Community Corner
Rocky Point Fire Department Hopes for More Community Support for 9/11 Memorial
The department has increased the amount of funds it's seeking for the project, which is on schedule to be completed in September.
The Rocky Point Fire Department has increased the amount of funds it hopes to collect to build the 9/11 memorial at the corner of 25A and Tesla Street.
While the original goal called for collecting $30,000, First Assistant Chief John Stauser said the department has decided that number was a bit low, and is now looking for up to $50,000.
To raise the needed money, the department is holding fundraisers and selling bricks that will be laid at the foot of the memorial building.
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An event at Tommy’s Place in Rocky Point at the end of November garnered $6,000 for the cause. But Stauser said the department has yet to make headway with brick sales.
“Brick sales have been slow due to the holidays, but we hope that they will pick up soon,” he added.
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The memorial project, developed by the Rocky Point Fire Department but set to be located in Shoreham, is on track to open on the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, Stauser said.
The local fire department in September received a 16-foot steel I-Beam that was recovered from the World Trade Center site and will be at the center of the memorial.
Plans for the building were submitted to the Town of Brookhaven in November and the fire department expects to hear back by the end of the month. Members of the department’s memorial committee have also been in contact with engineers regarding the design and electrical workings of the memorial.
Stauser said the main concern for developers right now is the frigid weather. “If the weather holds out for us we should be able to get in there and do what we have to do by the end of March,” he said. That’s when the department is hoping to break ground on the project.
The Rocky Point Fire Department will also soon be setting up a material list for community members who would like to donate money toward benches and other objects that will be placed inside the building
The memorial committee will hold its next meeting Jan. 24 to discuss the current issues facing the project.
