Cleanup underway at 9/11 memorial park in Nesconset damaged by storm

Last week's storm caused heavy damage to a 9/11 memorial park in Nesconset.

News 12 Staff

Aug 26, 2019, 4:33 PM

Updated 1,706 days ago

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Last week's storm caused heavy damage to a 9/11 memorial park in Nesconset.
The 9/11 Responders Remembered Park on Smithtown Boulevard is in rough shape after multiple trees were uprooted. It caused damage to the landscape and a memorial plaque. A gazebo was also completely destroyed.
Park President Judi Simmons says she couldn't believe her eyes the morning after the storm. Her husband Martin died in 2008 due to a 9/11-related illness. He was a New York City firefighter.
"I jumped out of bed and came here and was just shocked at the amount of damage that had happened. The gazebo was unrecognizable, it was just shattered completely," she says.
Simmons says there's about $20,000 worth of damage. She hopes to have the place cleaned up and looking presentable for the park's 9/11 Reading of the Names ceremony in just a few weeks. The names of 9/11 first responders who have died in the last year will be read out loud during the ceremony.
Simmons says she does have an account that will pay for some cleanup. She says insurance covers a little.
Barry Bros. Landscaping is donating its time and labor to repair the damage, and the FealGood Foundation has pledged to cover some of the remaining costs after donations.
Part of the plan is to move a boulder with the steel beam from the Twin Towers on it over to where the gazebo used to stand, and install some benches so people have a place to sit and enjoy the park.
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