayor of Yonkers, discussed his reflections on September 11^th, and an overview of the project and garden design was by Rick Magder and Shelley Weintraub of Greyston, wife of landscape architect Lee Weintraub who designed the garden. The PEARLS Choir of Yonkers provided a prelude and recessional.  Invocations were given by the Rev. S. Burtner Ulrich of St. John�s Episcopal Church � Getty Square and the Yonkers Police Chaplain, Msgr. Andrew F. Burns.

The memorial garden was developed and installed by Groundwork Yonkers, a local nonprofit organization, in collaboration with the Yonkers Downtown/Business Improvement District (BID) and the City of Yonkers. It is a �living� tribute to the mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends, and neighbors who were lost in the tragic events of that day.  Located in the new Sculpture Meadow of Yonkers Esplanade Park, it features three halka locusts, indigenous flowers and grasses, and poetry engraved in granite. The poetry focuses on the themes of remembrance, renewal and hope.  From the memorial, the view down to the Manhattan skyline where the World Trade Centers once stood has been preserved and a �Patriot Garden� consisting of an additional plaque and seating area will be installed later. The memorial garden was made possible with funds from the U.S. Forest Service�s September 11^th Living Memorial Initiative. Special thanks to Mitch Tutoni and the Yonkers Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, Jim Pinto of the Yonkers Office of Downtown & Waterfront Development, Jay Green of Jacobs Facilities. A program listing all the sponsors and workers on the project was distributed at the event.

Planning the memorials: An Archive

The entire New York metropolitan area was devastated by the events on September 11th, 2001. At many points in Yonkers, approximately 25-30 miles north of the World Trade Center, there were direct sightlines that revealed the devastation first-hand. One of the most striking points with unobstructed views of lower Manhattan can be found on the Hudson River shoreline in Yonkers that is now planned for a Patriot Garden.  Groundwork Yonkers also received a US Forest Service grant for a "healing trees" project that will be located adjacent to the Patriot Garden site. 

A second "healing tree" project will be done on the grounds of Historic St. John's Church in Getty Square and on Vark Street diagonally across from the Yonkers Fire Department house there.  Below, Rev. S. Burtner Ulrich of St. John's looks over placards of Yonkers residents killed in the WTC with Ann Megaro and Rick Magder of Groundwork Yonkers.

Esplanade Park and sculptures

The vantage point on the Hudson River south of Esplanade Park with views to lower Manhattan

Site in summer, 2002

Manhattan Skyline, December 2001 � Joan Jennings 2001
Sunset - George Washington Bridge - the Manhattan skyline

The City of Yonkers is located approximately 25 miles north of Ground Zero, the former site of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. On September 11^th, the destruction of the towers was visible from many points in Yonkers. Twenty-three Yonkers residents died in the Twin Towers and both the Yonkers Police and Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) provided mutual aid for the rescue efforts. Yamel Merino, a Yonkers EMT, who responded to a first call, died in the collapse of Tower I, leaving a small child and a mourning family.

 Groundwork Yonkers and the Yonkers Downtown / Waterfront Business Improvement District (Yonkers DWBID) are two non-profit organizations located in the Downtown Waterfront area of Yonkers, the fourth largest city in the State of New York.  Both organizations are concerned with improving the physical environment and appearance of the geographic areas they serve; this newly created partnership, working closely with the City of Yonkers, can greatly facilitate the planning and implementation of this living memorial project.

In cooperation with the Office of Downtown and Waterfront Development (James Pinto, Director) of the City of Yonkers, a potential site on the Hudson River, with a spectacular view of lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center towers were once visible (see photo below), as well as being on the Hudson River with unobstructed views of the Palisades, has been identified.  

 Proposed site looking south toward Manhattan

The City of Yonkers is prepared to contribute to the project in terms of provision of property, services of a landscape architect and help with maintenance. This site would comprise the southernmost point of the proposed Esplanade Park, currently under construction. This segment of the park will contain a series of marble and stone sculptures created by local artists (below) that are nearing completion.  The City provided studio space for the artists to work on their sculptures.

 Esplanade Park, currently under construction, will be accessed from the foot of Main Street and will contain a boardwalk, an amphitheatre, have access to the Yonkers Recreation Pier (the site of proposed ferry service to Mid- and Lower-Manhattan) and a planned western access to the renovated main Yonkers MetroNorth/Amtrak train station and the planned Hudson Park residences. The proposed site not only has the potential for high usage and public accessibility, but its position on the banks of the Hudson River, �America�s First River,� provides the natural visual serenity of flowing water, coupled with the breezes, birds, and sounds of the living river, creates the totality of an ideal meditation space.

 The project hopes to maintain the integrity of the viewshed that is such a valuable component of the site by selecting trees that have a limited height growth, concentrating more on varietals that spread and shade rather than those that achieve heights over 10 feet, creating a canopy that would frame and emphasize the spectacular southern-facing views of the Manhattan skyline. The soil is dry and we have access to an internationally acclaimed soil specialist (whose son lives in view of the site) to analyze the soil samples and make recommendations as to how to best prepare (fertilize, acidify, etc.) the soil for the types of trees that would survive and thrive on the parcel.

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