STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Work on Staten Island’s Sept. 11 memorial began two years to the day after the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history.
Located near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in St. George, the “Postcards” memorial stands with the forever-changed New York City skyline as its backdrop. The memorial was dedicated on Sept. 11, 2004, and honors the 270 Staten Island residents or former residents who were killed during the terrorist attack.
“Our memorial is designed to fly forward, not backward, and will look straight to the better future,” the Staten Island Advance quoted Masayuki Sono, the memorial’s designer, as saying in 2003.
The memorial’s two thin structures are supposed to resemble postcards. From afar, they are to appear as wings outstretched toward the sky.
“What we’re going to do is what the people of Staten Island have always done,” the Staten Island Advance quoted former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as saying on Sept. 11, 2004, during the memorial’s dedication. “We’re gonna always be sad. We’re gonna always remember them. There will always be a scar in our heart. But we’re not gonna let them beat us. Don’t let them stop you from going forward with your lives. We owe it to the heroes that we lost to be brave and move forward.”
