A peaceful memorial park that honors one of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been targeted by vandals for the third time.

Detectives say that a Town of Oyster Bay safety officer on routine patrol discovered the damage inside the Kathy Mazza Memorial Park on Elm Avenue in South Farmingdale yesterday.

Several flower plantings were torn from the ground and thrown about the property, police say. Branches were ripped from surrounding trees, and bricks from a retaining wall were removed and strewn about the memorial.

The park is dedicated to Kathy Mazza, a captain with the Port Authority police who died on Sept. 11. Mazza's mother, Rose Mazza, was angry and hurt at the park today as she tidied up the memorial and lamented the disrespect of the vandals.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on the incident to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.